Genesis
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Genesis 22
Genesis 22
1And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I.
1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Commentary · verse 1
2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Commentary · verse 2
Verse 2 was the first time the word love ("lovest") was used in the Bible, and it was directly tied to a father sacrificing his son.
"Moriah" meant "chosen by God."
3And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you.
3And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
Commentary · verses 3-5
Abraham stated both he and Isaac would come back. This was a statement of faith. Abraham believed in something that had not happened yet (Hebrews 11:1 stated the definition of faith).
6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.
7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?
8And Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son: so they went both of them together.
6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Commentary · verses 6-8
Abraham stated that God would provide a lamb. Abraham made another statement of faith. Again, he believed in something that had not happened yet.
Doctrines on this passage
9And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11And the angel of Jehovah called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
9And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Commentary · verses 9-11
The angel said "Abraham" twice.
12And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Commentary · verse 12
Abraham proved he feared the Lord, with his actions. Notice, the angel (and God) did not know this until Abraham moved towards sacrificing his son.
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided.
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah–jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
Commentary · verses 13-14
"Jehovah-jireh" meant "The Lord will provide." God provided a ram, not a lamb. The ram was a symbol of power and has the seed to reproduce. God provided more than what Abraham expected.
15And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 17that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
15And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Commentary · verses 15-17
Remember, "Abram" asked God what good were blessings if he did not have a son. Now, once God had given "Abraham" a son, God asked him to slay him. Abraham knew God had promised to fulfill His everlasting Covenant through the seed of the son from Sarah. Hebrews 6:14 referenced verse 17. Hebrews 11:17-19 stated:
"17 By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back."
Abraham had faith based on experience and understanding of God's Word. People should not be physically emulating Abraham's willingness to physically slay his son until they have the same level of physical experience with and understanding of God as what Abraham had.
Commentary · verse 17
"Stars" represented spiritual children of God. "Sand" represented worldly children of God.
18and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Commentary · verse 18
Grace is "the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." The reason why Abraham was blessed through Isaac was because Abraham "obeyed" God's influence/voice.
19So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
20And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor: 21Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, 22and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she also bare Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah.
19So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer–sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer–sheba.
20And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
21Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Commentary · verses 19-24
Bethuel, Abraham's nephew, begat Rebekah.
God "did prove" Abraham. This was also translated as "tests" or "tempts." How do we reconcile this when James 1:13-14 stated:
"13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: 14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed."?
God objectively proved what Abraham was made of by bringing a test. When a person fails the test, they should not say they failed because God tested them. People fail because of themselves. Also, God will test a person to build and/or prove their faith. God will not do so in order to cause someone to stumble.
When Jesus was tempted/tested by the religious leaders of His time, it was in an attempt to cause Jesus to be wrong. Those "leaders" were testing Jesus for the wrong reason, God tests people for a Right and Just cause, not to cause someone to stumble but to facilitate growth in their life!