THE ULTIMATE TEST (GENESIS 22:1). Abraham had been called by Yahweh to leave his home, his kinsfolk and his country to go to a new land which God had purposed for him. His spiritual life was not smooth. He was not without testing. The very call itself was a test. The long wait for Isaac was a test.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah (LXX has ‘land of the height' - ‘upsele'; the Syriac translation of the Old Testament has ‘land of the Amorites') and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.' “ROSE EARLY IN THE MORNING”. Compare Genesis 21:14. Is th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham said to his young men, “You stay here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder, and we will worship and come again to you.” “WE WILL COME AGAIN TO YOU”. Was this just camouflage to the young men? There is no reason to think so. They would soon find out the truth and would recognis... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they went both of them together.' Isaac carries the wood. Abraham has to carry the fire and knife, both dangerous to a young lad, the former at least requiring great c... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “I'm here, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ' The men must previously have wondered the same. It stood out a mile. But Isaac has clearly been pondering over i... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” What a wealth of meaning is found in these words. ‘God will provide'. For Isaac they meant that his father believed that God would let him have a lamb from somewhere. But was he beginning to get a little uneasy?... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on the wood.' Every moment of agony is dragged out by the writer. The slow careful procedure, the puzzled but possibly apprehensiv... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham stretched forth his hand to slay his son.' Obedient to the end, he knew he must obey God's absolute command. With nerves of steel he takes the final step in making the ultimate sacrifice. He lifts the knife ready to plunge it into the body of his son. The writer brings out the pathos.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the angel of Yahweh called to him from Heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, neither do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing the you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.” ' At last the ch... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, 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 place of his son.' To us it may seem an afterthought, but to Abraham it is one great swell of praise to Yahweh. Never ha... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abraham called the name of that place ‘Yahweh Yir'eh'. As it is said to this day, “In the mount of Yahweh it will be provided ”.' The naming of a place was an important matter for ancient peoples, especially when it commemorated a theophany. For that place became accepted as a sacred place, an... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, “By myself have I sworn, the word of Yahweh, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So Abraham returned to his young men and they rose up and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.' To the young men it possibly looked as though nothing unusual had happened, apart from the fact that their master must have seemed somewhat more cheerful and Isaac somewhat more t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SONS OF NAHOR AND THE FAMILY CONNECTION OF REBEKAH (GENESIS 22:20). The incident at Mount Moriah was the climax of Abraham's life. All that remains is the closing down of his life. The stress in Genesis 22:20 to Genesis 24:67 is the new beginnings in Isaac, the chosen heir. This family record i... [ Continue Reading ]