Without a doubt, Genesis 22 is one of the most amazing stories in the book of Genesis historically. The whole chapter is the movie we see in our minds of how God asks Abraham to offer Isaac, the promised seed, on the alter. Abraham, full of faith, commences to obey. Remember?
And he (God) 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. (Gen. 22:2)
Abraham and Isaac travel three days to a God-specified mountain in Moriah, which is likely what we know as Golgotha in the New Testament. (This is starting to look a little prophetic, isn’t it?)
Abraham lays the wood on Isaac who begins to wonder where the sacrifice animal is. Abraham makes his famous statement: My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. (22:8) We can’t help but think forward to the capital L Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Abraham proceeds to raise his knife to plunge it into Isaac as the offering, per God. (22:10)
And he (God) 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. (Genesis 22:12) It turns out that the actual Lamb of God would come around 1,900 years later.
God was so pleased that Abraham, not seeing the end result, obeyed Him. And 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: That 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; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:16-18)
Do you notice that each of the three statements from God in our story share a five-word phrase in common? thy son, thine only son. (Gen. 22:2, 10, 16) We already saw that this historic account is also prophetic. Who else had a son, an only son, offered up as a sacrifice? How about this: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
That’s tidy. We have linked the Old Testament and New Testament. But oops, there’s one problem. Isaac wasn’t Abraham’s only son. Remember that baby he made with Sarah’s handmaid Hagar—Ishmael? Oh him. A Bible critic would ding God and the Bible for the “error” in calling Isaac Abraham’s only son. Three times. In one chapter.
Here’s a Bible-study lesson. Take a faith-based approach to the Word of God. Trust His Word in the same way that Abraham trusted God. When you find something you can’t explain like what I’ve pointed out, rather than doubt and condemn, realize that God is smarter than you and there is a hidden treasure under that oddity.
Think about it. God also had another son. Here’s the verse: Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. (Luke 3:38) So, you could say that Jesus was the second son of God. What’s the significance of that? Look at the blog post just under this one for that answer.
One last point. After Abraham proves his faith by offering Isaac, God finishes His sevenfold promise of land and a “seed.” Abraham’s faith and act sealed the covenant. (Reminder, God visited Abraham seven times to outline His covenant. See Genesis chapters 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 21 and 22) After this seventh and final visit, Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. (Genesis 22:19) Beersheba means “well of the sevenfold oath.” This is where Abraham settled. That is the bow on this historic and prophetic story. Never forget. God declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10) What do you want to bet that this well of the sevenfold oath is significant in the future of Israel? I’ll bet there will be a conflict there just before or after the rapture. (Study Gen 21 to learn more about Beersheba.)
R&J Shee