Isaac’s Trials & a Parent’s Faith

• Review:
  • The Child of has been born
  • People must have smiled when they heard that Sarah was married to someone named “Abraham” – “ of multitudes”
  • Sarah was 90, Abraham was 100 – Both of them had put all their hope in Ishmael (son with Hagar)
  • Abraham was the father of one son;
  • Sarah had never given birth
  • But Abraham and Sarah have finally seen the promise come to be in
  • Sarah has proclaimed God to be El
  • God is One who will bend so that He can keep His promises
  • God is – the Invincible, the Almighty
• Important Preliminary Events:
  • Ishmael’s birth held Abraham’s hopes for his promised
  • Ishmael was born from a lack of on Abraham and Sarah’s part
  • Ishmael became a picture of reliance on self; Isaac became a picture of “dying to self” so God’s power might be revealed.
  • Isaac’s status as the only heir was in with “the son of Hagar…who had been borne a child to Abraham” is around.
  • The Scripture does not refer to Ishmael by name here, only by as “Abraham’s son”
  • The reader is being let in on a potential powder keg: is still !
• Sarah demands their leave Gen.21:9-10
  • She sees Ishmael “ ” Isaac
  • The Hebrew plays again on Isaac’s name here (qjx)
  • Isaac in it’s most common form (qal) means “laugh”
  • Isaac in this form (piel) means “mock”, “jest”, “made fun of”
  • “Mocking” could mean several things
  • Perhaps it is reasonable to assume that Ishmael was laughing in mocking tones about what Sarah laughed about in – the birth of Isaac.
  • Some commentators see Ishmael (17 years old) “ ” Isaac (3 years old) – they believe that this is the “mocking spoken of
  • Sarah “driving them out” may have been nothing more than maternal concern for her son’s future.
  • – G. Wenham, WBC
  • Abraham’s reaction to Sarah’s request:
• Hagar and Ishmael are sent away Genesis 21:14
  • Abraham arose early in the morning and “sent her off”
  • The wording is intentionally
  • Sarah “drove them out”; Abraham “sent her off” (a term used of releasing slaves with a generous provision – Ex.11:1-2)
  • She wandered – indicates that she was and calls for sympathy from the reader
• Hagar and Ishmael are about to Genesis 21:15-16
  • She is in great sorrow and anticipating
  • She sits down at bowshot range so that she would not see her son’s death
  • “That is the touching illogicality of a mother’s heart. In reality she sits at a distance, so that she cannot hear the crying of her child which tears her heart, and to allow herself to weep freely.” – Jacob, 483
  • God makes a promise and a provision (Genesis 21: 17-19)
  • Promise: to make Ishmael into a
  • Provision: opened her eyes to see a
  • The rest of the story
  • Genesis 21:20-21 gives another promise concerning Ishmael – perhaps referring to his hunting ability as an “archer” or a fondness of fighting
  • The Ishmaelites continue today…
  • Ishmael means “ will ”
  • Ishmael indeed became a
• The “Testing” of Abraham:

2PARALLELS IN CHAPT. 21 & 22 - Wenham

• God orders Ishmael’s expulsion (21:12-13) // God orders Isaac’s sacrifice 22:2
• Food and water taken (21:14 // Sacrificial material taken 22:3
• Journey (21:14) // Journey 22:4-8
• Ishmael about to die (21:16) // Isaac about to die 22:10
• Angel of God calls from heaven (21:17) // Angel of the Lord calls from heaven 22:11
• “Do not fear” (21:17) // “fear God” 22:12
• “I shall make into a great nation (21:18) // “Your descendants will be like stars… 22:17
• God opens her eyes and she sees well (21:19) // Ab. raises his eyes and sees ram 22:13
• She gives the lad a drink (21:19) // he sacrifices ram instead of son 22:14
• Isaac could very well be a by now Gen.22:1-2
  • God “ ” Abraham
  • Scripture says that God cannot be tempted, nor does He tempt anyone. Is there a contradiction here? (CF: James 1:13)
  • This is the and time that God is said to have tested an individual
  • The use of “test” promotes the idea that Abraham is about to face some that he will eventually from
• Such a test demonstrated in action what Abraham claimed:
  • he was willing to trust the God who had provided this son born so late in the patriarch’s life.
  • –W. Kaiser
  • God never “tests” the , He only “tests” His to see whether they will love, fear, obey, worship and serve him (CF: James 1:2-4)

3The Command of God: Human Sacrifice

• Notice how God “asks” Abraham to do this task Genesis 22:1-3
  • In the Hebrew, the writer uses an enclitic an “ ”
  • Why?
  • The reader is given a small glimpse into Abraham’s soft heart for his family in the incident of Ishmael’s banishment
  • It is clear that Abraham’s hopes for the future are completely wrapped up in . To ask him to do this thing was just unthinkable.
  • The place of the sacrifice is intriguing – “The district of Moriah”
  • Some scholars believe this to be the future site of the
  • “Moriah” means “land of ” (mora’ah) – But Abraham called the place “God will provide” (ra’ah)
  • In the name of the place is a hint of salvation
  • – G. Wenham
  • “Offer him as a burnt ”
  • A burnt offering clearly indicated and a whole animal
  • A picture of the offerer giving himself completely to God (the animal represents the offerer)
  • The animal’s death represented for sin (this required a complete death and the blood of the animal – without the shedding of blood there is no remission…)
  • Children were sometimes offered as sacrifice for their family’s sin (idol worship, etc.). Sometimes this was even done in the Biblical world in times of dire crisis (Judges 11:31-40; 2 Kings 3:27; 27; 17:17)

4The Immense Task: Obedience to God

• Abraham saddled up, took Isaac, and cut the wood Genesis 22:3-8

  • The journey was three days – can you imagine the pain of a father that ate away at Abraham for 3 days?

  • “God does not require him to put his son immediately to death, but compels him to revolve this execution in his mind during three whole days, that in preparing to sacrifice his son, he may still more severely torture all his own senses.” – Calvin 1:565
  • Isaac is seen as a man
  • Abraham and Isaac’s emotions are revealed through their conversation
  • Abraham uses “my ” in an affectionate tone
  • Isaac reveals an in his tone; “my father”, “here is the fire, here is the wood, but where is the lamb?”
  • This dialogue “Can hardly be read without tears”
  • – Skinner
  • “God will ” – the crux of the story
  • Some theologians believe this means that Abraham thought that God would provide a
  • This is unlikely due to Abraham’s seeming determination and broken heart over the whole issue
  • This is also unlikely due to what Abraham was commended for regarding his faith in Hebrews 11:17-19
  • A final portal through time to the sacrifice that God will provide for – the sacrifice of His only Son

5The Climactic Mountaintop Sacrifice

• The reader is drawn back to the fact that this is that Abraham is following – to the letter Genesis 22:9-10
  • “They came to the place God had told him about”
  • The reader is kept in suspense as he awaits the final task of this journey – the slaughter of the only son
  • We are given just enough time to gasp in horror as the servant of God raises the weapon to slay another Image-Bearer…
  • All at the request of the Almighty
  • Isaac is portrayed as an obedient
  • Isaac probably could have taken a 113 year old man
  • Perhaps this was an indication of the “ ” sacrifice required by God
  • Isaac was ready to
  • Isaac took his ’s word as ’s own words
  • Isaac was willing to obey whatever it him
  • Isaac’s obedience was a reflection of his ’s own obedience through this entire narrative
  • The point of no return has arrived
  • In case the reader had any doubts about whether or not Abraham would follow through, these are finally melted away with Abraham’s raising the knife in a deathblow.

6The Substitute Sacrifice

• The angel of the Lord called from heaven and provided another way Gen.22:11-18
  • Now Abraham had been tested and now it is known that he “ ”
• The same phrase is used when Abraham thought that no one in Gerar feared God 20:11
  • The same phrase is used to describe how viewed God before his test to see if he really did fear God – CF: Job’s testing (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3)
  • The motivation in sacrificing as a follow up is implied rather than explained
  • Abraham is rendered as truly a father of the Jews and an example of
• Conclusion:
  • The reader is left with no doubt – finally, we know that Abraham has become and is the of who follows the commands of God
  • To this point, the reader has questions
    • Note: Abraham was not aware that this was a test (like Job)
  • Abraham’s qualities as a father are also apparent in how he has raised his only son – perfect to the point of death
• Abraham’s act of faith and his faith in God’s to follow are examples to every Believer’s life James 2:21-23
  • Every Disciple is called to obedience no matter the cost…Every disciple is called to take up the cross and follow.
  • There is no limit to faith and no boundaries for obedience.
  • To obey is better than sacrifice.