Northern Kentucky's Evening Interdenominational Community Bible Study Text of Presentation, Lesson 13, Gen 22-23 Click Here for Lesson 13 Photos Click Here to return to GENESIS Home Page

Genesis 22:1-23:20
The Sacrifice of Isaac: Ultimate Faith and Obedience

Genesis stories all build on each other . . . so it may be useful to do a quick to review to bring us back into context after the 3-week Christmas break.

In chapter 18, God revealed to Abraham that – even though his wife Sarah was 89 years old – God’s promise 24 years earlier that Sarah would have offspring was finally about to happen. Then in chapter 21, the son of God’s promise, Isaac, was born. But this caused problems as well as joy, because – in disobedience to God – a son Ishmael had been born to Abraham 14 years earlier through Sarah’s slave Hagar (according to the customs of the time). With the birth of Isaac, Sarah demanded that Abraham disinherit Ishmael and send him and his mother away into the desert. Abraham loved Ishmael very much, and this violated the “laws” of the time . . . so he complied reluctantly – only after God assured him Ishmael would be OK (21:10-13). Hence, although Abraham has gained the son of God’s promise, he has lost his other son – his only other child.

Now, more than 10 years later, as chapter 22 opens, Abraham is about to lose his son Isaac. It is to be at Abraham’s own hand, following God’s instructions! Moses (author of Genesis) tells readers 500 and more years later that God is only testing Abraham’s faith and obedience . . . but Abraham doesn’t know that! The Canaanites and Philistines among whom Abraham lives apparently sacrificed their children to pagan gods – even though this practice was not widespread. Hence God’s request to Abraham has credibility from a historical/cultural perspective . . . and so does Moses’ statement that this is only a test, because God subsequently calls such practices “detestable” (Deut 18:10, Jer 32:35) and says they “did (not) enter (His) mind” (Jer 7:31, 19:5, 32:25).

Why does Abraham even consider this action? True . . . God has been teaching Abraham to trust and obey and follow Him . . . but if Abraham loses Isaac, he will again be childless – without the prospect of another son of Sarah . . . so God’s promise of the land, the offspring, and the blessing will all be revealed as diabolical lies! Does it make sense to trust and obey someone when the end result will reveal that person is a liar? . . . even if that someone is God? And to move from the logical to the emotional: although losing a child is devastating to a parent under any conditions, to lose one’s last remaining child in this way . . . after disinheriting one’s only other child . . . it’s inconceivable! So why does Abraham go along? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews explains: “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead” (Heb 11:19)

In other words, after 35 or more years – during which God has appeared to Abraham, made covenants with him, and brought fulfillment of His promise through the miraculous birth of Isaac – Abraham has become a true believer. He knows all things are possible with God, and supposes no matter how unreasonable God’s request seems, if he trusts God, God will do what it takes to fulfill His promise of the land, the offspring, and the blessing.

Moving into the story . . . God speaks to Abraham – in what form, we don’t know – and instructs him to “Take . . . Isaac . . . to the region of Moriah (and) sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (22:2). In 2 Chr 3:1, Mt. Moriah is revealed as Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the place God chose for the Jews to build a temple to worship Him. Abraham has been there before; returning with Lot from his victory over the eastern kings, he met Melchizedek and the king of Sodom in the valley just below Mt. Moriah (Gen 14).

Abraham does not protest this request; he doesn’t ask for an explanation; he doesn’t even delay. He just gets up early the next morning, saddles his donkey, gathers two servants and Isaac, cuts wood, and sets out for Mt. Moriah . . . a 3-day journey (22:3-4), about 45 miles from Beersheba. When he reaches a place where he can see Mt. Moriah, Abraham leaves the two servants with the donkey and tells them he and Isaac will go “worship and then” return (22:5). Commentators speculate: was Abraham trying to hide from Isaac and the servants what was going to happen . . . or does Abraham believe all along he and Isaac will return? Take your pick.

Assuming Abraham leaves the servants at the junction of the Hinnom and Kidron valleys, the climb up to temple mount is perhaps a mile of moderately steep terrain; that seems about right, because they must climb the mountain, build an altar, prepare a sacrifice, and return – all during daylight. Abraham carries the knife and the fire, while Isaac carries the wood – which some commentators compare to Jesus carrying the cross. It’s apparent Isaac is not child, as he is so often portrayed; he is old enough to carry the wood and old enough to know what they are preparing to do . . . he asks “where is the lamb for the burnt offering” (22:7)? Abraham’s answer is apparently ambiguous in the Hebrew. English translations usually render it: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (22:8), but removing the comma (which isn’t in the Hebrew), Abraham is telling Isaac he is the offering – and this interpretation is consistent with Jewish tradition that Isaac threw himself on the altar. But however he interprets his father’s remark, Isaac figures things out by the time he is “bound . . . and laid . . . on the altar, on top of the wood” (22:9) – obedience is apparently not limited to the father!

According to tradition, Abraham laid Isaac on the large, flat rock, pictured on the web site . . . centerpiece of the Dome of the Rock mosque on Temple Mount. (Moslems believe this rock was the jumping off place for Mohammed’s night journey to heaven just before he died – which makes it their 3rd holiest site. This story is also part of Moslem tradition – except changed to make Ishmael the son and Saudi Arabia the place.)

Abraham raises his knife to kill Isaac . . . the Hebrew verb is the one used for sacrifice of children to pagan idols, so killing Isaac is clearly not what God wants! And just as God intervened in chapter 21 to save Ishmael in the desert, the Angel of the LORD calls from heaven – urgently calling Abraham’s name twice – to reveal this was a test, to make sure Abraham “fears God.” The angel says Abraham must not “lay a hand” on Isaac (22:12). Solomon writes in Proverbs later: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Pr 9:10); Abraham showed wisdom in his obedience to this outlandish request.

Abraham unbinds Isaac – probably with tears of joy – then sacrifices a ram, caught by its horns in a thicket (22:13). The Lord has provided, just as Abraham said (22:8)! And the Jews of the Exodus (first readers of Genesis) probably recognize that by providing a ram, God is sending a message that this sacrifice has deep significance . . . because in God’s instructions for worship much later, sacrifice of a ram is reserved for ordination of priests and for the Day of Atonement (Lev 8-9, 16).

After the sacrifice, the Angel of the LORD calls from heaven again to reiterate God’s promise to Abraham:

“I swear, . . . declares the LORD, that because you . . . have not withheld your . . . only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (22:16-18).

Notice two insertions of the word “because” emphasize the conditional element of God’s promise . . . something more and more apparent as God’s promises to Abraham have become more and more detailed. The promise will be fulfilled because Abraham obeyed – even if it meant losing his only son. Although many commentators refer to God’s promise to Abraham as unconditional, every time God states the promise – going back to chapter 12 – there is at least an implied condition of obedience. Nevertheless, Abraham’s total obedience in this case shows him worthy of God’s promise, first made over 35 years earlier – something God probably knew all along.

The story concludes: “Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba” (22:19). Since Isaac is not mentioned, some Jewish commentators in the middle ages believed Isaac was in fact sacrificed, but raised from the dead later . . . which was apparently a claim that Isaac’s blood provided expiation for the sins of Israel, responding to Christian claims about Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection. Others commentators say the story ends this way to emphasize that Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God was equivalent to doing it . . . which is essentially what the writer of Hebrews says: “figuratively speaking, (Abraham) did receive Isaac back from death.” (Heb 11:19)

Chapter 22 closes with a brief genealogy of Abraham’s brother Nahor – which we skip over, even though it becomes important later as Abraham’s son and grandson take wives.

Chapter 23 discusses the death and burial of Sarah – with focus on Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot. It seems that sometime after Abraham’s trip to Mt. Moriah with Isaac, the family moves from Beersheba back to Hebron. And there Sarah dies at age 127.

Abraham and Sarah have probably been married more that 100 years . . . and Abraham wants to provide a proper burial. He is a man of great wealth and has lived in Canaan over 60 years, so this would seem no problem . . . except that he is still considered “an alien and a stranger among” the local Canaanites (23:4). In discussing chapter 17, it was suggested this probably means Abraham is a merchant in the caravan trade – and hence not allowed to purchase land in Canaan, no matter how long he lives there nor how rich he becomes. So this rich and powerful man must go with hat in hand to the city gate – where city fathers gather as a city council, court of justice, and recorder of deeds. Here he begs the Canaanites to allow him to purchase a burial site for his beloved wife.

At first they refuse; they know they ought not sell land to Abraham, and offer instead to let him use the “choicest” of their tombs (23:6). Perhaps the locals see only Abraham and Sarah and his unmarried son Isaac – but Abraham has in mind God’s promise of “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky” who “will take possession of the cities of their enemies” in this land (22:17). Abraham believes God’s promise, and is willing to bet money on it; he wishes to purchase a family tomb as the first land his offspring will own in the land God has promised . . . he wants to buy the Cave of Machpelah from a Hittite named Ephron, son of Zohar (23:8-10).

Ephron is sitting at the gate, but Abraham does not address him directly – perhaps because everyone knows the transaction ought not be made. Instead Abraham asks the other city leaders to intercede with Ephron on his behalf to allow him to buy the cave. With an elaborate show of generosity, Ephron offers to give Abraham not only the cave, but the land surrounding it as well. This provides a glimpse of Middle Eastern negotiation techniques . . . because when I was in Israel I was told that although Arabs make effusive displays of generosity, these aren’t meant to be taken seriously; and perhaps that’s what’s going on here. Ephron seems to be saying he is willing to sell, but he wants to sell the full property, not just the cave. (Under Hittite law, if he sells only the cave, he’ll still be obligated for taxes and other feudal services to the king; Ephron wants to pass all such liability to Abraham.) And Abraham wants the cave, so he offers to buy the full property. Ephron quotes a price – apparently an outrageously inflated price (which may reflect his concern about getting in trouble with the king for selling land to a “foreigner”) – but again he goes through the ritual of generosity: “What is (400 shekels of silver) between me and you?” he says (23:15). Abraham agrees to the price, and pays it at the gate in the presence of the city leaders, who serve as witnesses to the transaction.

Then Abraham buries his wife Sarah; her traditional tomb is pictured on the web site.

Next week’s lesson focuses on a wife for Isaac – which Abraham seeks from his brother’s family back in Haran. Then after Isaac is settled, Abraham takes a concubine himself and has 6 more sons – that’s right, 6 more sons. Then he dies, and is buried with Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah.