OUR
FATHER'S
WORD
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light
unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
________________________________________________________________________________
Genesis
A Message For The End Time
by
Jim Lisenby
________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER
22
Isaac
A Human Sacrifice?
This chapter of Genesis has been a most perplexing part of
the Bible for some. In it God told Abraham to sacrifice his son
Isaac upon an altar as a burnt offering. How odd! This
bizarre event was a watershed
in Abraham's life that changed it forever, and that of his wife Sarah,
and also of his son Isaac. Let's get right into it.
Gen. 22:1 And it
came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said
unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
The key word in this verse is tempt, which
actually means to
test. It is the Hebrew word nacah [pronounced naw-saw] (Strong's
No. 5254) and means
to test, try, prove, tempt,
or assay.
It is the reason given by the writer for the seemingly bizarre
sacrificial act that is to ensue here, but there may be more to it than
that. I trust God, and if He demanded this action of Abraham,
then He had a good reason for doing it.
Gen. 22:2 And 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.
Wow! This verse can provide mucho ammunition for Bible
scoffers. Not only because of its context but also
because of the way it is worded. Isaac was not Abraham's only
son, nor was he the only son whom Abraham loved as this verse
seems to
infer. At this point in his life Abraham had two sons, Ishmael
and Isaac, and he dearly loved both of them. Actually, the
translation of this verse is misleading and may indicate prejudice
against Ishmael, and Abraham's other children, by the writer or
subsequent copyists and translators.
The third clause,
thine only son Isaac, would better read only Isaac, which would
specify Isaac
as the only son
of concern here. Why do I say that? Because the word son in the third
clause is not in the text. It was added by the translators for
the sake of clarity, or so they thought. It is in italics in my Bible indicating that
it was added by the translators.
Now, concerning the land of Moriah, there is no
hard evidence to prove
conclusively where it was located, but many
scholars think that one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of was located at
Jerusalem.
Gen. 22:3 And 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.
Gen.
22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the
place afar off.
Abraham departed from Gerar in Philistia to go to the land of
Moriah, and wherever it was, it took him over two days to get
there. As I stated above, many scholars think that he went to
Jerusalem (called Jebus in his day) which would agree with the time
factor given in verse 4 above.
Gen. 22:5
And 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.
Gen. 22:6 And 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.
According to some Christian scholars, Isaac was symbolically
a type of Christ here and Abraham was a type of our Father in Heaven,
and there is some justification for that rationale. Isaac carried
the wood, and in somewhat similar fashion, Christ had to
bear
His wooden cross.
Gen. 22:7 And 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?
Gen. 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of
them together.
Gen. 22:9 And 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.
Continuing with the Isaac/Jesus
connection, please notice that
hapless Isaac was laid upon the wood here, and allowed it
without resistance. In like manner Christ was nailed to a
wooden cross, and allowed it without resistance. They both
submitted without running away or putting up a fight.
Isaac had to be totally trusting and obedient to his father
Abraham here
for this event to happen this way. He was a fully grown man now,
perhaps
somewhere between 30 and 40 years old, and very likely was much
stronger than his aging father. Had he struggled and resisted,
Abraham could not have bound him and placed him on the altar.
Jesus willingly submitted Himself in like manner, totally trusting in
His Father.
Now, concerning the altar that Abraham built in verse 9. The
Hebrew
word translated built
in this verse can
also be translated as rebuilt. I
only mention that because Samaritan tradition
identifies Moriah
with Mt. Gerizim
which is north of Jerusalem, and very near Bethel.
That Samaritan tradition may be nothing more than that, but it is a
fact that Abraham had previously built an altar there, or very near
there, immediately after he came into the land of Canaan from
Mesopotamia.
Bethel
means the house
of God, so named by Jacob after he slept there and had his
so-called Jacob's
ladder dream there. So, was Abraham at Jebus
(later called Jerusalem) as most Christians think, or was he at Luz
(later
called Bethel) as some Samaritans think? The accepted
Christian tradition is that they were upon a hill at Jerusalem
where Solomon's temple was built, and that may be nothing more than
tradition
also.
Gen.
22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay
his son.
Gen. 22:11 And the angel of the LORD
called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said,
Here am I.
Gen. 22:12 And 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.
The term fearest
God here in verse 12 is a figure of speech that implies several
things. One aspect is that of a genuine fear of God,
but
hopefully not a morbid fear or terror. Another is to stand in awe of,
and another is to
revere, and still another is to respect.
Abrahams attitude
toward God was all of these things, as ours should be.
Abraham was faithful and he absolutely trusted Him, as we should also.
Gen. 22:13 And 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.
Gen. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the
LORD it shall be seen.
The word Jehovahjireh
(Strong's No. 3070) means Yahweh sees, or Yahweh will see, or also Yahweh will provide according to The Companion Bible,
which would be in agreement with the statement by Abraham in verse 8
above.
Some have tried to associate the ram substituted
for Isaac here, with Jesus Christ, whom they say was substituted for
us. Further, another Christian
tradition also infers that Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the same site
here where Abraham symbolically offered up Isaac. They
associate it
all with the Christian doctrine called penal substitution
by some, and simply
substitution by others. Work
with it if it interests you, but be aware that traditions of men
generally should not be accepted without being thoroughly investigated
and considered carefully.
Gen.
22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the
second time,
Gen. 22:16 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:
Gen. 22:17 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;
Let me remind you again, as in verse 2 above, that the last
clause of verse 16 should
not be taken literally as stated.
Verse 17 is essentially a reaffirmation of the promises
already made to Abraham that he would produce innumerable
descendants. God had that in mind when he changed his name from
Abram
to Abraham,
which means father
of multitudes.
At this time in his life he already had Ishmael and Isaac, but he was
to continue
for some years and have other children by another wife whose name was
Keturah. We will get to her a little further on in Genesis.
Isaac was chosen by God to be Abraham's
principal heir, and it was his progeny that went on to later occupy
Europe and the Americas, and in fact, much of the rest of the
world. It was also from his line that Messiah would spring.
Now, a few things need to be said here concerning his offspring.
They were
the blessed descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but
that doesn't mean that they would live and act the way God
wanted them to, nor did they necessarily merit blessings from God on
their own worthiness. If they were blessed it was because, and only because, God had
promised Abraham that He would. Actually, they soon became
aggressive and greedy conquerors and took what
they pleased, and today they still
do that when it pleases them.
Up
until very recently their aggressive tendencies were carried forth
while
cloaked under the nom de
guerre of colonialism,
but in reality it was outright imperialism.
The white Europeans were conquerors and marauders,
and it continues today because some of Isaac's children still attempt
to exercise hegemony throughout the
world. What disturbs me, being one of them, is that many of us
think that we have the God given right to do such things.
Absolutely unrighteous!
You can
see that when you consider the unrighteous doctrine of "manifest destiny"
that became so popular in America in the 19th and 20th centuries.
That dubious doctrine is still here with us in the 21st century, and it
smacks of, and smells like, a general feeling of racial superiority
among Caucasians who are of the stock of Abraham.
Most of us will
deny it, but I believe that basically we are racists at
heart. We seem to feel that we are chosen and special, while the
rest of the world is filled with lesser folk. In fact, we thought
of them as heathens until very recently, and some of us still do.
And, we think that we have the God-given right to exercise hegemony
over them. A example of this holier than thou
attitude was exemplified by
George Bush recently in one of his addresses to the nation when he
asked, "why do
they hate us so much, when we are so good"? Amazing!
When some of our troops are killed in Iraq or Afghanistan we get upset,
and justifiably so because they are our children, but when asked about
the huge numbers of Iraqi and Afghani civilians killed by our "shock and awe"
assaults, it is simply dismissed as being irrelevant and
immaterial. They apparently don't count and aren't worthy of a
second
thought.
So, the last clause of verse 17 here is considered by most to be a
pronouncement of God's
blessing, but was it really a blessing, or an accusation? God
desired and expected
good from the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they never
obeyed Him in the
manner He required on a continuing basis. They eventually became
so ungodly in fact, that He denounced them on many occasions through
the prophets that He sent, and He later became so disgusted with them
that He "put them
away". But regardless,
through it all He still remained faithful to the promises He had made
to Abraham. Not because of good behavior on their part , but in
spite of their disobedience and their unrighteous conduct.
Gen.
22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Now, concerning this verse, I can state without equivocation
that the seed
mentioned
here is not referring to all of
his progeny in general, nor to Isaac, nor to Ishmael, nor to any of the
children that he had by Keturah. It is
speaking of a very specific singular seed, and that
Seed was Jesus of
Nazareth. In due time, all people from every place and time on
Earth
will be blessed through Him.
Gen.
22:19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went
together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
How curious! Abraham went and dwelt at Beersheba, he did
not return to Gerar where he had been living. I will remind you
of that
fact when we
get into the next chapter where Sarah dies, but now I want you to
recall from
chapter 21 how that Abraham had dug a well and planted an oasis at
Beersheba. I believe, as I previously stated in that chapter,
that location was where Hagar and Ishmael were sent by Abraham.
If that is so, then they may have still lived there. That would
mean,
if true, that Abraham was possibly back with Hagar and Ishmael.
H'mmm??? Very interesting situation!
There is something else to consider here. Verse 19 above mentions
Abraham and his two young men, but there is no
mention of Isaac. Did he go with them to Beersheba, or did he go
back to Gerar, or to whereever Sarah was? Think about it.
Why are these questions important? They may not be terribly
important, but they are interesting with regards to Abraham's life
story. Abraham was a fine man who obeyed God, but it seems that
he had problems in his life just like the rest of us.
I want you to notice
that Sarah is not mentioned once in this entire chapter, and when
she dies in the next chapter, she is not living at Beersheba with
Abraham. She had
gone back to Hebron where she died. Now, I gotta tell ya, that
mothers, especially mothers who have an only child at 90 years of age,
are not really thrilled at the idea of that only child becoming a human
sacrifice, for any god. She had to think that Abraham was a
raving lunatic for doing this thing. If she knew about it in
advance, she must have been frantic about it, but also helpless to stop
it. Isaac probably wasn't all that glad about it either after it
was over. If Sarah didn't know about it beforehand, she certainly
knew about it after Isaac returned to her.
Like I stated at the beginning of this chapter, this sacrificial rite
that Abraham did is a very perplexing thing. Some have become so
offended by it that they rejected the Bible as the word of God.
If the story is valid, God only knows why He tested righteous Abraham
to this degree, but often the truth is stranger than fiction. Why
do you think He demanded this act of Abraham? Send me an email if
you think that you know why, or just want to speculate on the question.
Later, in modern times, the story has been construed by some Christians
that Abraham was a
type of God our Father, and Isaac a type of Christ, and that the only
Son of God would be sacrificed on that very same spot about 1,850 years
hence. Food for thought, but again, you decide.
The remaining verses of this chapter talk about the children of
Nahor,
Abraham's brother, and include Rebekah whom Isaac will marry in
chapter 24. But they don't seem to fit here, so why are they here
instead of in chapter 24 where they would logically fit better?
Well
reading between the lines a little Abraham may have
actually requested the information about his kin back in Mesopotamia in
an effort to find a suitable bride for Isaac, because she must be of
good Hebrew stock to marry his son.
Why is he looking for a bride for Isaac at this particular
juncture? Well, the strange sacrifice thing has just taken place
which obviously has split the family up, and it seems to me that
Abraham is possibly looking for a way to repair the breach. He
also undoubtedly is aware of the weakened condition of Sarah even
though they are estranged, and he knows what a terrible loss it
will be for Isaac to lose his mother. With these things in mind
Abraham is probably thinking about procuring a bride for him, but she
must be a suitable Hebrew, and that is why these verses are here.
Gen.
22:20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham,
saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother
Nahor;
Gen. 22:21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his
brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
Gen. 22:22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and
Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Gen. 22:23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah:
these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
Gen. 22:24 And his concubine, whose name
was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
The death and burial of Sarah is in the next chapter, and
there are some surprises.
God bless with
understanding
of His word.
email:
ourfathersword@yahoo.com
www.ourfathersword.org
Copyright ©
2006 by Jim
Lisenby. All Rights Reserved