Sacrifice of Isaac

Transcript

Welcome! To Our Ancient Future Story: Navigating Scripture Through the Eyes of Family. Where I share with you, Biblical stories, as a family member would tell a story around the dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God’s family, and His family story has a lot of history. Each week, we will take one story and talk about it, the cultural, historical, geographical, and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories from the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is Our Ancient Future Story.

[Insert Music Here]

Welcome back to Our Ancient Future Story, I’m Vic, and I am so excited to share with you the story of the sacrifice of Isaac! This is a story that most people who grew up in and around church have heard many times. But it has always fascinated me, because it is so shocking that God would make Abraham wait 25 years for this promised son, and then a few years later ask him to give him up? It doesn’t make sense. Why would God do that? Apparently, there are others that share my confusion. In fact, there are some scholars who have suggested that this story, never actually happened and should be treated more like a parable, used to keep Israelites from getting caught up in the culture that surrounds them in Canaan. According to these scholars, this story is used to show Israel that even the great Patriarch Abraham didn’t sacrifice his son, and neither should they. I still do believe that Abraham and Isaac existed and this story could’ve happened.

But whether this story happened or not isn’t the focus of this episode. Instead, we are focusing on the fact that even though God asked for Abraham’s son, he was faithful and God provided a replacement sacrifice. Yahweh provides a Ram!

So, grab your cup of coffee or something to drink, and get ready to hear the story of the sacrifice of Isaac.

[Insert Music Here]

We concluded last week with the birth of Isaac, the promised son to Abraham and Sarah, who would be the first of many descendants. It was a joyous moment, filled with laughter! Our story today picks up years later, when Isaac was around 11 or 12 years old, and God spoke to Abraham to test him. God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the Mountains I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2).

So, Abraham packs up all the supplies for a sacrifice, fire, rope, knife, and wood. He woke up early and saddled his donkey. Then Abraham, Isaac and two servants set out on their journey to Moriah. It was a three-day journey until Abraham looked up and saw Mount Moriah in towering in the distance. He turned to his two servants and said, “You stay here only the boy, and I will go up to worship.

Abraham began gathering all the supplies. He handed the chopped wood to Isaac, for him to carry, while Abraham carried the supplies, the fire and knife and they set out together.

(Historical Fun Fact: Fire here, isn’t a ball of fire, but instead a tool that could be used to start or maintain the fire of the offering.)

On the way, Isaac looked up at Abraham and asked, “Dad, we have fire and wood, but where is the lamb to sacrifice?” Such an innocent question, but it hits Abraham to his core. He looks at his son and says the only thing he hopes to be true, “God will provide for himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”

When they reached the top of Mount Moriah, the place God had specified. Abraham built an alter and laid the wood on top of the stone. Then he took his son Isaac, and bound him, laying him on top of the wood on the alter. In this moment, with a heavy heart, reaching for his knife at his side, Abraham is fully prepared to slaughter his son, as the lamb for the burnt sacrifice.

Then suddenly, while Abraham’s knife was in the air, seconds before the deathly blow, an angel calls out “Abraham, Abraham!” Abraham freezes, and the angel continues. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, whom you love.” At that moment Abraham looked up and saw a Ram stuck in the thicket. He went to the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named this place Jehovah Jireh (Yahweh will provide). At the time of the writing of this passage, it is said that “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided”

Then the angel called out to Abraham again saying, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son. I will surely bless you. You will be multiplied and your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand of the earth. Your offspring will possess the gate of your enemy. And all the nations of the earth will be blessed because you have listened to my voice.

(Historical Fun Fact: The phrase: Possess the gate of your enemy, is a Hebrew idiom meaning to have control over your enemy. So, God is promising Abraham that his descendants will have victory wherever they go.)

Then Abraham and Isaac arose and met back up with the two servants like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. And they headed home to Beersheba where they were living. Can you imagine what that 3-day journey home were like? Isaac was probably telling the servants what happened over and over again. (*insert kid voice here*) “I was all tied up, but then out of nowhere this Ram appears…” And then getting home and trying to explain what happened to Sarah. All the while Abraham has this overwhelming feeling of relief and gratitude, praising God because he provided ram in the thicket.

And that is where our story ends today. Abraham and Isaac BOTH come home, because Yahweh provided a Ram in the thicket, to take the place of Isaac as a sacrifice. God wanted Abraham to know that his own faith in Yahweh was solid. After all Abraham had broken a sacred covenant once. Because he doubted Yahweh would come through. So, throughout this passage we feel this question of who is Abraham going to listen to this time? And we see in the later writings of this account in the faith chapter in Hebrews 11, that Abraham’s faith in Yahweh was SO DEEP that he believed, even if he had gone through with it, Yahweh was powerful enough to raise Isaac from the dead. And this act of complete and total faith, created a pathway for all of Abraham’s descendants.

[Insert Music Here]

So, Let’s dig into our story a little bit. The first thing, we need to know about the Ancient Near Eastern culture is the practice of burnt offerings. What are they? Why does Yahweh ask Abraham to perform one? And Isn’t sacrificing children a pagan thing? These are great questions and things we should discuss, so let’s get into it. First what is a burnt offering? The Hebrew Word for burnt offering is O-La which means to ascend or to go up in smoke. One would kill a lamb and would burn it and the smoke would ascend to the heavens to the gods and the scent would be please to them. But this was no simple task, burnt offerings took a long time. This act is not like BBQing or grilling out. No, the one performing the sacrifice would have had to burn the offering until it was Ashes. It would’ve taken hours to complete. Because it was not an easy sacrifice to do, it was not used often, in fact prior to Yahweh’s entrance into the story, burnt offerings were only used as worship to the Canaanite god Molech. This god demanded the sacrifice of children by fire. And it was common practice for parents to send their first-born son through the flames in order to appease Molech.

(Historical Fun Fact: There are many who believe that Molech is also known as Baal, Ba’al the storm god of Canaan, given that they both were worshiped after a great disaster and they both required child sacrifices for worship.)

But again, we see Yahweh change the game. He does not require a child sacrifice to be satisfied, instead he uses what Abraham already culturally knew, Burnt offerings, and used it for Atonement. Atonement is the reconciliation between man and God. This would become a annual practice with Abraham’s descendants. Each family would bring an animal, either a bull, lamb, goat, dove, or pigeon to be sacrificed. And the whole family would place their hands on the animal to signify that your sin against God is being transferred to that animal. So, now the animal is guilty and must die, but each person in the family is clean, pure and holy before Yahweh.

Why did God make them do this? Well, remember Yahweh is perfect and Holy, and therefore, cannot be around sin. Because sin and holiness cannot exist in the same space. Because sin will always make what is holy, unholy. Therefore, in order for God to remain Holy and simultaneously be near to us, who are sinful humans, something/someone has to die for the sin we commit.

So, for the second question; why does God ask Abraham to offer up his son? And God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love…and offer him as a burnt offering.” Let’s take a moment to process the audacity of God here. Especially in light of what we just learned about Child Sacrifice. He has been promising Abraham this son for 25 years! Isaac is finally born, and now a few years later he wants Abraham to kill him? What? Can you imagine Abraham’s confusion, frustration, and anger? I’m sure he wanted to say, “You want me to what? You’ve made me wait 25 years for Isaac, a son by Sarah and me, yet after all I’ve done for you, you want to take away the one thing I love? What about Ishmael? I’ve already lost him. And now you are asking me to give up Isaac too? God what are you doing?”

Abraham is completely distraught over loosing another descendant. Remember, a descendant was the key to the future in the Ancient Near East. Someone to carry on your name, someone to leave your possession to, basically a descendent would hold your legacy. And Yahweh is asking Abraham to give all of that up. He is essentially asking him, to go back to square one, “no line, no descendants, no future” (Lion King). But Abraham obeys, believing whole heartedly that God will provide. He must’ve thought, “A good God wouldn’t promise me all of these things, have me circumcise myself as part of a covenant, if he is just going to take it away, would he?” No. Abraham chose to believe Yahweh.

So, Abraham woke up early in the morning, gathered the materials needed for a burnt offering, saddled his donkey, and brought two servants, his son Isaac, and together they set off on a three-day journey to the mountains, specifically to Mount Moriah.

Beersheba, where Abraham was living, was about 45 miles from the Region of Moriah where Abraham would sacrifice his son. So, assuming they were able to walk 20 miles each day, by the third day they could probably see the Mountain in the distance.

Mount Moriah is one of the most sacred locations for Abraham’s descendants even to this day. Jews, Muslims, and Christians all fight over this location, what really happened here, and who should own it. Currently today, Muslims have complete control of the mountain. The Islamic Mosque sits at its peak known as the Temple Mount. It is easy to spot with the Gold Dome Rock in its center. This place is sacred to Muslims because they believe that Ishmael not Isaac, was offered as a sacrifice here. Jews find this place sacred because they believe Isaac was offered here, as well as the establishment of David’s Kingship, and the construction of Solomon’s temple. Christians believing similarly to the Jews, but also believe that Jesus the Messiah was crucified here and will return to this same mountain. Needless to say this place is very sacred to Millions of people.

Another interesting topic of discussion is Isaac’s age here. Some scholars have suggested that since Isaac was strong enough to carry the wood for the offering that he must’ve been older, more like a teenager. But I think it’s important to point out that Isaac is referred to as a “boy,” a child. In Jewish custom, a boy becomes a man on his thirteen Birthday. Upon turning 13 a boy would then be referred to as a young man. Almost an equal. But twice, Isaac is referred to as a boy, giving the impression that he is not yet 13 years of age.

While they were walking towards the mountain Isaac asked his father, “We have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?” You know this question pained Abraham to the core. I’m sure a thousand thoughts went through his mind. But instead of saying any of them, Abraham simply looked at his son knowingly and said, “The LORD will provide for himself a lamb.” Isaac confused, believed his father. Abraham here is still clinging to the belief and hope that God will truly provide and not let him kill his son.

When they reached the place where God told him, Abraham built the alter there. He laid the wood on top and then bounded Isaac, laying him on top of the wood.

Okay pause! There are several things here to mention.

#1 We know that Abraham is 100+ years old and Isaac is around 11 or 12 years old. The logical question is: How did Abraham bind up Isaac without any issue? Surely, Isaac would’ve realized what was happening and fight back right? Yet, Isaac didn’t fight back. He silently, willingly let his father bind him and put him on the alter. But why? Any sane person would try to fight back to avoid being burned alive right? Yes, but Isaac trusted his Father. His father had said, “The LORD will provide,” and Isaac believed him. Even if some part of that plan, involved him being tied up on the alter.

Which brings us to #2 Isaac’s faith in his father never wavered. He never questioned his father’s answer about the Lord providing a lamb. Isaac willingly carried the wood up the mountain. He didn’t put up a fight when his father seemingly turned on him and started tying him up like a lamb prepared for sacrifice. He didn’t speak up or shout for help when he saw the knife in his father’s hand hovering over him. Isaac was completely and fully submitted to the faith and wisdom of his father. Likewise, Abraham was completely and fully submitted to the wisdom of Yahweh. He really believed that God would provide a lamb for sacrifice, even if it meant losing his own son by his own hand. He still believed with total abandon, that Yahweh would come through.

And just before he made the fatal blow on his son, the angel of the LORD cried out, “Abraham, Abraham, do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham looked up and saw a ram, and adult lamb, caught in the thicket. God provided an offering in the form of an adult lamb! Abraham took the ram, and offered it to Yahweh, in place of his son. Abraham named that place “The LORD will provide.” And 2000 years later, on that same mountain top, God would provide his own son as the adult lamb as the atonement for the world!

My favorite thing about this passage is that this is an almost identical encounter and a complete foreshadow to what God does on Calvary! I am going to break down the parallels from Isaac’s sacrifice to Jesus’ on the Cross.

Isaac’s faith in his father never wavered. And Jesus’s faith in his father never wavered.

We can only assume how Isaac felt in this moment, knowing he was going to die by the hand of the one who loved him the most. But we do know Jesus felt in this same moment, rejected, and abandoned. We know this because he says, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In Matthew 27:46. But Remember, God is holy and cannot be around sin. And in this moment, as Jesus takes on all the sins of the world, he becomes sin himself, and for the first time God cannot be near his son. He loses his son to the sacrifice to fulfill the broken covenant. As Jesus’s blood runs down the cross, spilled just as the covenant requires, still his faith and trust in his father never wavered. He was left abandoned in this moment, yet he still believes his father has enough power to bring him back to life, just as Abraham believed God had enough power to bring Isaac back to life.

| Abraham’s knife stopped | | Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced for our Sins
| RAM was provided | | Jesus is the Lamb of God (Adult Lamb)
| Atonement Made But where Isaac was rescued by the ram in the thicket, Jesus was sacrificed because he was the adult lamb provided for the atonement. | The ram in the thicket took Isaac’s place. Isaac and all of Abraham’s descendants were to die for the broken covenant, | Atonement Made but God provided a Ram, an adult lamb, to take our place, and die on our behalf.
| Isaac escaped death | | Jesus survived death
| Blessing fully given to Abraham | | Forever and Eternal Life fully given to us
| Story told again and again | | Story told again and again

God told Abraham He would provide an offering for himself, and 2000 years later, on the exact same mountain, He did. Jesus, his son, died so that the atonement for our sin could be paid. By taking our sin upon himself, and dying in our place, Jesus has made us clean, pure, and holy before God. So now, we get the privilege of living in perfect unity with God forever.

After the sacrifice of the Ram was done, the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall be all nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18).

Because Abraham was faithful even to the point of offering His son, he got the full blessing of Yahweh. Descendants as numerous as stars and sand. God wanted Abraham to believe Him not only leading up to the promise, but also in the face of having to give it up. Abraham had already doubted God once before, when he listened to Sarah, slept with Hagar and had Ishmael. But now Abraham had to prove that he would trust God with this promised son. It is easy to believe God when you are holding the promise in your hand, but it is a lot harder when you must give it up.

And this is where we end our story for today. In the assurance that Yahweh did provide the Lamb for the atoning sacrifice. The purpose of our story of Abraham going to sacrifice before the Lord was to atone for his sins of the broken covenant he committed before Yahweh and to reconcile the relationship between Yahweh and Abraham. But the purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice was to be our atonement for our sins committed before Yahweh and to reconcile the relationship between Yahweh and us. So that, today in 2021 we who are followers of Christ, can interact freely with the holy and personal God, Yahweh.

Before we go, I want to close our time together by reading the scripture from which our story comes from today in Genesis 22. I hope that as you listen to this chapter being read that you will embrace all that we have learned, and that this passage will be illuminated for you. Let’s Read.

“Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, 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.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.”

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Our Ancient Future Story, I hope that you really enjoyed it! This episode was written and produced by Vic Harmon. Executive Produced by Amanda Gilliam. Music is Embarking on Adventure by Evan MacDonald. Please Support the show by subscribing and Rating us. And Be sure follow us on Instagram and Facebook @ourancientfuturestory.

See you next time! Bye!

Sacrifice of Isaac

Listen On

Recent Episodes