1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2And 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." (Genesis 22:1-2)
This translation right away sets up the problems for many English-speaking Christians and their understanding of this beautiful account in God's Word.
First, we see a beautiful type of God's love for us, in that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ for us (John 3:16).
While Abraham was ready to slay His Son--and God ultimately told him not to--God did not spare His own Son:
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
The first mention of "love" in the Bible appears in this verse, too.
This is about God's love for us.
Now, that word "tempt" in the King James Version is inaccurate. It should be "test", the same way that smith would test gold to demonstrate that it's pure. This test was to demonstrate to the world that Abraham was fully faithful, the father of faith, and that he would be the father of us all who live by faith:
"Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all," (Romans 4:16)
For two decades, God delivered on His promises to Abraham, even when our father of faith failed time and again. What mattered to God was that Abraham continued to trust God's promises, as did Sarah, even when we find in the Old Testament that their faith wavered initially.
The point is that Abraham continued to see the LORD as one who would provide for him in every situation. When God promised to make Abraham rich, He did. When God promised to make Abraham victorious, he was able to defeat kings and their armies with a small band of 318 people. When Abraham needed water, God provided a number of wells, and his enemies sought him to make an alliance.
When Abraham sinned, God continued to favor him anyway, showing that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).
When God promised a son to him through is lawful wife, God came through.
Abraham had seen enough of God's goodness, that when God commanded Abraham to offer up his son Isaac, the son of promise, the son through whom all the nation's of the world would be blessed, Abraham did not hesitate one bit.
He trusted God completely. Consider what Isaac asked, and how his father responded:
"7And 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? 8And Abraham said, My son,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them
together." (Genesis 22:7-8)
What did Abraham believe at this point?
The writer of Hebrews explains so beautifully:
"17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and
he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom
it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was
able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a
figure." (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Abraham believed the Lord (Genesis 15:6), and the fullness of his faith was revealed that day. Abraham knew that the LORD God would:
1. Provide a lamb in place of his son.
2. Resurrect his son if Abraham had to sacrifice him.
Abraham had seen God worked unspeakable miracles in his life, and in so many ways.
Abraham was dead as far as child-bearing is concerned. His wife Sarah was barren. There was no way in terms of the world's view that she could ever have children.
Yet she had given birth to a son, and in her old age.
Sarah would even laugh with her family:
"6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that
hear will laugh with me. 7And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that
Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old
age." (Genesis 21: 6-7)
Abraham not only believed that God would bring His Son back to life, but Abraham new that God would follow through on the greater promise, that through his Son Isaac all the world would be blessed.
He would have many descendants, like the stars in the sky and the sands on the seashore. And that through Him, The Serpent-Slayer (Genesis 3:15), the Savior of all Mankind would come!
"15And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16And 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: 17That 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; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:15-18)
Today, we are all children of Abraham!
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)
God did not tempt Abraham to sin. God did not test Abraham to see if he would measure up or pass this test.
God tried Abraham to prove to the world that he was indeed faith, and the Father of faith for us all!
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