God’s plan to bring the world a Savior was always ongoing. Despite man’s constant rebellion, God Himself stepped onto the scene again and again to stay true to His promise. After using Noah to bring rest, God called Abraham to be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:5). The blessing for all people, Jesus, would come through Abraham’s family line (Gen. 12:3).
This was fantastic news, but it came with one major problem: Abraham had no sons, and Sarah was barren. Would the effects of a fallen world prevent God’s promise from coming true? If it were left up to man’s power, absolutely yes. However, it is accounts like Abraham and Sarah that can show us time and time again the proof of what Jesus said in Luke 18:27: “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
God promised to send a Savior to defeat Satan. He promised to deliver Noah from the flood. He promised to give Abraham a son. God always shows up in His time with His power to fulfill His purpose. A son was born to Abraham, and he was called Isaac.
Abraham’s Test
The years after Isaac’s birth were filled with laughter. Isaac was Abraham’s pride and joy, but one day God put Abraham’s faith to the test in order to prove the depth of his obedience, love, and surrender.
“Take your son,” [God] said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” - Genesis 22:2
If we read straight through this text without stopping to consider the nature and character of God, it sounds like God is asking for an unjust child sacrifice. Remember, God values all life and all life belongs to Him. He does not permit murder like the false gods do, but every life is already forfeit to God because of sin.
Notice the specific thing God is asking for. Abraham is to take Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering. A burnt offering is the first type of offering commanded by God to Israel in Leviticus 1. This was an offering of total surrender, fully consumed by fire in order to make atonement for the people’s sin.
Abraham did not react to God’s command like a modern reader typically does. He did not question, doubt, or argue with God. On the contrary, he immediately did as the Lord commanded him, but even more incredibly, he called it something specific: Abraham told his servants in Genesis 22:5 that he and Isaac were going over to worship. Total surrender to God’s plan was Abraham’s reasonable act of worship.
God’s Provision
Slowly, Abraham and Isaac climbed to the top of the mountain. The father carried the fire and knife; the son bore the wood on his back. Abraham built the altar, arranged the wood, and lit the fire. Isaac willingly climbed on top and allowed his father to bind his body, ultimately submitting to his father’s plan. As the father held the knife in the air ready to plunge it into his son’s heart, the angel of the LORD called out to him, halting Isaac’s imminent death.
There is no greater nor tenderer love in this world than between a parent and child. A baby who has been longed for, prayed over, and earnestly held is not one that a parent is easily willing to part with. Even with all of this true for Abraham, he did not think it too great a thing to give God his only beloved son. This was because Abraham had faith that even if Isaac died on that altar, God could raise him from the dead (Heb. 11:19).
The Lamb of God
God is no stranger to Abraham’s pain or his faith. He knew what it would cost Abraham to give up his only son. He also knew that Isaac’s sacrifice could never atone for the boy’s own sins nor anyone else’s. It was by providential grace God supplied the ram in the thicket. It was always His plan to spare Isaac and to be the One to provide the sacrifice needed. In inviting Abraham to walk this road of faith, Abraham was able to know and experience the love and mercy of God deeper than he ever had before.
The account of Abraham and Isaac was given in order to point us to the Father who did completely surrender His Son, and the Son who wholeheartedly submitted to His Father’s will. Jesus was the long-awaited Son of promise. His birth, like Isaac’s, was impossible for man to accomplish alone. His life and death were planned, designed, and executed by His Father.
When we speak of Jesus’ death on the cross, we talk about how it is man’s sin that put Him on the cross. In truth, man did not put Jesus there. Sin did not keep Him on the cross.
God the Father orchestrated this plan back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. He set the world into motion to send His only beloved Son to die. Our sin may be the reason Jesus went to the cross, but the love of God is what placed and kept Jesus on the cross.
The Father, through the law and the prophets, preordained everything that would happen to Jesus. Jesus willingly submitted to death. The reality is that God the Father plunged the dagger into His own Son’s chest. This is what separates Christianity from all other religions. Only Yahweh places man’s needs and salvation first.
God Himself stepped down from heaven to humble Himself and serve rather than be served. Only Yahweh could surrender His life and rise again. There is no one like our God.
The Promise
After God rescued Isaac and Abraham declared God to be Yahweh-Yireh (The LORD Will Provide), God gave Abraham three promises. Each one of these promises was given in light of God’s continued promise in Genesis 3:15 to send a Savior, and in accordance with God’s previous promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3.
1. Offspring as Numerous as the Stars
First, God would make Abraham’s offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. This promise extended to both Abraham’s literal offspring and his spiritual offspring.
Isaac would go on to have two sons. His son Jacob would have twelve more sons, and over the course of four hundred years, the line of Abraham would grow so large that Moses declared this promise to be fulfilled. Before entering the promised land, Moses told all of Israel that "the LORD God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky" (Deut. 1:10).
The promise of literal offspring has been fulfilled, but the promise for spiritual offspring is ongoing. Galatians 3 tells us that all who have faith are blessed with Abraham. Paul tells us that these promises were given to Abraham and his seed. If God had been referring to seeds as in many, then the promise would be tracked through all twelve of Jacob’s offspring. However, the Old Testament preserves and specifically tracks one line of Abraham, and that is the one through which Christ comes. Paul further clarifies that the singular offspring promised in Genesis 12 and 22 is the seed of Christ. Therefore, anyone who is found in Christ is a child of Abraham’s promise (Gal. 3:16).
2. Possession of the Enemy's Gates
The second promise was that Abraham’s offspring would possess the city gates of their enemies. At this point in history, neither Abraham nor his children have any notable physical enemies. The offspring of Israel would later go on to be enslaved by Egypt, and though God gives them deliverance, He does not give them the gates of Egypt. So, then, who is the enemy of Abraham’s offspring?
Paul confirms that Abraham’s enemy, Israel’s enemy, Jesus’ enemy, and our enemy are all one and the same. It is the enemy from Genesis 3:15: the devil and sin.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens" (Eph. 6:12).
In Numbers 24:15–19, Balaam prophesies that there was One coming who would arise and give victory over the seed of the serpent. He declares this One would rise as a star and scepter from Jacob and He will be a triumphant ruler. Luke 1:78–79, 2 Peter 1:19, and Revelation 22:16 each confirm that Jesus came as the bright and morning star who descended from Jacob and Abraham. Hebrews 1:8 and Luke 1:32–33 confirm Jesus’ everlasting rule.
Jesus Himself confirms that His people will possess the enemy's gates because Jesus gave them to His church (Matt. 16:17–20).
3. Blessing to All Nations
This is how we can know for certain that God’s final promise to Abraham will be fulfilled: that all the nations will be blessed by Abraham’s offspring. It is only by Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that the whole world can receive the blessing of salvation.
God provided a substitutionary ram for Abraham and Isaac in order to preserve His promise to send His beloved Son to crush the head of the serpent and take the penalty for our sin, which is death. Abraham and Isaac’s story reminds us that nothing is impossible for God. God is a God of love, grace, and mercy, and He desires to save His people.
Reflection & Application
So, what will you do with this biblical account today? I encourage you to respond in two ways:
- Praise God for providing Jesus to be a substitute for your sins. He deserves all glory, honor, and praise.
- Reflect on surrender: What in your life is God asking you to surrender today? It probably isn’t something comfortable or easy, but it is a great grace for God to give you the opportunity to fully surrender to Him. If you hold this thing back, you may miss seeing the great way God intends to reveal Himself to you through your surrender.
