Explore the Bible – February 10 - Baptist Sunday School Bible Study: “Do You Obey in Faith?”

Genesis 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.
Genesis 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.
Genesis 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 cleaved the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
Genesis 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.
Genesis 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.

Genesis 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.
Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Genesis 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.
Genesis 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.
Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
Genesis 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
Genesis 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:
Genesis 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;
Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Do you remember the childhood game “Mother, May I”? The leader would give a command and the player would ask permission to complete the command. The moral of the game was to teach obedience and respect. With awe and respect of God, we are expected to completely obey His commands without delay.

Abraham, a man of faith, had experienced years of peace living in Canaan with his wife, Sarah and promised son, Isaac. God has stretched Abraham’s faith throughout his life from the first command to leave his home land, Ur of the Chaldeans. Now Abraham faces the ultimate test with the command to offer Isaac as a brunt offering. The wording “after these things” (Genesis 22:1 NKJV) suggest that time had lapsed while Abraham lived in Beersheba and Isaac grew to be a young man. The historian Josephus suggests that Isaac was 25 at the time of the test. He was large enough to carry wood for the altar and old enough to recognize the lamb for the sacrifice was missing. Abraham’s answer to God’s call was simple “Here I Am” (Genesis 22:1 NKJV) making himself available to God. The command was specific to take your son, your only son that you love and go. Not only was the action specific, the location and purpose were specific — to Moriah to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. With thoughts of God’s promised descendant through Isaac, Abraham begins the 50 mile journey to Moriah, just north of Jerusalem.

The response of Abraham was immediate and thorough as he prepared for the trip. Getting an early start, saddling the donkey, selecting two servants, splitting the wood, and preparing himself and Isaac, the three day trip began. Abraham’s preparation made sure nothing would prevent God’s command from being completed. Four men traveling with one donkey suggested that the men walked while the donkey carried the supplies — wood, food, coverings and water. When Abraham saw the destination ahead, he took only Isaac saying “the lad and I will go yonder and worship and we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5 NKJV). The obedience was up to Abraham as man had complete control over family and servants so Abraham’s directive needed no explanation. Isaac carried the wood while Abraham carried the fire. Although the promise of many descendants and the command to sacrifice Isaac seemed to contradict, Abraham had no doubt about God’s command. He was willing to be faithful. Isaac was in complete trust of his father and Abraham was in complete obedience of God.

Abraham’s intention to follow through was never a question. Upon arrival at the site, he “built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood” (Genesis 22:9 HCSB). As mentioned in verse 2, it would be a burnt offering which meant “totally consumed.” Absolute trust was demonstrated as Isaac was bound. No mention is made of a struggle just complete submission. Isaac being placed on top of the wood, Abraham deliberately raised the knife for the slaughter, an act he had performed many times in animal sacrifice for worship. This time it was his only son, his heir and the promise fulfillment of God but he would follow through.

Abraham experienced a word from God which caused him to stop the knife in mid-air. Abraham’s answer with “Here I Am” as he had done twice before. The first “Here I Am” was Abraham’s answer to God in the original command; second “Here I Am” was in answer to Isaac as he questioned about the lamb. Abraham was willing to give God what he asked for. God said, “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22:12 NKJV). God provided a substitute for the sacrifice with a ram caught in a thicket. Jesus was the substitute for us that we might have eternal life. God restated his blessing and promise to Abraham — “In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18 NKJV).

Genesis 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.

I always find this verse so interesting. Abraham did not say I will come again to you. The verse indicates to me he expected to return with his son and yet he was going to do everything GOD commanded.

The verse indicates to me he expected to return with his son and yet he was going to do everything GOD commanded.

I agree. Abraham's faith in God is overwhelming. He had already seen God's promises fulfilled even though he didn't understand them. This time Abraham wasn't going to try to do things on his own as he did with Hagar. He was going to have faith in and listen to and obey God no matter what the outcome was.

I can picture Christ in the garden. He knew what the will of His Father was and He prayed that the Father's will be done. And Christ, being fully God and fully man, knew what was about to happen.

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

In Christ...Alone!

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