Genesis 22:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

NIV: 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."

NASB: Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'

CSB: "Take your son," he 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."

NLT: Take your son, your only son — yes, Isaac, whom you love so much — and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Even to those who are familiar with this verse, the words of God to Abraham here land like a blow. Our first instinct is that this can't be right. Having followed the story of God in Genesis, through His relationship with Abraham and then, finally, the joyful birth of Isaac, the long-awaited son of God's promise, these words of God just don't fit.

That, of course, is exactly the point of God's test. Would Abraham trust God even when God's command did not seem to make any sense? That is the key element many people miss when interpreting this story. This is not the first time Abraham has heard from God. Nor is it the first time God has acted in ways Abraham did not—at first—fully understand. And yet, in all of those past encounters, Abraham found that God's unseen plans led to a righteous outcome. Abraham's response, shown in the next verse, is not an act of blind faith. It is an act of faithful trust.

Our second human reaction to God's command is that it feels cruel. Even knowing the end of the story, it challenges us to wonder about God's character. Earlier in Genesis, Abraham and then Ambimelech had both asked the Lord directly, "Will you kill the innocent?" The answer in both cases was "no." God's character was vindicated, as it will be here. In the meantime, the command God has given seems impossibly harsh.

God's specific command to Abraham is to take the son he loves, the only son he has left (Genesis 21:9–14), to a mountainous area called Moriah, which would have been about 50 miles away. Once there, Abraham is to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. God will show him on which mountain to make the sacrifice.

A burnt offering involved slaughtering an animal and then burning it on an altar until it was completely consumed. Such offerings were practiced by many religions. Abraham had offered animal sacrifices to the Lord. Human sacrifices of children to various false gods may well have been practiced in the land of Canaan at the time. Later, God would forbid Israel from participating in child sacrifice.

Genesis 22:1–19 takes place over the course of a few days, when Isaac is perhaps a teenager. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, acting in complete trust that God, somehow, will make all things right. Abraham stops the sacrifice only when the Lord intervenes. For his deep trust and obedience, the Lord renews and emphasizes His blessing on Abraham and his offspring, as well as promising to bless all nations through Abraham's descendants.

In a test of Abraham's faith and obedience, God commands Abraham to do a terrible thing: kill and offer his son Isaac, whom he loves, as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, having finally learned to trust God's goodness over his own misunderstandings. Instead of allowing the boy to be sacrificed, the Lord calls out to Abraham moments before he kills Isaac, laying bound on an altar. Because of Abraham's obedience, God renews and emphasizes His promises of blessing, multiplied offspring, and victory over future enemies.

In the previous chapter, the long-promised Isaac was finally born to Sarah and Abraham, while Abraham's other beloved son, Ishmael, was sent away to be cared for by God apart from them. Now God tests Abraham's faith and obedience by commanding him to offer his precious son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, stopping only when the Lord cries out to him. For Abraham's obedience, God renews and emphasizes the blessing on him and his offspring. This marks the beginning of the end of Abraham's story, as the book of Genesis transitions to focus on Isaac and his descendants.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.