Gen 22:1
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am.": Time is a strange thing. God knows the outcome of all things, but the things have to happen for the outcome to be known. The reason is that He gave us free will, and there will be a judgement day where all people not found in the Book of Life will be judged by The Heavenly Father Himself. God will present the things done in life, and those things need to have taken place. My opinion on this is that it's for human understanding, so humans will have no confusion or doubt on the last day when being judged. If God didn't let things play out, He wouldn't be just in the eyes of those being judged, and God is just. Can you imagine going to court and the prosecutor tells the judge that although you didn't actually do the crime yet, they really do know that you would have if you hadn't been arrested? There's no justice in that because the act hadn't been committed. I say this in light of the following story of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son of promise. It seems unreasonable at first, but because of free will, the act had to be carried out. God stops Abraham just short of him carrying it out, so unless you understand free will, this event can be troublesome. Also, without Abraham doing this, we wouldn't have the type established of the father willing to sacrifice his son, and prophecy wouldn't have been as clear.
Gen 22:2
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.": Abraham sacrificing his only son is a type. Types give us a picture of what's to come, based on the events that took place in the type. We will see many types in the Bible, such as Elijah's being caught up, which is a type of the rapture. We know that Isaac is a type because Abraham had Ishmael, but God ignores Ishmael here and calls Isaac Abraham's only son. This is because Isaac is a representation of Jesus, the promised Messiah, God's only son, offered up as a living sacrifice on the cross to take away the sins of the world. Just as Abraham was told to sacrifice his only son, and he was willing to do it, God offered His only son. Ishmael was outside of God's plan. Abraham and Sarah tried to help God, but did nothing but create problems through a polygamous relationship with Abraham, Sarah and Hagar that ended up with Sarah having Abraham kick Hagar out of the house along with Ishmael (Gen 21:1-21). Mount Moriah is in Jerusalem (2Ch 3:1).
Gen 22:3
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.: As usual, when Abraham is told by God to do something, Abraham doesn't hesitate. He gets up early in the morning to do as instructed. Isaac is the son of promise. His was a miraculous birth, yet Abraham gets up early to take Isaac to the very place (this isn't proven, but I believe it's the case) where Jesus would later be sacrificed on the cross. The temple mount is very close to Golgatha, and I can't see any other reason why God would have Abraham go so close to Golgatha and not have him set up the sacrifice there. The record says the offer will be "on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." There's no specificity here, so it's most likely on Golgatha where Jesus was sacrificed.
Gen 22:4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.: It took three days for Abraham to reach the place where God told him to go. The journey started from Beersheba and the place where Abraham saw the destination was somewhere around Hebron.
Gen 22:5
And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.": Notice the wording here. Abraham believes that even though he's taking Isaac to be a sacrifice, he and Isaac will come back. Heb 11:19 fills us in, saying that Abraham believed that God would raise him from the dead. Ahhh... the picture is complete. Jesus, who would be sacrificed on the cross would be raised from the dead, just as Abraham believed God would do with Isaac.
Gen 22:6
So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.: Another piece of the type established with this sacrifice is the wood of the sacrifice being laid on Isaac. Just as Isaac carried the wood for his sacrifice, Jesus carried the cross for His sacrifice (Joh 19:17).
Gen 22:7
But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?": Isaac isn't dumb. He knows that they have all the provisions for a sacrifice except the sacrifice itself. If it were me, I'd be mightily suspicious! The Pulpit commentary has a good point here too. Abraham and Isaac knew what a sacrifice was, showing that the sacrificial system was already in practice in Abraham's time, and didn't start with Moses.
Gen 22:8
And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.: This is such tremendous faith that Abraham displays. Abraham knows that God told him to sacrifice his son, and Abraham was intent on doing it. Even if it meant sacrificing his son of promise. Abraham simply obeyed God and didn't ask questions. Abraham trusted God to the point where he'd sacrifice his own son knowing that it'd be for his own good. And it's interesting that we later learn that the sacrifice that actually pleases God is one of a broken spirit, which Abraham displays here (Psa 51:17).
Gen 22:9
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.: This verse really threw me for a loop. How can an old man bind a young man? It's possible that when God gave Abraham and Sarah a baby that He restored their youth, because they live such long lives. But I also found the writings of Flavius Josephus who discusses this very passage. Josephus says that Isaac willingly submitted himself to be sacrificed. Here's a quote from Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter 13: "Now Isaac was of such a generous disposition as became the son of such a father, and was pleased with this discourse; and said, "That he was not worthy to be born at first, if he should reject the determination of God and of his father, and should not resign himself up readily to both their pleasures; since it would have been unjust if he had not obeyed, even if his father alone had so resolved." So he went immediately to the altar to be sacrificed. And the deed had been done if God had not opposed it; for he called loudly to Abraham by his name, and forbade him to slay his son; and said, "It was not out of a desire of human blood that he was commanded to slay his son, nor was he willing that he should be taken away from him whom he had made his father, but to try the temper of his mind, whether he would be obedient to such a command." Josephus was a priest, and a historian, so he would have access to the traditions and writings of the priests. I believe this was what they taught at the time.
Gen 22:10
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.: Abraham was in the act of sacrificing his son! Isaac had willingly submitted himself to be sacrificed, and Abraham was willing to do it. Why? Because God asked Abraham to do it. Why did God ask Abraham? Because God gave us free will, and He had to know the choice Abraham was going to make. This is the complexity that God has to deal with. We have free will, so he has to wait for us to make the choice. It's strange because God is all knowing, and omnipresent, but that's the wrench that free will throws into the mix. It's the one unknown to God until it happens. And since God is omnipresent, he has already seen all of the choices that everyone will make. So He is able to tell us all of the future. And there's times where He steps in and says, "That's too much! You've gone too far!" That's when we see God's judgment. And, just like here, we see where God steps in and says, "I've seen enough. I know you were willing," but doesn't make the person follow through. It's a test to see the willingness of a person to follow Him. Abraham passes with flying colors.
Gen 22:11
But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am.": God's test of Abraham is complete, so He calls out from heaven to stop Abraham before he sacrifices his son.
Gen 22:12
And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.": This is what God wanted to know. Did Abraham truly fear God? Did Abraham really trust Him in all things, or was Abraham just going through the motions. God had to know. He had to test Abraham.
Additionally, the picture of the Messiah that will save the world from sin is complete. God was always willing to sacrifice His son, and it seems like He wanted to make sure that we had the same type of love toward Him. We all owe Abraham such an enormous debt that we simply can't comprehend. Because of his actions, God confirmed His willingness to sacrifice Jesus for our sins. I can't fathom what would have happened if Abraham wasn't willing.
Gen 22:13
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.: In verse Gen 22:8, Abraham told Isaac that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice. This seems to be a literal fulfillment of that prophetic statement. But it also is, in a sense, a completion of the picture of the sacrifice of our Messiah on the cross. The difference is that Abraham didn't sacrice his son (although he was willing to do anything God asked), while God did sacrifice His son. To complete the picture though, God provided a ram. My immediate question was, "Why a ram and not a lamb?" I found a great answer here. "While the Passover sacrifices were lambs (young sheep), like the ram God provided, Jesus was an adult. Just as the ram was a male sheep, Jesus was a man. And, just as the sheep were perfect and without blemish, Jesus was sinless, having lived his life in perfect obedience. For these reasons, the ram that God provided clearly pointed to the Lamb of God that He would one day provide. As the sacrificial, pure and sinless, Lamb of God, Jesus was able to take on our sins upon Himself and make atonement for them. He was able to pay the penalty by His death, and His great love made Him willing to do so."
Gen 22:14
And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.": As we all should still be saying in all aspects of our lives. The LORD will provide. This is something that I've experienced personally many times. Paths open, jobs are lost but something better just happens to show up at that very same time. I know someone that owns 2 1/2 acres of land next to a freeway, and they were having financial problems and not able to pay their mortgage. They had received threats of eviction and reposession and if they didn't find money to pay the mortgage, would be kicked out of the house at the end of the month. Right then, a sign company showed up at their door and said they'd like to put a sign in their yard that would completely cover their mortgage. These things happen all of the time and are usually written off as coincidence, but I know better. The LORD will provide.
Gen 22:15
Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,: God is going to tell Abraham a second time that He will honor the promise. He calls out again.
Gen 22:16
and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—: This is the free-will problem that God has to deal with. There's only one thing that God doesn't know, and that's what we decide, until that decision has been made. That's the whole point of free will. God wants to populate heaven, but He wants us to make the choice to be there with Him. And it's a free gift, by the way. You just have to accept it. So what God is saying here is that Abraham passed the test and chose wisely. People think God knows all, and that's true, but He can't know what we will freely choose until we make that choice. Abraham chose to sacrifice his son and complete the prophetic image of Jesus the Messiah. We Christians better be thankful that Abraham made this coice.
Gen 22:17
blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.: God's promise is that He will heap blessings on Abraham's descendents, multiply their numbers to innumerable numbers, and take the land of their enemies. Has this happened yet? Nope. This is yet in the future. It's partially fulfilled, but God doesn't do partial. It will be fulfilled when the millennial kingdom is set up, spoken of in Revelation.
Gen 22:18
In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.": This blessing spoken of here is the promise of the Messiah. This has been fulfilled in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. We say Jesus Christ, as if that was His name, but it means Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus the Annointed One. All nations have been blessed through Abraham because through Abraham's lineage came Jesus, the Messiah. We are all truly blessed who believe in Him and place our faith in Him.
Gen 22:19
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.: As promised, Abraham returns with his son, and they head to Beersheba. At least, that's what I read initially. But I had a question of where's Sarah? I started looking at commentaries and found Chuck Smith asking the even better question of, "Where's Isaac?" Chuck says that this is clearly a picture of the rapture. Isaac isn't discussed until the servant brings his bride to him. This is a clear picture that "Jesus after His sacrifice ascended into heaven and He’s just waiting now for the Holy Spirit to bring His bride."
Gen 22:20
Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: After a period of time, Abraham received a report of his family and it's recorded here. The record here traces the path to Rebekah, Isaac's wife.
Gen 22:21
Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,: I couldn't find anything on Huz except that his name could relate to Uz, the land where Job is from. In Job, one of his friends, Elihu, is descended from Buz, but that's all we know of him. All that's known about Kemuel is that he's the father of Aram.
Gen 22:22
Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.": Nothing is known of Chesed, Hazo, or Jidlaph. Bethuel is the father of Rebekah.
Gen 22:23
And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.: Rebekah ends up as Isaac's wife. She's the one that tells Jacob to deceive his father to steal Esau's blessing (Gen 27:1-46).
Gen 22:24
His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.: I could find nothing about Reumah, or these children.
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