1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 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.”

3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

Genesis 22:1-8 (NASB)

The Test of all tests

The year is about 2054 BC. God has miraculously fulfilled His promise to Abraham to give him a son who’s now a teenager. God now gives Abraham a test. Can you sacrifice your one and only son, your only hope of descendents promised by God to bless all nations? Abraham unequivocally replies, “Yes! (by faith).”

Proof of faith

Two statements display the amazing faith of Abraham. 

1. When he told his servants to wait while they went to make the sacrifice, he told them, “we will worship and return to you.” 
2. When Isaac asked him where the sacrificial lamb was, Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself”.

But let us not miss his action of faith – immediate obedience. When God called him and told him to go sacrifice Isaac, Abraham did not hesitate, he didn’t delay, he didn’t even try to negotiate as he did with Sodom! He got up early the next morning, dropped everything on his “to-do list”, chopped some firewood, grabbed two servants and left. This is faith in action, a faith that pleases God, a fragrant offering to Him. 

This obedience was later modeled perfectly by Jesus Christ who, at the request of the Father, became obedient to death, even death on a cross (Php 2:8). For more about His obedience, click here. 

Mountain in Moriah?

God has purpose in everything. For this test of faith, God sent Abraham to a mountain in Moriah. Where is that? Mt. Moriah is in Jerusalem. It’s called the temple mount – the very place where Solomon built the Temple in 966 B.C. It was destroyed in 587/586 B.C., rebuilt again, and destroyed one last time in 70AD. But its future is not over, for the Bible predicts in Daniel 9:27 there will be a temple there…and Christ will physically return. For more, click here.

What is more outstanding about this place, we know, is this is the area where Jesus died. Jesus, also an only Son, was actually given up as a sacrifice to appease the wrath of God. About two thousand years after God spoke these words to Abraham, He spoke them again…but to Himself. 

Here’s verse 2 with a few words changed: I send now my son, my only son, whom I love, Jesus, to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a sacrifice on calvary.

RЯeflection

• We stand in awe of the man, though a sinner like us with lapses of faith, and wish we had that type of faith – the faith of those listed in Hebrews 11. I know at least one living person with that kind of faith.
• Even more so, we fall on our faces, overwhelmed with wonder, joy, repentance, gratefulness; speechless before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus.