Jared Daugherty
Chris Wachter
Interpretation:Exegetical Paper
23 December 2011
Genesis 22:1-19: Shadows of Salvation
Hope believes that God is not done.
John Piper
The cross of Jesus will make no sense to you or be of any treasure for you if you do not first acknowledge your need for a Savior.
Mark Driscoll
Our suffering is not worthy of the name of suffering. When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death, thinking what they are in comparison of the sufferings of my blessed Savior Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther
Introduction:
The joy that is brought to the speaker and listener is priceless when God's Word is handled correctly and faithfully. When the pages are turned and the Word of God is exegeted rather than eisogeted the sinner is lead to repentance out of brokenness with the new desire for forgiveness and worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus. However, when the preacher or teacher forces their words, opinions, and interpretations upon the passage rather than drawing out what is actually there they become nothing more than a rapist in the best case scenario. My aim in this passage is not to bring my plans and purposes from this passage which was written by Moses through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but to allow the reader to see the shadows become more than shadows which point and show off our awesome God for who He is and how amazing His plan was to send His Son, His only Son, to the cross with the purposes of atonement for all who believe. This is God we believe and worship.
Background and History:
In this passage there is a man named Abraham who was called by God in Genesis 12:1-3 to leave his country and people going to where God would tell him and he would become a great nation and he would be blessed (seed and land). Abraham obeys God. It is interesting to note that there are five curses in Genesis 3:14, 17b; 4:11; 8:21; and 9:25 and now in 12:1-3 there are five blessings. The promises to Abraham were God's gracious response to human sin which had jeopardized the blessing he intended to provide. (Matthews, 143; 146) There is also promise made by God a little later in Genesis 15 that Abraham and his wife Sarah would have a child despite their old age. However, this time Abraham and his wife Sarah took things into their own hands by bringing about this promise of God to have a child who would also have nations and bring blessing to himself and the world by their own means, through a servant girl, Hagar, who sleeps with Abraham and shortly after gives birth Ishmael. This young man would become a nation of 12 by God, which is also the lineage of the Arab's/Muslim nations who will always be at war with their brother Isaac which is where Jews and Christians trace lineage. The problem with taking things into one’s own hands it is messes things up for years to come. There is still a war. Sin can be forgiven, but forgiveness does not mean there will not be future consequences for the sinful act.
Moving a little further in the story, we hear of this boy, Ishmael, growing up and God instituting the act of circumcision (which is the cutting of the foreskin as an act of obedience and covenant with the line of men/manhood where the seed comes from as a reminder) for Abraham, Ishmael, and all who are born from the line of Father Abraham. This covenant and sign of the Old Testament moves from physical to spiritual fulfillment in the New Testament with the age of the church and fulfillment of the law that comes through Christ Jesus in the circumcision of the heart. This is the act of the flesh being cut for good as a reminder of what has been cut away and made new. The new sign in the New Testament becomes the sign of baptism.
Venture with me back to Genesis again if you will. We are now back to the story about Abraham and Sarah and the promise of a child with whose line would come the blessing and reckoning. Abraham is 100 years old now and His wife in her 90s and she gives birth to a son, Isaac, who would be the promised one whom God would make a covenant with. Only God could provide this miracle to happen, which leads us to the main part of the story to which we will focus all our attention.
Abraham is then told by God as a test to take his only son, Isaac to the land of Moriah on a mountain of specification and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham gets up early in the morning and takes his son with full intention of taking the life of his son in obedience to God. At just the right moment God prevents Abraham from following through by providing a sacrifice, a lamb for the burnt offering. Because of Abraham's obedience in not withholding his only son, Isaac, God promises to further bless him and his offspring.
Grammatico-Historical:
Much can be gleaned from Genesis 22:1-19 about who God is and what His plans were and continue to be for His people, the people of Israel who are grandkids of Abraham. First off, there is the fact of God speaking to the old school patriarch, Abraham as a test. God does this throughout the Old Testament whether, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites, priests, kings, prophets, and many more in testing of their hearts and where they stand with God. There is obedience versus disobedience principle to be learned as to what happens when we obey God in testing. Testing reveals our character and heart as to what or whom we worship and stake out entire existence on. Abraham chooses God and knows that by faith God will bring his son back from the dead, since it was this same son, Isaac with whom God promised and made a covenant with. We have a covenant God keeping His promises and revealing the heart of a man, Abraham.
Secondly, we see that there is not only a test, but an issue of providence by God. God promises and fulfills his promises. He is not simply a promise maker, but also a promise keeper. He provides in such a way as to fulfill His promises and glorify Himself in so doing so that we might all stand in awe of how awesome He is, what He has done, and continues to do. Abraham calls him “The Lord will provide” (Jehovah-Jireh). How could God ask Abraham to sacrifice his 'only covenant son'? The Lord had promised Abraham that Isaac would was the son through whom the covenant promises would be fulfilled, and so the covenant was again in great jeopardy...To be sure, Abraham had been characterized as obedient and full of faith throughout the narrative, but it is much easier to obey when one stands to profit from one's actions. Here Abraham could demonstrate to the Lord that his obedience was motivated by fear of the Lord, not by what he would gain by obeying. (Hill and Walton, 88-89) This helps us understand God's providential hand. Abraham believes and trusts God that He could bring back his son from the dead. He knows that God will provide and keep His promise.
Lastly, we can understand more about this God, YAHWEH, who calls, tests, provides, and fulfills everything He promises. We better understand His plan from many peoples narrowed down to His people, the patriarchs, the descendants, and what the promise would mean then and now. Who is this seed that was promised and why does it matter? What would have happened had Abraham killed Isaac and God not raised him back up? Could not the promises go to Abraham's other son, Ishmael? No! God would then become a promise breaker, works-rewarder rather than faith builder, and simply a God who is out of control and perhaps even a God who holds to divine child abuse which some liberal commentators and pastors wrongly believe not understanding this passage at all. This would mean that God is not a saving, loving, and covenant God, but rather and out of control lesser one.
Genesis 22:1-19:
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 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." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
V.1-
This passage has tons to look at so a methodical step approach will be practiced. The goal is to dig for gold rather than rake leaves on the surface and in so doing we can all have view of Jesus with Isaac being a type of Christ and how this passage written thousand years before the birth of Christ Jesus. The goal is look carefully at each verse in its context and look to see how Jesus is foreshadowed since technically the entire Bible is all about Him. We will not be able to go into all the links due to time and space, but hopefully will cover a multitude of connections pointing to Jesus. Tests were not new to Abraham for instance, prior to this test there was a family test (11:27-12:5), famine test (12:10-13:4), fellowship test (13:5-18), fight test (14:1-16), fortune test (14:17-24), fatherhood test which Abraham failed (16), farewell test (21:14-21), now the greatest climactic test of them all. Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems unbearable, do what seems unreasonable, and expect what seems impossible. (Wiersbe, 103-104) This passage begins with God calling out to Abraham with the purpose to test him. God calls Abraham by name and Abraham responds by saying, “Here am I.” This response is also seen with Moses (Exodus 3:4), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8), and most importantly Jesus when asked by the Jews about who He is (John 8:58). We read in James 1:2-4 about the purpose of testing, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” God does not test just to test, but with a greater purpose in mind ultimately bringing Him glory. Jesus would eventually undergo the most important test and trial faced by any man on earth by willingly going to the cross and laying His life down.
V.2-
We have the test spelled out a little more clearly that God is calling Abraham to undergo. Verse one of Chapter 22 says that God called him by name meaning that it was not up for negotiation or something to confuse with someone else or even over spiritualize. Now we see that God called Abraham to take his only son, the one whom he loves and sacrifice him on a mountain of God’s choosing, Mount Moriah. Abraham had been give many directions by God up until this point but this would require complete obedience and faith in YAHWEH/Elohim in giving up his son who was called the son of the promise with whom the reckoning would come, absolute trust in that God could and would raise his son back from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19), and that this child who was born miraculously already would undergo yet another miraculous death to life comparison. Isaac was the child of promise to parents way past child bearing years who also happened to be barren, God opened the womb and gave them faith to believe. Jesus was born of a virgin. Isaac who was not probably in his 20s or early 30s would be executed at the hands of his own father as a burnt offering to God. Jesus would be offered up as the perfect sacrifice by His Father which also would bring glory to God. John Calvin, the reformer and one of the greatest preachers and commentators puts it like this, “Yet not only is the death of his son announced to him, but he is commanded with his own hand to slay him; as if he were required, not only to throw aside, but to cut in pieces, or cast into the fire, the charter of his salvation, and to have nothing left for himself, but death and hell.” (563) Isaac, the only son who Abraham loved, is also a great foreshadowing of what would be said of God the Father of God the Son, Jesus’ at His baptism, the transfiguration, and the most quoted gospel passage in all of Scripture. (Matthew 3:17, 17:5, John 3:16) We see also that this place, Moriah, where Abraham is to sacrifice and not withhold his only son, Isaac, is also the place where Solomon’s Temple would be built, Jesus would die four our iniquities that would take our chastisement and bring us peace with God, and ultimately the church becomes established together as the New Israel (2 Chronicles 3:1, Matthew 27:45-56, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23:44-49, John 19:28-30, Isaiah 53, and Ephesians 3:10-13) Even the word used here for offer/offering in the Hebrew is עלה `alah which literally means ‘to lift up’. (Wycliffe, 27) Moses did this with bronze serpent and ultimately this is what Jesus did on the cross. How great an awesome coincidence? I think and know not, but that this entire real life story would point clearly to the Father giving up the son on our behalf as a perfect sacrifice and offering for the sins of all who believe.
V. 3-5
This passage which leads into the next shows the great obedience and faith of Abraham that He believed in the resurrection of the dead. He believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. We will later see that this is all to show off how awesome God is in what the Father sent the Son to do. Abraham rose early and knew what he had to do and took some servants (like Jesus took the disciples in the garden) and his son to go and make a sacrifice to God. We don’t read about Abraham staying up all night talking with Sarah and then praying about it to see if he should go through it, but rather he got up and went early in the morning and began the 2-3 day journey. Before they go Abraham cuts wood. Then they set out for the journey set before them. Since we have Abraham resting and lodging in Beersheba this journey to Jerusalem would be two to three days and as he would lift his eyes to see the place, it probably brought tremendous grief which we also see in Luke 19:41 Jesus lifting up his face to Jerusalem and weeping over it knowing what it would bring in regards to Himself and the actual temple itself. Abraham says to his men, that he and his son will go to the place to worship and then they would both come back. This is a statement and faithful word trusting God most high for what this would entail and how it would all go down. God the Father also sends the Son and the Son willingly knows and goes with resurrection in mind. Isaac at this point probably doesn’t know what is going down, but will know very soon.
V.6-8
Here it is coming to make sense even more for Abraham in that they are nearly there and Isaac raises the oh so important question, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Which John the Baptist is going to answer that question for Isaac in looking at Jesus who is the better Isaac by saying, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) To which Abraham still in obedience and trust in God with unwavering faith makes it known that God will provide the lamb. They venture on.
V.9-10
We are nearing the climax of the story with Abraham about to sacrifice his only son that points so perfectly to what God the Father sent God the Son to do in our place. Jesus nearing Jerusalem or in the garden sweeting blood, is about to undergo the crucifixion that brought us peace. They have now gotten to the place and time that God had instructed them to go. Abraham begins building the altar probably with the help of Isaac and then we read some of the most important words in this entire passage. Abraham “bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. J We have the son yielding to the father. What does this mean? Isaac could have easily overcome his aged and extremely senior citizen father, but we see that he does not. Isaac allows himself to be bound and then laid on the wood as the sacrifice to God by his father Abraham. Can we get any clearer than this in painting the glory of the Father and Son on that beautiful scandalous night? In both the story of Abraham and Isaac and God the Father and God the Son, Jesus in the passion narrative we see that they acted together. For the Author of Hebrews in Chapter 12:2 puts it this way: [L]ooking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
And similarly Paul says in Philippians 2:4-11: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
And rather poignantly put by Adam Clarke the Great Commentator of Charles Spurgeon: In this case we cannot say that the superior strength of the father prevailed, nut the piety. filial affection, and obedience of the son yielded. All this was most illustriously typical of Christ. In both cases the father himself offers up his only begotten son, and the father himself binds him on the wood or to the cross; in neither case is the son forced to yield, but yields of his own accord; in neither case is the life taken away by the hand of violence; Isaac yields himself to the knife, Jesus lays down His life for the sheep. (48)
What we have is the beauty and willing submission by the son to the father. This is all for the purpose of glorifying God through faith and worship. If this is not one of the greatest shadows of salvation, I simply rest my case. The passage continues to point to an even deeper understanding of what the sacrifice or substitutionary atoning sacrifice is.
V. 11-14
At just the right moment God acts. Not early and not late, but showing Abraham that this obedience and faithful moment will ultimately show Himself off all the more to be praised and worshiped. And Angel of the Lord, whom I will submit is Jesus what is known as a Christophany (preincarnate Christ Jesus) simply because He speaks in verse 15 that He swears by Himself, calling Himself Lord. For any rate, Jesus stops Abraham by calling out to him by name again. He states that He sees the fear of God in Abraham by not withholding his son. (Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 11:17, James 2:21-23) Abraham lifts his eyes, and there is a ram caught in the thicket by its horns (probably perfect, young at one year old and male) to be set as the substitutionary sacrifice. This is also a less shadowy and what I would submit to be a blatant portrayal of Jesus the lamb of God who takes away our sin who would wear a crown of thorns, be executed on the cross as a substitutionary atonement (propitiation and expiation), and in so doing being our provider from death to life. (Compare Leviticus 16, Mark 10:45, Romans 8:31-39, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Titus 2:14, 1 John 2:2) It is and was on the mount that sins of the world, all those who believe would be atoned for as God promised by in Genesis 3:15 what we know to be call the protoevangelium.
V. 15-19
Here we have Abraham being blessed for complete obedience and faith in God who is able to bring back to life from the dead ultimately pointing to Jesus. With testing comes blessing afterwards mentioned throughout Scripture whether through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Job, Daniel, and etc. but most importantly through Jesus. We see God make a promise to send His Son to die for His glory and raise Him back to life three days later. God reaffirms His covenant with His people and ultimately did once and for all who believe in the name that is about all names, Jesus, for the forgiveness of sin through His life and death, but also through His victory over Satan, sin and death in the resurrection from the dead which we also will experience someday.
Conclusion:
God tests his people because it is good for us to undergo. In the testing and trials we come to better understand Him and what He has ultimately done for us in His Son Jesus and by now giving us His Holy Spirit. We better understand the cross, but also the glory for God in the sense that we submit and surrender to Him. Let us not waist our suffering, pain, and testing. May we look to Jesus in it and trust that He has a plan for His glory in and through our circumstances. This passage brings great joy because we see that God refines and teaches us more about Himself than what we could ever imagine before undergoing a specific trial in life. We know that through the testing of our faith we understand steadfastness and perseverance that God works in and through us by His Holy Spirit. This is also called sanctification, a life-long pursuit of God in us convicting, directing, forgiving, refining, persevering, leading, and worshiping. We get to continue to look to Jesus and point to Jesus. The shadow has been removed and salvation is realized in Jesus.
Testing is the not the only thing to be learned and taught from this passage, but I would say that the main part of this passage talks about complete and perfect sacrifice leading up to Abraham sacrificing Isaac, but ultimately Jesus being our sacrifice for sin once and for all. He is our substitutionary atonement that we cannot do on our own. He is the righteous one who is the firstborn over all creation who has overcome the grave. He is the one who takes out sin and the wrath of the Father upon Himself and clothes us in righteousness. To what Martin Luther calls the great exchange. We cannot do any part on our own, but life comes only through Jesus Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith who was the perfect lamb who takes away the sin of the world. We see the glory of God in that His Word speaks and points to Christ Jesus whether in Genesis or Romans. We see the perfect plan of God in that He gives us glimpses of how His plan was unfolding in the Old Testament to ultimately be realized in Jesus with whom the entire Old Testament was about. They were looking forward to Christ Jesus and look back at Jesus and the work that He has done and then we proclaim that forward.
What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus. For Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left its crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen
Work Cited:
Alexander, T. Desmond, et al. “Genesis” The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Illinois, 2000. 143, 146.
Calvin, John. “Commentaries on the First Book of Moses called Genesis” The Calvin’s Commentaries. Volume 1. Michigan, 2005. 563.
Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarkes Commentary. Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967. 48.
Driscoll, Mark. Death by Love:Letters From the Cross. Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008. 168-169.
Hill, Andrew E., and Walton, John H. A Survey of the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. 88-89.
Pfeiffer, Charles F., and Harrison, Everett F. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Tennessee: The Southern Company, 1962. 27.
Piper, John. Facebook. Minnesota: Online facebook, December 12th 2011.
Sproul, R.C. The Reformation Study Bible, ESV. Florida: Ligonier Ministries. 2005
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary:Pentateuch. Colorado: Cook Communications, 2001. 103-104.
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