Answers for a study in the book of Genesis: Chapters 22-23, An Introduction to Isaac

“Answers for a study in the book of Genesis” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Note: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for Discussion or Going Deeper questions. If you use these kinds of sources share them with your group.

 1.  Review of Class Topic:  Before getting into the Bible study questions, discuss today’s class presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.

Answers will vary…

Read Genesis Chapter 22 through Chapter 23, then answer the following questions:

2.  (Genesis 22:1-19) Summarize the story of “the offering of Isaac.” Make a list of how many things you see pictured in this story that foreshadow Jesus and the events of the crucifixion. Discuss: What do you think Abraham felt during this time, and what was said about him in the book of Hebrews? Cross-reference by reading Hebrews 11:1-18 (focus on verses 17-18).

22 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² 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 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 wood for the burnt offering, and arose 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 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” ⁶ 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 the two of them walked on together. ⁷ Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, 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. ⁹Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” ¹³ Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” ¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your ^[e]seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Hebrews 11:1-19

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old gained approval. ³ By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. ⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. ⁷ By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

¹³ All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵ And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; ¹⁸ it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” ¹⁹ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Story summary (and emphasis):

• In chapter 22 God asks Abraham to take and offer Isaac up as a sacrifice. Abraham does so in faith, without question. They traveled three days to Mt. Moriah. Upon arrival Isaac questions where the sacrificial lamb is, and Abraham tells him that God will provide (YHWH Yireh). It seems that Isaac was a willing participant, and just before Abraham puts the knife to Isaac God stops him and does provide a ram instead, and God again confirms His covenant with Abraham.
• Notice the wording in verse 2: “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.” And in verses 8 and 14: Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” ¹⁴ Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
• In the Hebrews’ passage we read, in addition to the praise of Abraham’s great faith, that, in verse 19: “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type”
• This chapter gives us one of the most vivid pictures, or foreshadows, of what God would do with His Son, His one and only Son, Jesus!
• Here is an example list of some of the things we see pictured in this chapter concerning Jesus:

1. The angels brought the good news of Isaac’s pending birth
2. There was a lot of anticipation in the expected birth of Isaac
3. Isaac’s birth was miraculous
4. The father’s suffering is demonstrated through Abraham
5. Isaac carried the wood on his back
6. Mt. Moriah’s shoulder is Golgotha
7. Isaac willingly submitted to the father (Abraham)
8. Isaac was older, maybe somewhere between the ages of 25 and 35 (possibly 33?)
9. The ram provided by God simulates the substitutionary atonement
10. Abraham spoke prophetically saying “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering.” (22:8 KJV/ASV/RSV/CJB/OJB)
11. The three-day journey symbolizes the three days in the grave.
12. Abraham’s faith showed belief that God could raise Isaac from the dead and the lamb provided by God was a substitute that symbolized the resurrection of Isaac (Cross-reference Hebrews 11:17-19).

• Some scholars have listed over 100 similarities in the life Isaac as a foreshadow to Jesus.
• Important point on the “Name of God” used by Abraham to call the place of the sacrifice:

Yahweh Yireh/ Jehovah Jireh juh-HO-vah jI-rah

The LORD Will Provide

Genesis 22:13-14 Psalm 23

God will provide for our real needs. Abraham called the place “The Lord will provide” where God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.

• The word love first occurs in the Bible in Genesis 22:2 in the context of a father of a miraculously born son offering that son in sacrifice! -Skip Hetzig

Additional thoughts and speculations:

(gotquestions.org; Skip Hetzig; Steven Armstrong – Verse by Verse Ministries)

The age of Isaac:

• The Bible doesn’t specify how old Isaac was when he and his father made their trip to Moriah for the sacrifice, and because of Scripture’s silence on the matter, we must conclude that knowing Isaac’s age does not affect our understanding of the passage or grasp of the lesson that God wanted.

Speculations:

• The term boyor lad used to refer to Isaac (Genesis 21:5, 12) is translated from a flexible Hebrew term that does not necessarily refer to a young boy (same as the one used for Ismael earlier).
• Some limits are suggested by the chronology of Sarah’s life: Sarahgave birth to Isaac when she was 90 years old (Genesis 17:17). Sarah sent Ishmael away (sometime before the incident at Moriah) after Isaac was “weaned” (Genesis 21:8–10). Generally, weaning took place somewhere between the ages of 2 and 5. Sarah died (sometime after the incident at Moriah) at the age of 127. This means Isaac was older than 4 or 5 and younger than 36 or 37 when he was [nearly] offered as a sacrifice. The phrases a long time in Genesis 21:34 and some time later in Genesis 22:1 suggest that a substantial amount of time elapsed between Isaac’s birth and the trip to Moriah. So, Isaac was certainly not an older man when he was to be offered as a sacrifice, but neither was he a toddler.
• Probably the most useful clue to how old Isaac was is Genesis 22:6. As they climb the mountain, Isaac is the one carrying the large pile of wood. Wood enough for a burnt sacrifice would have been fairly heavy. This fact tells us Isaac wasn’t a small child, he was at least a healthy teenager. Isaac’s age also adds an interesting dimension to the story. If he was strong enough to carry the wood up the mountain, then he was probably strong enough to resist being sacrificed and fend off Abraham if he had wanted to. The fact that Isaac allowed himself to be bound and placed on the altar (verse 9) shows that Isaac continued to trust his father (As Jesus did).
• Several commentators have weighed in on the question of how old Isaac was when he was to be sacrificed: 18 to 20 years old (Leupold, 1:625); 25 years old (Josephus, 1.13.2); about 33 years old (Adam Clarke, 1:140); and over 20 years old (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, p. 29).

Important Cross-references for the faith and trust that Abraham had in God:

Hebrews 11:17-19 (NASB)

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

James 2:18-24 (NASB)

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;  and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.  You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.  (Key word here is justified, not saved. Works comes after salvation as evidence of a saved life, not the means to one).

3.  (Genesis 22:20-24) In this section we are suddenly given a genealogy of Abraham’s brother Nahor. Discuss: What do you think was the reason for this information at this point in the story, and is there a name you recognize that comes up later on?

²⁰ Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram ²² and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

Rebekah – She will prove to be an important figure in the lineage of Jesus because she will become the wife of Isaac, and the mother of Jacob (and Esau). She is the grand-daughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, daughter of his son Bethuel, (brother of Laban), making her Abrahams great niece.

4.  (Genesis 23:1-20) The culture of that day was one of respect, yet bargaining was expected (as it is in most of the Middle East still today). What happened that caused Abraham to want to find land to buy?

Discuss: Abraham would now own property in the Promised Land. Why do you think that might be important later on?

23 Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ² Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³ Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ⁴ “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” ⁵ The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ⁶ “Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” ⁷ So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. ⁸ And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me, ⁹ that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.” ¹⁰ Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹ “No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” ¹² And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. ¹³ He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” ¹⁴ Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard. ¹⁷ So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over ¹⁸ to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.

• Sarah had died (at the age of 127) and Abraham wanted to buy property for a burial place.
• Abraham was met with great respect when he offered to buy land from the “sons of Heth,” they called him a “mighty prince among them,” and even though it was customary to bargain for the land, Abraham paid the full price.
• The purchase deal would not only guarantee that the land was his, it was his for the long term because it guaranteed no special deal or agreement that the “sons of Heth” could later claim.
• This ownership for Abraham is the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise in this land (even though full ownership is future).
• This land ownership also allowed the descendants of Abraham to be buried there as Isaac, Jacob, Leah and Joseph would later be.
• Cultural note: It was important in ancient times for generations to take care of the remains of their descendants by moving the bones to the back of the cave (later in bone boxes) to make room for new burials. This practice relates to the term “being gathered to your people,” so having a set family location for burial was culturally essential.

5.  Going Deeper: Where is Jesus? As we near the end of Abraham’s story, it would be important to reflect on the Word of God up to this point, and how it relates to the “Big Picture” of the Bible:

a.  List the major events that have happened since Genesis chapter 1 to this point.

• Creation
• Fall
• Flood
• Tower of Babel
• The period of the Patriarchs (Abraham)

b.  List the major characters we have studied in Genesis so far.

• Adam and Eve
• Cain and Abel
• Seth
• Noah (his three sons: Japheth, Shem, Ham)
• Shem
• Abraham

c.  What major Covenants have been made by God so far?

• The Adamic/Edenic Covenant (the Original Promise)

From gotquestions.org

The Adamic Covenant can be thought of in two parts: the Edenic Covenant (innocence) and the Adamic Covenant (grace).

The Edenic Covenant is found in Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17. The details of this covenant include the following:
-Mankind (male and female) created in God’s image.
-Mankind’s dominion (rule) over the animal kingdom.
-Divine directive for mankind to reproduce and inhabit the entire Earth.
-Mankind to be vegetarian (eating of meat established in the Noahic covenant: Genesis 9:3).
-Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil forbidden (with death as the stated penalty).
The Adamic Covenant is found in Genesis 3:16-19. As the result of Adam’s sin, the following curses were pronounced:
-Enmity between Satan and Eve and her descendants.
-Painful childbirth for women.
-Marital strife.
-The soil cursed.
-Introduction of thorns and thistles.
-Survival to be a struggle.
-Death introduced.
-Death will be the inescapable fate of all living things.
Although these curses are severe and inescapable, a wonderful promise of grace was also included in the Adamic Covenant. Genesis 3:15 is often referred to as the “Proto-Gospel” or “First Gospel.” Speaking to Satan, God says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, / And between your seed and her seed; / He shall bruise you on the head, / And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Here God promises that one born of a woman would be wounded in the process of destroying Satan. The “seed” of the woman who would crush the Serpent’s head is none other than Jesus Christ (see Galatians 4:4 and 1 John 3:8). Even in the midst of the curse, God’s gracious provision of salvation shines through.

• The Noachian Covenant
• The Abrahamic Covenant

d.  What people or events can you cite that have foreshadowed Jesus and/or His ultimate purpose in God’s overarching plan?

Answers may vary but might include…

• The Fall – God’s original promise for the “seed” of the women to crush the Serpent’s head
• The Flood – symbolizes baptism out of the water anew; also, pictures end times
• Noah – A type of savior; his name means “he will give rest”
• Abraham – A picture of Jesus as a Priest (intercessor) and Prophet
• The Abrahamic Covenant – God’s unfolding of a plan for the original promise of 3:15 of the blessing (Jesus) that will come through his descendants
• Sodom and Gomorrah – A picture of end times
• Isaac’s near sacrifice – many significant pictures of Jesus’ death and resurrection (see question/answer for #2 above)
• Melchizedek

Please join us each week as we continue our case for the Old Testament!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

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Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15