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So were back in Genesis chapter 22 this time and we have reached the point where Abraham is tested mightily. Genesis 22 verse two says.

“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.”

(Gen 22: 2)

God says I want you to take your son, your only son. God use of this phrase just heightens the nature of what he’s asking him to do. I want you to go to Mount Moriah. It’s an interesting place, Mount Moriah, it’s where David built an altar and Solomon also built a temple there and it’s where Jesus Christ will be crucified although re-named Golgotha under the Roman occupation. It’s a very historic place from both an OT and NT perspective. So, he says, I want you to go, and I want you to sacrifice your son, your only son, the one you love. Human sacrifice. Is repugnant to us, it’s a detestable thing. Why would God ever ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? My Mother once said to me, that this is the hardest thing in the whole Bible for her to accept. That’s the way a lot of people feel. Why would God ever ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? Well, as we’ve seen the whole point of this story is it is a test.

Spoiler alert, he wasn’t trying to destroy Isaac, he was trying to develop Abraham. He wasn't after Isaac’s life;  He was after Abraham’s loyalty. He wanted to see if Abraham would really trust him in the most un-imaginable way by being prepared to sacrifice his own son. God just wanted to see if he was prepared to do it, God was testing his faith.  I’m not suggesting this was an easy test. I think the text is worded in such a way as to highlight how painful this experience was. This is your son,  your only son, it’s the son that you love.  God is simply testing him to see if he would really obey with no intention of actually having him carry it through. 

Does God still test us like that, today? I believe he does because He sometimes tests us by asking us to sacrifice the things we treasure the most. This an archetype of the greatest sacrifice a son by a father and it is a flash forward to the same sacrifice that God will make by offering His own son Jesus.

This is the final apex of the five great sacrifices that God called upon Abraham to make. He was to leave his native country. He was told to leave his extended family. He was to leave behind his nephew lot. He lost his first son Ishmael, when he sent him away, and now he’s being asked to sacrifice his son. Isaac.  These first two verses of this passage simply tell us God revealed to Abraham what he wanted him to do. What happens next in this passage is we see response to that and we will find out how Abraham gets on in the next episode. This