Genesis 22
Abraham obeys in faith, binding Isaac on the altar, but the angel of the Lord stops him at the last moment and provides a ram as a substitute. God reaffirms His covenant blessings because of Abraham's obedience.
GenesisChapter 22 of 5024 versesBerean Standard Bible
In this passage: AbrahamIsaacMount MoriahBeersheba
Read Genesis 22 and keep notes on it in Doxa's Daily Faith Steps.
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 45: What does dabar mean in Genesis 24?
“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46: Where does the Bible first use the word love?
Abraham offering his only son Isaac — type of God offering his only Son
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,”
Read Hebrews 11:17›God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son — echoes Abraham and Isaac
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Read John 3:16›So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.
Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” “Here I am, my son,” he replied. “The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.
God himself will provide the lamb — Behold, the Lamb of God
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Read John 1:29›When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 36: Did Abraham believe there was no fear of God in Gerar?
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46: What was Isaac doing in the field?
Ram provided in Isaac's place — God did not spare his own Son
“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?”
Read Romans 8:32›And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time,
saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 43: What does this oath show about knowing God?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 50: Could a birthright really be sold?
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 46: What did Rebekah say when they asked her?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46: How did Israel first hear this blessing?
I will surely bless you and give you many descendants
“saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.””
Read Hebrews 6:14›And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 50: What was Esau's birthright?
Promises spoken to Abraham and his seed — Christ
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.”
Read Galatians 3:16›To your seed — meaning one person, who is Christ
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.”
Read Galatians 3:16›Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.
Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne sons to your brother Nahor:
Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”
And Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.
Moreover, Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for Genesis 22
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,”
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?”
“Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?”
“And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
Genesis 22 on Doxa
- Abraham and Isaac: The Promise He Carried Up Moriah (Genesis 22) · Daily Lift, day 40
- The LORD Will Provide: Why the Hebrew Says God Will See (Genesis 22) · Deeper Dive, day 40
- Why Did God Swear an Oath to Abraham? (Genesis 22:15–24) · Daily Lift, day 41
- Moses Prayed This Verse to Save Israel: God's Oath in Genesis 22 · Deeper Dive, day 41
- Why Does Genesis 24 Tell the Same Story Twice? (Genesis 24:28–49) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 45
- The Second Time the Bible Says 'Love' (Genesis 24:50–67) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46
- The Bible's First Prophet Is a Frightened Man Who Prays (Genesis 20) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 36
- Hand Under the Thigh: What Abraham's Strange Oath Meant (Genesis 24:1–9) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 43
- The Word That Links Esau's Stew to the Cross (Genesis 25:27–34) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 50
- Rebekah Says 'I Will Go' to a Man She Has Never Seen (Genesis 24:50–67) · Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 46
- Esau Sold His Birthright for Stew. Would You? (Genesis 25:27–34) · Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 50
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