Gospel FoundationsSample

God Tests Abraham

After long years of waiting, struggles, and doubts, Genesis 17 leaves Abraham with renewed confidence in God’s promise of an heir and also a physical sign of the covenant, a reminder of God’s faithfulness—circumcision. And yet, the waiting still was not over. One more year would pass between Genesis 17 and 21, where the birth of Isaac is recorded. 

Abraham had another son, Ishmael through Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant (Gen. 16), but God’s promise of offspring would come specifically through Sarah (17:19-22). And the Lord miraculously provided this “only son” of promise. 

When Abraham was one hundred years old, his son through Sarah was finally born. God’s long-promised blessing of descendants to Abraham was at last visibly being fulfilled in Isaac, and Abraham was faithful to mark this son of the covenant in the way God had commanded him with circumcision, the sign of the covenant.

We don’t know how old Isaac was when Genesis 22 opens, but it’s clear from his interactions with his father that a number of years had gone by. The treasured little boy, Abraham’s “only son,” had grown, and God was about to use him in the greatest test of Abraham’s faith.

Based on what we see here, Abraham had every intention of sacrificing his son. The knife was raised, but then God intervened and prevented Abraham from following through. While Abraham was spared from sacrificing his son, it’s important to notice that the sacrifice was still made—God provided a substitute. Centuries later, God Himself would lead His own Son up the hill at Calvary, but this time, no substitute for a beloved Son would be provided. This time, that Son, Jesus, would be sacrificed as the substitute for the sins of the world.

Isaac’s question “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” echoes through the pages of the Old Testament and is ultimately answered at the beginning of the New Testament when John the Baptist sees Jesus of Nazareth and declares, “Behold the Lamb!”