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GENESIS 22

GOD TESTS ABRAHAM + PROVIDES A SACRIFICIAL LAMB

God tells Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. This is devastating to Abraham; Isaac is his only son through Sarah. But Abraham is faithful to God’s commands. He lays the wood for the offering on Isaac, who carries it up the mountain. Abraham builds an altar and lays his beloved son on the wood to sacrifice him. As Abraham is about to kill Isaac, an angel of the Lord tells him not to sacrifice his son. God wanted to know that Abraham was willing to offer his son, but did not require Isaac’s death.

Abraham trusts that God will provide a lamb for the sacrifice. An angel appears, stopping Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. Abraham then sees a ram stuck in the bushes nearby and offers the animal as a burnt offering to God.

This story serves as a prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus. Just as the angel said, God does provide a lamb, Jesus the sacrificial lamb and God’s only Son, and takes away the sin of the world through His sacrifice.

Because Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, God blesses him and tells him that his offspring will be as many as the sand on the beach and the stars in the sky.

STUDY QUESTIONS

Why would God test Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22)? What did Abraham’s response reveal about his faith?

What similarities do you see between Abraham’s offering of Isaac and Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross?

In Genesis 22, why is Isaac referred to as Abraham’s “only son” (v.2, 12, 16) when Ishmael was also Abraham’s son?