By Dr. Ben Stubblefield
Visiting assistant professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
A Substitute
Genesis 22:1-14
As the Genesis narrative unfolds, the author will quickly cover great centuries of time in a short sequence of verses (Gen. 5:1-27), but then he will slow down and carefully dramatize a hours-long single scene (Gen. 2:4-25). While the number of verses used to tell a story does not always suggest theological importance, any time a historian really slows down to give details to a specific scene, he expects the reader to pay special attention.
Genesis 22, our focus passage this week, is one such scene. We get lots of dialogue, we are told about the “fire and the knife” that Abraham brings up the mountain, details about split wood, a rising tension between father and son, and a picture of them as they “walked together.” It’s clear that Moses is slowing down the pace of the Abraham story to show us the Mt. Moriah moment and, more profoundly, prefigure for us the kind of salvation that the only begotten Son, the son of David, the son of Abraham, will provide for us on Mt. Calvary. Let’s examine this passage more closely together.
The Command (1-3)
God’s command to sacrifice Isaac had to be disorienting. Though Abraham lived before the time of Moses, thus, the explicit command forbidding human sacrifice has yet to be written (Lev 20:2-5), the instruction to kill the promised child of blessing would be altogether unsettling. Why would God command such a thing? Yet Abraham hears, prepares, and obeys.
The Bible doesn’t usually explain the internal monologue of its heroes. We don’t know, though we can imagine, Abraham’s emotional turmoil. But we do see his willingness to obey.
All of the Lord’s people will face a similar kind of crossroad. The Lord commands faithfulness that, according to our reckoning, seems illogical, wreckless, and foolish. And the crisis of faith, like Abraham’s, comes down to a simple question: Will we or won’t we obey?
The Climb (4-8)
Abraham and Isaac ascend the mount, and the narrative gives us the details of escalating tension. We are told about the wood, the fire, the knife, the walk, and the repeated discussion between “father” and “son.”
However tense these hours were, the text suggests that Abraham remained confident that God had a plan for Isaac (Gen 22:5), even if that meant resurrection from the dead (Heb 11:17-19).
It’s certainly true that the Lord sometimes asks us to be faithful in ways that seem difficult. But, like Abraham, we can be confident that He has a plan to do for us beyond all we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). He does not ask us to follow His plan in order to lead us to harm, loss, or suffering. If His plan involves a cross, we can rest assured that beyond it is a crown.
The Test (9-12)
While Abraham’s faith was proven in some ways, it was weakened in others (e.g. Gen 12; 16). This test qualified Abraham’s faith in a fashion that, I would suggest, was beyond his faithful move from Ur or obedience in circumcision. This faithfulness was a demonstration of a different nature.
Now, it’s one thing to say, “I have faith.” Anyone can say it. It’s another thing entirely to surrender your possessions to the poor (Matt 19:21), or forgive your enemies (Matt 5:44), or honor your father and mother (Eph 6:1-2), etc. The point is that our faith cannot remain a private affair. Genuine faith, like Abrahham’s, must get a demonstration to legitimize its authenticity.
The Substitute (Gen. 22:13-14)
Jehovah-Jireh comes through, and not a moment too soon (10).
God’s method of sparing Isaac is not unfamiliar to our own salvation. When we had no other hope, when all other options have failed, when we knew there’s no other place to turn, the Lord Christ steps into save, and not a moment too soon.
The parallels between the Isaac account and our gospel are manifold. Isaac was Abraham’s child of blessing. Jesus was the Father’s. God provided for Isaac a substitute. The Lord provided Jesus for us. The father’s hand was raised to strike him; it was the “Father’s will” to crush our Christ (Isa 53:10). Abraham ascended Mt. Moriah; Jesus ascended Calvary. Israel’s blessing depended on an undying child of promise; and ours hinges on one Who used to be dead, but is never to die again.
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