Kill My Own Son?
______________________________________________________
22:2 only son: Abraham had one son by Hagar (ch. 16), and as we learn later he had six sons by Keturah (ch. 25). But only Isaac was uniquely born (the same idea is in the description of Jesus as the “only begotten,” John 1:18). Indeed, the Greek term for “only begotten” is used to describe Isaac in Heb. 11:17. The point is not that Abraham had no other children, but that this was the unique child in whom all the promises of God resided. But that wasn’t the only reason God’s command would test Abraham’s faith; this was Isaac, the son who had brought God’s “laughter” to Abraham and Sarah (21:12). Moriah: “Where the Lord Provides” or “Where the Lord Appears.” burnt offering: Abraham was not simply to strike his son and wound him, and then nurse him back to health. He was commanded to go through the steps of offering a sacrifice that burned an animal or person entirely. The toll of this command on Abraham and Sarah must have been enormous. What a poignant picture of what our God did to His unique Son for us!
22:3, 4 Nothing is said of Abraham’s thoughts, or the thoughts of the boy’s mother. All we read is the account of the father’s complete obedience to God (12:4; 17:23; compare the complete obedience of Noah in 6:22; 7:5). Difficult, heavy tasks were usually done in the early morning because of the heat of the midday in this part of the world (18:1).
22:5 If the young men (servants) had accompanied Abraham and his son to the sacrificial site, they might have tried to restrain him from his awful deed. He told them to stay with the donkey, he and his son were on their way to worship the Lord. we will come back: In the Hebrew text, these words are even more arresting than in a translation. The three verbs all show a strong determination on the part of the speaker (12:2): “We are determined to go, we are determined to worship, we are determined to return.” There are three possibilities for Abraham’s speech: (1) he was lying to the servants to buy time; (2) he was suffering from delusion, and no longer speaking rationally; or (3) he believed that he and the boy would return. He had heard, many times, God’s promise to create a nation through Isaac (12:1–3, 7; 13:14–17; 15:1–21; 17:1–22; 18:1–15). He still believed it. He had concluded that even if he had to destroy his son, God would bring him back from death (Heb. 11:17–19). Only in this way could Abraham have gone ahead with the task before him.
22:6 As Christ on His way to Golgotha to be crucified, the son of Abraham also bore an instrument of death on his back. The fire would be live coals in a clay pot of some kind. A special knife was used in sacrificial worship.
22:7 My father … where is the lamb: Isaac still did not know what Abraham planned to do.
22:8 for Himself: The wording is stronger in this order: “God Himself will provide.” went together: These words appear again in v. 19.
22:9, 10 the place: The site of Moriah is significant (vv. 2–4, 14). bound Isaac: Jewish scholars call this text “the binding of Isaac.” At this point, Isaac knew that he was the sacrificial victim. Surely he could have run away from his aged father! Yet, like the Savior on an even darker day (John 10:17, 18), he was willing to do his father’s will (Mark 14:36).
22:11, 12 the Angel of the Lord: An appearance of God (16:7; compare 24:7; 48:16). At the last moment, God spoke to Abraham from heaven; twice He called out his name. Do not lay your hand: The words used demanded an instant response. Abraham was just about to strike his son, then God stopped his hand (15:1). now I know: Certainly God knew ahead of time how this event would end. But in these words, God stood beside his servant Abraham, experiencing each moment with him and applauding his complete trust (18:19). The term for fear means to hold God in awe; this is the central idea of piety in the Bible (Ex. 20:20; Prov. 1:7).
22:13 With his attention solely on the awful task at hand, Abraham had not seen the ram until he looked for it. In an amazing manner, his earlier words of God’s provision came to pass (v. 8).
22:14 The wonderful name The-Lord-Will-Provide is developed from the faith statement of Abraham to Isaac in v. 8. Compare the name of faith that Hagar gave to the Lord, “The-God-Who-Sees” (16:13). As God provided a ram instead of Abraham’s son, so one day He would provide His own Son! Moriah is where Jerusalem and later the temple were built. And it was at Jerusalem that the Savior would die.
22:15–18 This is one of the texts that contain the Abrahamic covenant (see list at 15:1–21)—God’s unbreakable promise to create a nation through Isaac.
22:16 By Myself I have sworn (“sworn,” Heb. shaba’) means “By Myself I swear” or “I bring Myself under complete obligation.” When a man took an oath, it was considered unchangeable (25:33). When God took an oath, His eternity guaranteed the fulfillment of His word.
22:17 blessing I will bless you: The doubling of these verbs and the ones that follow (multiplying I will multiply) is a Hebrew idiom that powerfully emphasizes the certainty of the action. as the stars … as the sand: This use of hyperbole or exaggeration on God’s part (Gen. 15:5; 13:16) must have overwhelmed Abraham. In ancient walled cities, the structure protecting the gate was the most important; to control the gate was to control the city. Later, the blessing of her family on Rebekah would contain the same prayer for her (24:60).
22:18 At times the term seed refers to a large number of descendants (13:16); at other times it refers to one unique descendant, the Coming One (as here and in Gal. 3:16). Here it is a grand play on words: The seed was Isaac; and by extension the Jewish nation; and the Seed was also Jesus.
22:19 As he had said (v. 5), Abraham returned with his son, and they all went together (v. 8) back to Beersheba.
About Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible CommentaryA comprehensive verse-by-verse commentary for lay Bible students, fully highlighted by articles, maps, charts, and illustrations—all in one volume. • Clear and Comprehensive: Annotations by leading evangelical scholars don’t dodge tough issues; alternative views are presented fairly, but commentators make their positions clear. • Attractively Designed: Graphics appeal to the sound-bite generation and others who aren't traditional commentary readers. • Interesting and Revealing: Hundreds of feature articles that provide additional information or new perspectives on a topic related to Bible background. • Visually Appealing: Maps, drawings, and photos illuminate the commentary and visualize important information. General Editor, Earl Radmacher (Th.D.), of Western Conservative Baptist Seminary; Old Testament Editor, Ronald B. Allen (Th.D.), of Dallas Theological Seminary; New Testament Editor, H. Wayne House (Th.D., J.D.), of Michigan Theological Seminary and Simon Greenleaf School of Law | |||||||
| Copyright | Copyright 1999 Thomas Nelson, Inc. | All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles. | Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, inc., Publishers. | ||||
| Support Info | nnibc |
Posts
.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/quality,q_70/resize,m_mfit,w_350,h_350/format,webp)
No comments:
Post a Comment