Gen 22: Abraham's faith and obedience tested by God, who told him to sacrifice Isaac.

God after a time told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, in order to test him. As Abraham obeyed, an angel stopped him. God provided another sacrifice and renewed the covenant and blessing upon Abraham.

• v1: Despite Abraham's close walk with God, after all the exercises of faith he had to go through, he was tried once more. Just as life was beginning to feel secure and when the promise was finalling becoming reality in the natural, another storm hit. " stand firm; When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain but when you hid your face, I was dismayed" (Ps 30:6-7). The word "to test" is found in eight other instances in the Old Testament where God is said to be the tester. The context usually shows the testing stemmed from concern over Israel's obedience to God's commands, where the issue was the fear of the Lord and whether the individuals tested were willing to obey God with all their hearts and souls. God hence tested Abraham to know his heart, to demonstrate in action what Abraham claimed to have - his faith. Testing is one of the means by which God builds us up - only after we have been preserved, proved, purified and disciplined can we move beyond situations, strengthened in faith for what lies ahead.
• v2: The test itself was an astonishing demand to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice. This in no way is God approving of human sacrifice, which the prophets condemned (eg. Jeremiah, Ezekiel). The law clearly prohibited the sacrifices of individuals (Lev 18:21). And yet, if God had wanted it, we cannot question Him otherwise. To reject God's right to ask for life under any conditions would be denying His sovereignty and also questioning His justice in providing His own sacrifice (in Jesus) as the central work of redemption. God owns all life and hence has the right to give and take as He wills, but He chose to outlaw human sacrifice. God at no point intended that His command be executed. His purpose was simply to test Abraham's faith.
• The test itself can be seen as a foreshadowing of the sacrifice that Jesus, the last descendant of Isaac, the fulfilment of the promised seed, would accomplish. John 8:56: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad".
• v3: Abraham heard, and was quick to obey, even though God did not give a reason for it. True faith and obedience does not question God. "Faith does not demand details. So stop discussing with God your issues when God says “Do it, Just Do It!”" (Bishop TD Jakes). He could have asked: "God, what profit is there in his blood? How would this be in line with Your promise? How could I fave my wife again after she knows that I had killed our son? What would all the Egyptians and Canaanites say? What would they say about You being a loving and merciful God?"
• v3-6: Each step of the journey required another intentional step of faith and obedience to keep moving forward towards the heartbreaking moment Abraham knew he had to endure.
• v7: "where is the lamb?" The fire (God's spirit and assurance) is ready, the wood (instituted ordinances to kindle our passion) is in place, but is the lamb, our heart, our lives, ready to be offered up to God as a living sacrifice?
• v8: "God Himself will provide the lamb". Christ, the great sacrifice of atonement, was of God's providing. God Himself paid the ransom when no person could find a lamb for that burnt offering.
• v9-10: Abraham applied himself to the completing of his task. Isaac could have struggled with his aged father and won, but he subitted and allowed himself to be bound. Having bound his son, Abraham had to resolutely forget his role as a father, and take on the role of a sacrificer. This was an act of faith and obedience, even though with that one swipe of the knife he would, in his mind, extinguish his beloved son, Sarah's laughter, the heir of promise. This is the same thing that God the Father had to endure when He deliberately sent Jesus down to the earth. We are called to live faith filled lives, and to part with all for Christ.
• v11-12: The command to offer Isaac was intended only as a test, and Abraham is honoured and applauded for being righteous and fearing God.
• v13: Abraham's words came into being - god Himself provided a lamb. The lamb was sacrificed instead of Isaac, Jesus was sacrificed in our stead.
• v14: Jehovah Jireh = The Lord will provide. God is a God of deliverance.
• v15-19: Abraham's obedience was graciously accepted, and God renewed and ratified His covenant with him. "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"meaning one person, who is Christ" (Gal 3:16)
• v20-24: A short genealogy of Abraham's brother Nahor was recorded to make way for the following story of the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah, who was from this family.