In Genesis 22 Abraham’s action shows the reality of his faith.
In the previous posts we have seen in Genesis 22 that God tested Abraham by commanding him to journey to a distant mountain and there sacrifice his son Isaac. We considered Abraham’s thoughts as he took that journey with attention to what Abraham knew about God that enabled him to obey. Below we see Abraham in the moment of truth.
What Abraham does
By the time they reach the mountain in Moriah, Abraham has concluded that God will indeed provide a lamb that will substitute for the sacrifice of his son Isaac. He stops short of the site for sacrifice and there leaves his two servants and donkey. He puts the wood on Isaac’s back and takes the fire and knife. As they walk to the site, Isaac recognizes the obvious and says, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
From the overflow of his heart, Abraham’s mouth speaks. “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” The Lord had not told Abraham that explicitly, but Abraham knew God, and based on everything he knew about him and what God had told him he concluded this was what God would do. He set his faith on it. All his life, including decades as a sojourner in the Promised Land, he had seen God provide everything he needed, and what he needed now more than anything was a lamb as a substitute for his son Isaac. Whatever he truly needed, he believed God would provide.
Building an altar
Meanwhile what he needed was to obey the Lord’s command, and that he does. Father and son arrive at the site for sacrifice. With solemn confidence Abraham builds an altar. On it he carefully arranges the wood. He turns to his son, his only son Isaac, and without delay proceeds to bind his hands and feet. His heart is settled; he will not withhold his beloved son from the Lord. He has already given him to God in his heart, and now he will give him as a sacrifice. He wraps his arms around his beloved son, trusting this will not be the last time he holds him close, lifts him, and lays him on the wood of the altar. God gives the old man physical strength to lift his son’s weight, some 50–100 pounds, and God gives him emotional strength to take knife in hand.
Isaac’s trust
Isaac is surprisingly passive. He did not resist as Abraham bound his hands and feet. He did not object. Isaac did not struggle to make it impossible for Abraham to place him on the altar. He does not twist and kick to roll off the altar, as he certainly could have. Why not? Did he have the same confidence as his father? Did he believe what his father had assured him, that God would provide a lamb? Had he surrendered himself to God in the same trusting way his father had surrendered him? Did he trust Abraham the way Abraham trusted God?
The story repeats an important sentence two times: in verse 6 it says, “So they went both of them together.” Again in verse 8 the identical words: “So they went both of them together.” This repetition is wrapped around the crucial interchange in verses 7–8, where Isaac said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” and Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Father and son are in this “together.” They both choose to trust and obey God.
Now that the knife is in Abraham’s hand, God has seen enough. He knows everything he wanted to know from this test. The Angel of the Lord cries out, “Abraham, Abraham!”—a twofold repetition, which conveyed intimacy.
Here am I
This interruption Abraham was expecting. Slowly, firmly, with reverence for the God he loves more than Isaac, Abraham replies. “Here am I.” This is the third time in the narrative that Abraham says, “Here am I.” The first was when the test began. God broke the silence by calling his name, and Abraham replied, “Here am I.” The second time Abraham said this was at the pivotal moment when he and Isaac were climbing the mountain. Isaac broke the silence: “My father.” And Abraham replied, “Here am I, my son.” And Isaac asked the million-dollar question: “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” The third time Abraham said these words is now, at the moment of salvation as God intervenes to answer Abraham’s faith and spare Isaac. “Here am I” reveals Abraham’s heart, that he is available to God his Father and Isaac his son, responsive not withdrawing, near not far, open not closed, listening not ignoring. Through the threefold repetition of “Here am I” the author of this narrative calls quiet attention to Abraham’s intimacy with God and Isaac, a closeness that withstood the sternest trial.
A heart of love
In the midst of this test Abraham could have closed his heart toward either God or Isaac in an attempt to maintain emotional consistency. One might think Abraham had to choose between them. But in his holy heart that was not so. Abraham did not close his heart toward either. His wholehearted love for and trust in God were so great that he was able to maintain wholehearted love toward Isaac even as he surrendered him. In relation to God, perfect love, trust, and surrender integrate one’s heart.
