12 and He saith, `Put not forth thine hand unto the youth, nor do anything to him, for now I have known that thou art fearing God, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one, from Me.'
And Samuel saith, `Hath Jehovah had delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as `in' hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? lo, hearkening than sacrifice is better; to give attention than fat of rams;
Abraham our father -- was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar? dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected?
because that Abraham hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.'
And Abraham saith, `Because I said, `Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;
And risen to you, ye who fear My name, Hath the sun of righteousness -- and healing in its wings, And ye have gone forth, and have increased as calves of a stall.
`He who is loving father or mother above me, is not worthy of me, and he who is loving son or daughter above me, is not worthy of me, and whoever doth not receive his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me.
and every one who left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for my name's sake, an hundredfold shall receive, and life age-during shall inherit;
for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.
and God doth commend His own love to us, that, in our being still sinners, Christ did die for us;
He who indeed His own Son did not spare, but for us all did deliver him up, how shall He not also with him the all things grant to us?
for if the willing mind is present, according to that which any one may have it is well-accepted, not according to that which he hath not;
reckoning that even out of the dead God is able to raise up, whence also in a figure he did receive `him'.
In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son -- the only begotten -- hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him; in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.
And a voice out of the throne did come forth, saying, `Praise our God, all ye His servants, and those fearing Him, both the small and the great;'
And Joseph saith unto them on the third day, `This do and live; God I fear!
And Moses saith unto the people, `Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces -- that ye sin not.'
the former governors who `are' before me have made themselves heavy on the people, and take of them in bread and wine, besides in silver forty shekels; also, their servants have ruled over the people -- and I have not done so, because of the fear of God.
In six distresses He delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.
For Jehovah is knowing the way of the righteous, And the way of the wicked is lost!
Serve ye Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
And He saith, `Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'
Jehovah is pleased with those fearing Him, With those waiting for His kindness.
Though a sinner is doing evil a hundred `times', and prolonging `himself' for it, surely also I know that there is good to those fearing God, who fear before Him. And good is not to the wicked, and he doth not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.
The end of the whole matter let us hear: -- `Fear God, and keep His commands, for this `is' the whole of man.
and I have made for them a covenant age-during, in that I turn not back from after them for My doing them good, and My fear I put in their heart, so as not to turn aside from me;
With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves -- sons of a year? Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born `for' my transgression? The fruit of my body `for' the sin of my soul? He hath declared to thee, O man, what `is' good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except -- to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 22
Commentary on Genesis 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
Ge 22:1-19. Offering Isaac.
1. God did tempt Abraham—not incite to sin (Jas 1:13), but try, prove—give occasion for the development of his faith (1Pe 1:7).
and he said, … Here I am—ready at a moment's warning for God's service.
2. Take now thy son, &c.—Every circumstance mentioned was calculated to give a deeper stab to the parental bosom. To lose his only son, and by an act of his own hand, too!—what a host of conflicting feelings must the order have raised! But he heard and obeyed without a murmur (Ga 1:16; Lu 14:26).
3. Abraham rose … early, &c.—That there might be no appearance of delay or reluctance on his part, he made every preparation for the sacrifice before setting out—the materials, the knife, and the servants to convey them. From Beer-sheba to Moriah, a journey of two days, he had the painful secret pent up in his bosom. So distant a place must have been chosen for some important reason. It is generally thought that this was one the hills of Jerusalem, on which the Great Sacrifice was afterwards offered.
4. on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, &c.—Leaving the servants at the foot [Ge 22:5], the father and son ascended the hill, the one bearing the knife, and the other the wood for consuming the sacrifice [Ge 22:6]. But there was no victim; and to the question so naturally put by Isaac [Ge 22:7], Abraham contented himself by replying, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." It has been supposed that the design of this extraordinary transaction was to show him, by action instead of words, the way in which all the families of the earth should be blessed; and that in his answer to Isaac, he anticipated some substitution. It is more likely that his words were spoken evasively to his son in ignorance of the issue, yet in unbounded confidence that that son, though sacrificed, would, in some miraculous way, be restored (Heb 11:19).
9. Abraham built an altar, &c.—Had not the patriarch been sustained by the full consciousness of acting in obedience to God's will, the effort would have been too great for human endurance; and had not Isaac, then upwards of twenty years of age displayed equal faith in submitting, this great trial could not have gone through.
11, 12. the angel … called, &c.—The sacrifice was virtually offered—the intention, the purpose to do it, was shown in all sincerity and fulness. The Omniscient witness likewise declared His acceptance in the highest terms of approval; and the apostle speaks of it as actually made (Heb 11:17; Jas 2:21).
13-19. Abraham lifted up his eyes … and behold … a ram, &c.—No method was more admirably calculated to give the patriarch a distinct idea of the purpose of grace than this scenic representation: and hence our Lord's allusion to it (Joh 8:56).