9 And they come in unto the place of which God hath spoken to him, and there Abraham buildeth the altar, and arrangeth the wood, and bindeth Isaac his son, and placeth him upon the altar above the wood;
Abraham our father -- was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar?
`Because of this doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that again I may take it; no one doth take it from me, but I lay it down of myself; authority I have to lay it down, and authority I have again to take it; this command I received from my Father.'
By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises, of whom it was said -- `In Isaac shall a seed be called to thee;' reckoning that even out of the dead God is able to raise up, whence also in a figure he did receive `him'.
so also the Christ, once having been offered to bear the sins of many, a second time, apart from a sin-offering, shall appear, to those waiting for him -- to salvation!
and walk in love, as also the Christ did love us, and did give himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odour of a sweet smell,
Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,'
And Noah buildeth an altar to Jehovah, and taketh of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and causeth burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar;
And immediately, in the morning, the chief priests having made a consultation, with the elders, and scribes, and the whole sanhedrim, having bound Jesus, did lead away, and delivered `him' to Pilate;
And it came to pass, when Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, `Ye have known that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified.' Then were gathered together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, to the court of the chief priest who was called Caiaphas; and they consulted together that they might take Jesus by guile, and kill `him', and they said, `Not in the feast, that there may not be a tumult among the people.' And Jesus having been in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came to him a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, very precious, and she poured on his head as he is reclining (at meat). And having seen `it', his disciples were much displeased, saying, `To what purpose `is' this waste? for this ointment could have been sold for much, and given to the poor.' And Jesus having known, said to them, `Why do ye give trouble to the woman? for a good work she wrought for me; for the poor always ye have with you, and me ye have not always; for she having put this ointment on my body -- for my burial she did `it'. Verily I say to you, Wherever this good news may be proclaimed in the whole world, what this `one' did shall also be spoken of -- for a memorial of her.' Then one of the twelve, who is called Judas Iscariot, having gone unto the chief priests, said, `What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you?' and they weighed out to him thirty silverlings, and from that time he was seeking a convenient season to deliver him up. And on the first `day' of the unleavened food came the disciples near to Jesus, saying to him, `Where wilt thou `that' we may prepare for thee to eat the passover?' and he said, `Go away to the city, unto such a one, and say to him, The Teacher saith, My time is nigh; near thee I keep the passover, with my disciples;' and the disciples did as Jesus appointed them, and prepared the passover. And evening having come, he was reclining (at meat) with the twelve, and while they are eating, he said, `Verily I say to you, that one of you shall deliver me up.' And being grieved exceedingly, they began to say to him, each of them, `Is it I, Sir?' And he answering said, `He who did dip with me the hand in the dish, he will deliver me up; the Son of Man doth indeed go, as it hath been written concerning him, but wo to that man through whom the Son of Man is delivered up! good it were for him if that man had not been born.' And Judas -- he who delivered him up -- answering said, `Is it I, Rabbi?' He saith to him, `Thou hast said.' And while they were eating, Jesus having taken the bread, and having blessed, did brake, and was giving to the disciples, and said, `Take, eat, this is my body;' and having taken the cup, and having given thanks, he gave to them, saying, `Drink ye of it -- all;
And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, unto the mount of the Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, `Go on to the village over-against you, and immediately ye shall find an ass bound, and a colt with her -- having loosed, bring ye to me; and if any one may say anything to you, ye shall say, that the lord hath need of them, and immediately he will send them.' And all this came to pass, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, `Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Lo, thy king doth come to thee, meek, and mounted on an ass, and a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.' And the disciples having gone and having done as Jesus commanded them, brought the ass and the colt, and did put on them their garments, and set `him' upon them; and the very great multitude spread their own garments in the way, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and were strewing in the way, and the multitudes who were going before, and who were following, were crying, saying, `Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.' And he having entered into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, `Who is this?' And the multitudes said, `This is Jesus the prophet, who `is' from Nazareth of Galilee.' And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and did cast forth all those selling and buying in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers he overturned, and the seats of those selling the doves, and he saith to them, `It hath been written, My house a house of prayer shall be called, but ye did make it a den of robbers.' And there came to him blind and lame men in the temple, and he healed them, and the chief priests and the scribes having seen the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, `Hosanna to the Son of David,' were much displeased; and they said to him, `Hearest thou what these say?' And Jesus saith to them, `Yes, did ye never read, that, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou didst prepare praise?' And having left them, he went forth out of the city to Bethany, and did lodge there, and in the morning turning back to the city, he hungered, and having seen a certain fig-tree on the way, he came to it, and found nothing in it except leaves only, and he saith to it, `No more from thee may fruit be -- to the age;' and forthwith the fig-tree withered. And the disciples having seen, did wonder, saying, `How did the fig-tree forthwith wither?' And Jesus answering said to them, `Verily I say to you, If ye may have faith, and may not doubt, not only this of the fig-tree shall ye do, but even if to this mount ye may say, Be lifted up and be cast into the sea, it shall come to pass; and all -- as much as ye may ask in the prayer, believing, ye shall receive.' And he having come to the temple, there came to him when teaching the chief priests and the elders of the people, saying, `By what authority dost thou do these things? and who gave thee this authority?' And Jesus answering said to them, `I will ask you -- I also -- one word, which if ye may tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things; the baptism of John, whence was it? -- from heaven, or from men?' And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, `If we should say, From heaven; he will say to us, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him? and if we should say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.' And answering Jesus they said, `We have not known.' He said to them -- he also -- `Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. `And what think ye? A man had two children, and having come to the first, he said, Child, go, to-day be working in my vineyard.' And he answering said, `I will not,' but at last, having repented, he went. `And having come to the second, he said in the same manner, and he answering said, I `go', sir, and went not; which of the two did the will of the father?' They say to him, `The first.' Jesus saith to them, `Verily I say to you, that the tax-gatherers and the harlots do go before you into the reign of God, for John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye did not believe him, and the tax-gatherers and the harlots did believe him, and ye, having seen, repented not at last -- to believe him. `Hear ye another simile: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and did put a hedge round it, and digged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. `And when the season of the fruits came nigh, he sent his servants unto the husbandmen, to receive the fruits of it, and the husbandmen having taken his servants, one they scourged, and one they killed, and one they stoned. `Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did to them in the same manner. `And at last he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son; and the husbandmen having seen the son, said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and may possess his inheritance; and having taken him, they cast `him' out of the vineyard, and killed him; whenever therefore the lord of the vineyard may come, what will he do to these husbandmen?' They say to him, `Evil men -- he will evilly destroy them, and the vineyard will give out to other husbandmen, who will give back to him the fruits in their seasons.' Jesus saith to them, `Did ye never read in the Writings, A stone that the builders disallowed, it became head of a corner; from the Lord hath this come to pass, and it is wonderful in our eyes. `Because of this I say to you, that the reign of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruit; and he who is falling on this stone shall be broken, and on whomsoever it may fall it will crush him to pieces.' And the chief priests and the Pharisees having heard his similes, knew that of them he speaketh, and seeking to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, seeing they were holding him as a prophet.
Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains -- he hath carried them, And we -- we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted. And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace `is' on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us. All of us like sheep have wandered, Each to his own way we have turned, And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, The punishment of us all. It hath been exacted, and he hath answered, And he openeth not his mouth, As a lamb to the slaughter he is brought, And as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, And he openeth not his mouth. By restraint and by judgment he hath been taken, And of his generation who doth meditate, That he hath been cut off from the land of the living? By the transgression of My people he is plagued, And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich `are' his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor `is' deceit in his mouth. And Jehovah hath delighted to bruise him, He hath made him sick, If his soul doth make an offering for guilt, He seeth seed -- he prolongeth days, And the pleasure of Jehovah in his hand doth prosper.
God `is' Jehovah, and He giveth to us light, Direct ye the festal-sacrifice with cords, Unto the horns of the altar.
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.' And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and saddleth his ass, and taketh two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and he cleaveth the wood of the burnt-offering, and riseth and goeth unto the place of which God hath spoken to him. On the third day -- Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the place from afar;
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).