A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

The offering Abraham was to offer was a burnt offering of his son. The burnt offering was
one of the five major offerings in the sacrificial system of Israel and was sometimes called the
holocaust because it involved the whole sacrifice being burned on the altar. This offering is twice
emphasized in God’s instruction to Abraham (Gen. 22:2). The Hebrew `alah translated “offer” and
the name of the sacrifice, `olah, are both based on the same Hebrew root meaning to cause to
ascend as the flame and smoke ascended by burning. Abraham would not have understood God
wanting him to give Him Isaac by killing him on an altar and burning his body completely with
fire. He was being called to a course of action which would seem to jeopardize his highest hopes in
life. It must have seemed that obedience to the request of God would totally destroy his future
usefulness, especially as it related to the covenant.
God, who is by nature immutable, forbad the offering of human sacrifice in the Law, so
even at the beginning of the command, it was not the intent of God to kill Isaac. That was not
known by Abraham, however. From his perspective, it was God’s intent that Isaac die. God did not
want the sacrifice of a son but rather the surrender of a father. What the Lord desired was not
Isaac’s life but Abraham’s loyalty. The Lord does not want things when He asks for sacrifice. He
wants our complete obedience. Sacrifice is a surrender of the will. Abraham understood that even
if God does not want something, if He asks for it, it must be offered.
It is approximately a sixty-mile journey from Abraham’s camp at Beersheba to Mount
Moriah. Making the journey in three days suggests Abraham did not waste any time in keeping
the command of God. Still, during the trip he had seventy-two hours to think about the
command to kill his son. While the reference to time here is correct in the geographic context, it
is also emphasized in this account because of the nature of the protracted test and Abraham’s
sustained obedience. Some writers believe the reference to the third day is a symbolic reference
to the resurrection of Christ. Much of this account has typical significance to the offering of
Christ by God the Father on Mount Moriah (Calvary) at a later date (cf. Heb. 11:17-19).
When the mountain came in view, Abraham told his servants to remain with the animals
while he and Isaac went to worship, adding “and come back to you” (Gen. 22:5). The Hebrew
verb wenishubah has a first person plural ending. There is no way to escape the conclusion that
Abraham and Isaac would together worship God; i.e., in the burnt offering, and that Abraham
expected they would together return from the mountain. In light of the action of Abraham on the
mountain and the revelation of Hebrews 11:17-19, Abraham apparently planned to kill his son,
burn the body of his son on the altar as a whole burnt offering to God, and watch God raise his
son back to life out of the ashes left on the altar. No wonder the faith of Abraham is defined in
terms of Abraham being fully persuaded God is able to keep his promises (Rom. 4:21; Heb.
11:19).
It was not until Abraham and Isaac were climbing the mountain together that Isaac raised
the issue of a lamb for a sacrifice. Abraham responded, “My son, God will provide for Himself
the lamb for a burnt offering” (Gen. 22:8). Interpreters argue over the translation and meaning of
this statement. The Hebrew word yire’eh lo may be translated “He Himself will provide” or “He
will provide Himself.” One’s basic presupposition as to what the Bible is all about, will to a
certain extent, determine how one translates this word. Still, within the context, there are
indications that the translation of the King James Version is most likely the correct one. The
Hebrew word haseh translated “a lamb” includes the definite article and can be translated “the
Lamb.” If the statement were included here only to the effect that Abraham expected God at the
last moment to provide the sacrificial lamb, certainly a more fitting conclusion to the story would
be the offering of a lamb rather than a ram. It is far more likely that Abraham was looking