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| 1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. |
Did tempt Abraham – Tried or proved his character. R1623:3
For his good. R5702:1
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| 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. |
Take now thy son – God's final test upon Abraham's faith. R4574:1
Abraham was 125 years old, and Isaac was the son who would be the channel for all the blessings promised. R5180:1
Offer him – Only a person very intimately acquainted with the Almighty, very sympathetic and trustful, could possibly have endured such a test. R5180:1
By prompt obedience Abraham gave proof of his loyalty, "accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." (Heb. 11:19) R5702:1
Thus he was counted worthy of a better resurrection. R4574:2
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| 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. |
Abraham – Type of the Almighty. F170; R5180:3
Isaac – Type of The Christ, Head and Body. F170; R5180:3
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| 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. |
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| 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. |
And worship – Abraham's frequent drawing near to God in private prayer and communion was the secret of his unwavering faith and obedience. R1624:1
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| 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. |
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| 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
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| 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. |
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| 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. |
And bound Isaac – Isaac was a man at the time, full of health and vigor, and evidently offered no resistance; typifying Christ Jesus' submission to the Father's will. R2861:1
On the altar – Typifying Christ's death as the blood of the original covenant. R4320:1
Supposedly the very rock upon which Isaac was bound became the location for the Brazen altar. (2 Chron. 3:1) R5180:2, R2510:6
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| 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |
Took the knife – The offering was complete in the sight of heaven. R5180:2
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| 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. |
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| 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. |
Thou fearest God – Abraham's entire life was a life of faith, of trust in God, and of reliance upon the divine promises. R5180:1
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| 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. |
A ram – Type of Christ. Q557:3; R5180:5
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| 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. |
Jehovah-jireh – Jehovah's providence. E43
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| 15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, |
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| 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: |
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| 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; |
In blessing – A spiritual promise which the Jews at that time could not appreciate. R5295:5
Seed as the stars – The heavenly seed, Christ and the Church. A292; F355; T34; R4682:3, R4931:1, R5178:5, R5273:4, R5809:5; OV156:3, OV428:3; SM368:1
The Little Flock and Great Company. R2067:4
The favor of the Lord now comes to us as the spiritual seed, to the extent of our faithfulness to the Lord. R4606:4
The spiritual portion was hidden until God's due time-at the first advent. R5285:3
These are the heirs of Gal. 3:29 and 1 Cor. 15:41, 42, R5178:5
Jesus was the first, the Captain, the forerunner. R4646:2
And as the sand – The earthly seed. A292; F355; T34; R4606:4, R4682:3, R5809:5; CR157:5
All who during the Millennial age attain to human perfection. R2854:1, R4646:1, R5273:4, R5836:5
Necessitating the awakening of the entire race from the tomb. R5533:4
In resemblance, not necessarily in numbers. R2067:4
Possess the gate – Place of power and control. R4370:4
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| 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. |
And in thy seed – The glorified Christ. F72; R5301:4, R5818:1; CR269:6
God's agency in blessing the world. CR460:5; R4442:4, R5181:3, R5761:4; OV201:1
All of God's blessings come under the Abrahamic covenant, either directly or indirectly. Q165:4; OV9:1; PD35/46
Isaac did not fulfill the promise, he was merely a type. SM530:T
Referred to by Paul as the oath-bound covenant. (Heb. 6:10-14). OV9:3
Every mother amongst the Israelites hoped she could be the mother of the promised child. R4963:2
At first the Jews thought of this promise as being fulfilled in them as a nation. R4714:3
The Jews will be first in prominence in the time of blessing. OV118:1
The earthly seed cannot have its share in the work of blessing others until first the heavenly seed shall have been perfected in the first resurrection. HG667:6
The Jews were in darkness in respect to God's plan. R5769:5
All of God's dealings with Israel were in accord with his covenant with Abraham. R5285:3
All the nations – Not only Israel but, through Israel, all families of the earth. A58; R4442:4, R5818:1; OV118:2, 5, OV143:T, SM368:1
Implies a resurrection from the dead. R5608:2
Be blessed – With an opportunity both of returning to harmony with God, and for everlasting life. R4557:3, R4537:6, R4806:1; SM530:T
"In becoming thy seed shall all the families of the earth bless themselves." R5836:5; SM590:T
God's promise was that the seed of Abraham would be the great king who would bless Israel and, through Israel, bless the world. HG273:5
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| 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. |
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| 20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; |
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| 21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, |
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| 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. |
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| 23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. |
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| 24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah. |
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