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| 1 And it came to pass after these things, that God tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! and he said, Here am I. |
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, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and there offer him up for a burnt-offering on 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 early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up and went to the place that God had told him of. |
Abraham – Type of the Almighty. F170; R5180:3
Isaac – Type of The Christ, Head and Body. F170; R5180:3
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| 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. |
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| 5 And Abraham said to 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 on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and the knife, and they went both of them together. |
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| 7 And Isaac spoke to 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 sheep for a burnt-offering? |
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| 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself with the sheep for a burnt-offering. And they went both of them together. |
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| 9 And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there, and piled the wood; and he 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 out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter 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 Jehovah called to him from the heavens, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. |
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| 12 And he said, Stretch not out thy hand against the lad, neither do anything to him; for now I know that thou fearest God, and 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 was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt-offering instead 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 Jehovah-jireh; as it is said at the present day, On the mount of Jehovah will be provided. |
Jehovah-jireh – Jehovah's providence. E43
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| 15 And the Angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from the heavens a second time, |
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| 16 and said, By myself I swear, saith Jehovah, that, because thou hast done this, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, |
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| 17 I will richly bless thee, and greatly multiply thy seed, as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on 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 bless themselves, because thou hast hearkened to 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 And Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. |
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| 20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she also has borne sons to thy brother Nahor: |
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| 21 Uz his first-born, 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 begot Rebecca.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. |
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| 24 And his concubine, named Reumah, she also bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maacah. |
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