Genesis 22 (ESV)
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
This passage is about the supreme test of Abraham's faith and God's provision of a substitute sacrifice, and we can break it down into three subsections.
Genesis 22 opens with one of the most shocking commands in all of Scripture. God calls to Abraham and tells him, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
Think about what God is asking here. Isaac isn't just any child. He's the child of promise, the one through whom all of God's covenant promises would be fulfilled. Abraham had waited decades for this son. Sarah had laughed at the impossibility of it all. And now God is asking Abraham to sacrifice him.
The Hebrew text emphasizes the emotional weight of this command. God doesn't just say "take your son." He says "take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love." Each phrase builds the intensity. This isn't a distant theological exercise. This is about the deepest love a father can have.
What's remarkable is Abraham's response. Verse 3 tells us that "Abraham rose early in the morning." There's no recorded hesitation, no argument with God, no attempt to negotiate. He simply obeys. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham reasoned that God could even raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham trusted that somehow, some way, God would keep his promises even through this impossible command.
This teaches us that true faith sometimes requires us to surrender the very things God has given us. We might cling to our children, our careers, our plans, our health, thinking these are ours to control. But Abraham shows us that everything we have belongs to God first. Real trust means being willing to place even our most precious gifts back into God's hands, trusting that his purposes are good even when we can't see how.
Now this journey to Moriah takes three days. Can you imagine those three days? Every step taking Abraham closer to what seems like the destruction of everything he holds dear. Every conversation with Isaac must have been torture. When Isaac asks, "My father, where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham's answer is profound: "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."
Abraham speaks better than he knows. His words are actually a prophecy. God will indeed provide a lamb. But notice how Abraham includes Isaac in his response. "My son." Even in this moment of testing, Abraham's love for Isaac is clear.
Now notice, the journey takes three days. The three-day journey also gives us a picture of resurrection. As Hebrews 11:19 explains, Abraham received Isaac back "figuratively speaking, from the dead." In Abraham's mind, Isaac was as good as dead from the moment God gave the command. The three days represent a kind of death and resurrection.
When they reach the mountain, Abraham builds the altar, arranges the wood, binds Isaac, and raises the knife. The text moves slowly here, emphasizing each deliberate action. Abraham is stepping through painful obedience to God’s command. He's going through with it because he trusts God completely.
This shows us that obedience to God often involves walking through periods where his purposes seem unclear or even painful. Faith doesn't mean we won't struggle or hurt. It means we keep walking forward, trusting that God's character remains good even when our circumstances feel impossible. Sometimes our most faithful moments are the ones that feel most difficult.
Now just as Abraham's hand is about to come down, the angel of the Lord calls out, "Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
God provides a ram caught in a thicket as a substitute sacrifice. Abraham calls the place "The Lord will provide," or in Hebrew, "Yahweh Yireh." This becomes a memorial to God's provision in the moment of greatest need.
But this story points to something even greater. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only beloved son whom he loves prefigures what God the Father would actually do. On this same mountain region, centuries later, God would not spare his own Son but give him up for us all. Where Abraham received his son back, God would give his Son completely.
The ram caught in the thicket represents the principle of substitutionary sacrifice that runs throughout Scripture. This points forward to Christ, who became our substitute on the cross. An innocent substitute dies in place of the one who deserves judgment.
This means that when we face our own impossible situations, we can trust in the God who provides. He sees our needs before we even know them. More than that, he has already provided the ultimate solution to our greatest need. In Christ, God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. The same God who provided for Abraham in this moment will provide for us in our moment.
Let’s Pray
Father, we thank you that you are the God who provides. Help us to trust you like Abraham did, even when your ways seem mysterious or painful. Thank you that you didn't spare your own Son but gave him up for us all. When we face our own tests and trials, remind us that you see, you care, and you provide exactly what we need. In Jesus' name, Amen.