Good News Part 6

Good News! 

Part 6

In the previous part of our study, we watched the promises of YHWH Elohim become increasingly clear. The Almighty Creator called Abram, changed his name to Abraham, established His covenant with him, promised that his descendants would become a great nation, and declared that the covenant would continue through a son born to Abraham and Sarah. That son was Isaac—the child of promise. 

We have also seen that the fulfillment of Master YHWH's promises does not always come according to mankind's timetable. Abraham waited many years before the promised son was born. Yet when the time came, YHWH proved Himself faithful. What He had promised, He accomplished. 

Now, in Genesis 22, we encounter one of the most difficult and remarkable passages in the life of Abraham. The son through whom Almighty YHWH had promised to establish His covenant is now the subject of a command that would test Abraham's faith in a way unlike anything we have seen before. As we read this account, we will see a father, a son, a command, and a journey to a mountain. We will also see Abraham's response to the One who had made the promise. 

At first, some of what happens may seem difficult to understand. But rather than rushing to explain every detail, let us walk through the account carefully and allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves. Genesis 22 will challenge us to consider what it means to trust Master YHWH when we cannot see how His promise can possibly be fulfilled. And as the account unfolds, we will discover that the Almighty Creator has not forgotten His promise. 

Gen 22 

1. And it came to be after these events that Elohim tried Aḇraham, and said to him, “Aḇraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2. And He said, “Take your son, now, your only son Yitsḥaq, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriyah, and offer him there as an ascending offering on one of the mountains which I command you.”
3. And Aḇraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Yitsḥaq his son. And he split the wood for the ascending offering, and arose and went to the place which Elohim had commanded him. 
4. And on the third day Aḇraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
5. So Aḇraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there and worship, and come back to you.”
6. And Aḇraham took the wood of the ascending offering and laid it on Yitsḥaq his son. And he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 
7. And Yitsḥaq spoke to Aḇraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “See, the fire and the wood! But where is the lamb for an ascending offering?” 
8. And Aḇraham said, “My son, Elohim does provide for Himself the lamb for an ascending offering.” And the two of them went together.
9. And they came to the place which Elohim had commanded him, and Aḇraham built a slaughter-place there and placed the wood in order. And he bound Yitsḥaq his son and laid him on the slaughter-place, upon the wood. 
10. And Aḇraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son,
11. but the Messenger of יהוה called to him from the heavens and said, “Aḇraham, Aḇraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 
12. And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy, nor touch him. For now I know that you fear Elohim, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 
13. And Aḇraham lifted his eyes and looked and saw behind him a ram caught in a bush by its horns, and Aḇraham went and took the ram and offered it up for an ascending offering instead of his son.
14. And Aḇraham called the name of the place, ‘יהוהYireh,’ as it is said to this day, “On the mountain יהוה provides.” 
15. And the Messenger of יהוה called to Aḇraham a second time from the heavens, 
16. and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares יהוה, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 
17. that I shall certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess the gate of their enemies. 
18. “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
19. Then Aḇraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Be’ĕrsheḇa. And Aḇraham dwelt at Be’ĕrsheḇa. 

Upon reading Genesis 22:1–19, we immediately notice that YHWH Elohim tests Abraham. It is important to remember that faith does not mean that we will never be tested. Even those who trust in the Almighty may find themselves in circumstances that challenge their faith and require them to trust Master YHWH even when they cannot see how His promises will be fulfilled. 

In this account, however, we do not see Abraham arguing with Almighty YHWH or grumbling against the command he has been given. Instead, Abraham rises early in the morning and sets out to do what YHWH has commanded him. 

We can only imagine what may have been going through Abraham's mind as he traveled toward the place Master YHWH had shown him. Yet the account does not tell us everything Abraham was thinking or feeling. What it does show us is his obedience and trust. 

When Isaac asks where the lamb for the ascending offering is, Abraham answers, “Elohim provides for Himself the lamb for an ascending offering.” How would Master YHWH keep His promise? YHWH Elohim had already promised that Isaac was the son through whom His covenant would be established. Yet now Abraham was being commanded to offer that very son. 

There has been much speculation concerning what Abraham may have believed or understood at this moment. We should be careful not to claim what the text does not tell us. What we do know is that Abraham continued forward in faith, trusting the One who had made the promise. 

It is also significant that it was on the third day that Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance. The account then reaches its decisive moment. Abraham binds Isaac and prepares to offer him, but Master YHWH intervenes. The Almighty provides a ram caught in the thicket, and Abraham offers it in the place of his son. 

Once again, we see the faithfulness of YHWH Elohim. Abraham could not see how the promise would be fulfilled, but the promise had never depended upon Abraham's ability to understand every detail. The Almighty had made the promise, and the Almighty provided. 

And Abraham called the name of that place יהוה Yireh, meaning “YHWH provides” or “YHWH sees/provides.” Abraham had told Isaac that Elohim would provide for Himself the lamb, and when the moment came, YHWH did exactly that. The ram became the ascending offering in the place of Isaac. 

This is another beautiful pattern that we have seen throughout our study. Mankind could not provide a covering for its own shame, so Master YHWH provided. Noah could not save himself from the judgment that was coming, so YHWH Elohim provided a way of deliverance. Abraham could not see how the promise concerning Isaac could possibly continue, yet the Eternal Creator provided. 

And here, in Genesis 22, we begin to see something that will become even clearer as the Scriptures unfold. The Almighty Creator does not merely command; He provides what is needed. 

As followers of Master Yehoshua, we cannot read this account without recognizing how it points forward to the ultimate fulfillment of this pattern. Abraham was willing to offer his beloved son, Isaac—the son of promise—and YHWH Elohim provided a substitute in his place. Yet the Scriptures later reveal something even greater: the Father would provide His own Son, Master Yehoshua, as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. 

We should be careful not to claim that every detail of Genesis 22 is explicitly explained as a prophecy of Master Yehoshua. The account stands first as the historical account of Abraham, Isaac, and the faithfulness of Almighty YHWH. Yet when we read the Scriptures as a whole, the pattern becomes increasingly difficult to miss. A beloved son, a willing sacrifice, a substitute provided by Master YHWH, and a promise through which blessing would come to the nations. 

What Abraham experienced on that mountain was not the final fulfillment of the promise. It was another step in the unfolding plan of the Almighty. The ram provided in Isaac's place points us forward to the greater provision that YHWH would ultimately make through Master Yehoshua. The provision was made on that mountain, but the fullness of the promise would reach much farther than Abraham could have imagined. 

Genesis 22 does not end with the provision of the ram. After Abraham demonstrated his faith and YHWH provided the offering in the place of Isaac, the Almighty again spoke to Abraham and reaffirmed the promise He had made. 

Genesis 22 

16. and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares יהוה, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17. that I shall certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess the gate of their enemies. 
18. “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

There is something remarkable about these words. YHWH Elohim does not swear by another. He swears by Himself. There is none greater by whom He can swear, and therefore the certainty of this promise rests entirely upon the character and faithfulness of the Almighty Himself. 

Once again, we see that the promises of Master YHWH do not depend upon mankind's ability to understand how they will be accomplished. Abraham could not have known everything that would unfold from the promise given to him. He could not see the generations that would follow, the nation that would arise from his seed, or how the blessing would ultimately reach all the nations of the earth. Yet he trusted the One who had spoken. 

And now, after the greatest test of his faith recorded in this chapter, YHWH Elohim confirms the promise once again. The promise first spoken in Eden continues to unfold as a Seed was promised; a Covenant was established, and a Son was provided. 

And now the promise is reaffirmed with an oath made by YHWH Himself: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” 

As we continue through the Scriptures, we will follow this promise through Abraham's descendants and watch as Master YHWH reveals more and more of His plan. The promise is becoming clearer, but its ultimate fulfillment has not yet been revealed. The Good News continues to unfold.