Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 22 mean?

Genesis 22 contains one of the most iconic stories in all of literature: Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac. It’s a troubling story for many, mostly because it is so often misunderstood. When read as part of the long, detailed story of Abraham, this is an event which reveals the depth of Abraham’s trust in God, one of the qualities God values most in His people.

Sometime after the birth of Isaac, while Abraham is still living in Beersheba, God speaks to him again. This time, God comes to test Abraham’s faithfulness and obedience with a very specific command. Abraham is to take Isaac to the land of Moriah. There, he is to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains (Genesis 22:1–2). God makes the command especially poignant by acknowledging up front that Abraham loves Isaac, his only son.

Most criticisms of this story start and end here: with the idea that Abraham would ever obey such a command from God. It’s important to realize, however, that this is not the first time Abraham has heard from God. Nor is it the first time Abraham has been presented with a situation he does not fully understand. However, God faithfully provided a son to Abraham, even though Abraham could not see how it was possible (Genesis 17:17; 21:1–2). God was righteous in His destruction of Sodom, saving Lot, even though Abraham didn’t understand how this could happen (Genesis 18:22–23; 19:15–16). Now, Abraham has to decide if he trusts God enough to obey a seemingly impossible command, even when he does not fully understand how God plans to make things right.

Abraham doesn’t hesitate. He gets up early, summons two of his servants, along with Isaac, collects enough wood for a burnt offering, and loads up the donkey. We don’t know exactly how old Isaac is at this point, but he is capable of travelling without his mother (Genesis 22:3–4), asking intelligent questions (Genesis 22:7) and carrying wood for his father (Genesis 22:6). Most likely, Isaac is a teenager. The small group immediately heads out on the three-day trip to Moriah. Once there, Abraham leaves the servants and donkey behind and heads up into the hills with Isaac and the wood (Genesis 22:3–6).

Does Abraham expect God to stop him before he kills Isaac? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Hebrews 11:19 gives us a clue: “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead.” In any case, Abraham doesn’t slow down even when Isaac asks where the lamb is. Abraham simply replies that the God will provide the lamb. Isaac, for his part, seems willing to cooperate with his father (Genesis 22:6–8).

After building the altar, Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on it. Before he can kill his son, though, the Lord’s voice rings out from heaven commanding Abraham not to harm Isaac. The test is over. Abraham has passed: “‘…now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me’” (Genesis 22:12).

A substitute sacrifice is provided in the form of a ram caught in a thicket right behind Abraham. The ram is offered, and Abraham names the mountain “The Lord will provide.” Then the Lord renews and emphasizes His promises to Abraham once more, swearing by Himself. Because of Abraham’s obedience, the Lord promises to bless Abraham, to multiply his offspring exponentially, and to give Abraham’s offspring victory over their enemies (Genesis 22:15–17).

The Lord adds another promise: All the nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s offspring, something that happens unequivocally when Abraham’s descendant, Jesus, becomes the means by which all may come into God’s blessing of grace through faith (Genesis 22:18–19).

Genesis 22 ends with a list of the 12 children of Abraham’s brother Nahor. One of those children, Bethuel, will become the father of Rebekah. Abraham’s son Isaac will eventually marry Rebekah (Genesis 24), and they will father Jacob, whose children will form the tribes of God’s chosen people, Israel.

Chapter Context
In the previous chapter, the long-promised Isaac was finally born to Sarah and Abraham, while Abraham’s other beloved son, Ishmael, was sent away to be cared for by God apart from them. Now God tests Abraham’s faith and obedience by commanding him to offer his precious son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, stopping only when the Lord cries out to him. For Abraham’s obedience, God renews and emphasizes the blessing on him and his offspring. This marks the beginning of the end of Abraham’s story, as the book of Genesis transitions to focus on Isaac and his descendants.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

The words “after these things” indicate that some time has passed since the events of Genesis 21. We will learn that Abraham is still living in Beersheba, but that Isaac has grown some. The last direct statement about Isaac’s age referred to his being weaned (Genesis 21:8), which would have been around the age of two or three. In the upcoming verses, however, we see that Isaac can travel without his mother (Genesis 22:3–4), can converse in an adult manner (Genesis 22:7), and can carry wood for the sacrificial fire (Genesis 22:6). Later verses indicate that Isaac will be around 36 or 37 when his mother, Sarah dies at the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1). Most likely, he is at least a teenager when he climbs the mountain with his father.

Genesis chapter 22 will describe God’s terrible test of Abraham’s faith. The word “test” is to be understood as something clearly different from a “temptation.” God will never tempt His people to do evil (James 1:13). We see God test His people in Scripture, though, asking them to trust Him and obey in spite of their difficult circumstances (Exodus 15:25; 20:20; Deuteronomy 8:2; 13:3; Judges 2:22). This is the key element missing when people misunderstand this part of Abraham’s story. His obedience is based, not in blind faith, but in an experienced, established trust based on what he has already seen God do.

God began this test by calling Abraham, and Abraham responded appropriately, ready to hear what God would say to him.

Context Summary
Genesis 22:1–19 takes place over the course of a few days, when Isaac is perhaps a teenager. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, acting in complete trust that God, somehow, will make all things right. Abraham stops the sacrifice only when the Lord intervenes. For his deep trust and obedience, the Lord renews and emphasizes His blessing on Abraham and his offspring, as well as promising to bless all nations through Abraham’s descendants.

Verse 2. 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.”

Even to those who are familiar with this verse, the words of God to Abraham here land like a blow. Our first instinct is that this can’t be right. Having followed the story of God in Genesis, through His relationship with Abraham and then, finally, the joyful birth of Isaac, the long-awaited son of God’s promise, these words of God just don’t fit.

That, of course, is exactly the point of God’s test. Would Abraham trust God even when God’s command did not seem to make any sense? That is the key element many people miss when interpreting this story. This is not the first time Abraham has heard from God. Nor is it the first time God has acted in ways Abraham did not—at first—fully understand. And yet, in all of those past encounters, Abraham found that God’s unseen plans led to a righteous outcome. Abraham’s response, shown in the next verse, is not an act of blind faith. It is an act of faithful trust.

Our second human reaction to God’s command is that it feels cruel. Even knowing the end of the story, it challenges us to wonder about God’s character. Earlier in Genesis, Abraham and then Ambimelech had both asked the Lord directly, “Will you kill the innocent?” The answer in both cases was “no.” God’s character was vindicated, as it will be here. In the meantime, the command God has given seems impossibly harsh.

God’s specific command to Abraham is to take the son he loves, the only son he has left (Genesis 21:9–14), to a mountainous area called Moriah, which would have been about 50 miles away. Once there, Abraham is to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. God will show him on which mountain to make the sacrifice.

A burnt offering involved slaughtering an animal and then burning it on an altar until it was completely consumed. Such offerings were practiced by many religions. Abraham had offered animal sacrifices to the Lord. Human sacrifices of children to various false gods may well have been practiced in the land of Canaan at the time. Later, God would forbid Israel from participating in child sacrifice.

Verse 3. 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.

One of the remarkable things about Genesis chapter 22 is that Abraham is not recorded as betraying any particular emotion. God’s command in the previous verse was to kill Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice. Rather than protesting or arguing, Abraham simply sets out to obey.

We have seen Abraham express emotion and resistance in response to God’s commands before. He was very displeased with the idea of sending his firstborn son Ishmael away, but he did so when God told him to do it (Genesis 21:9–14). He laughed at the idea of Isaac’s birth in his old age (Genesis 17:17), and he even expressed his emotional desire to have Ishmael “live with God” (Genesis 17:18). His lack of emotion or even any follow-up questions may be a clue that Abraham believes God will intervene to preserve Isaac’s life. In any case, his actions reveal his great confidence in God.

This confidence is, in fact, the entire point of this test. Many who criticize this story describe Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of evil. Such criticism misses the foundation of Abraham’s obedience: Abraham trusts God to do the right thing, even though he cannot fully understand how. Abraham did not see how God could give him a natural-born son; God gave him Isaac (Genesis 21:1–2). Abraham did not see how God could destroy Sodom and Gomorrah without killing the righteous, such as his nephew Lot; God proved His justice and still saved Lot’s family (Genesis 18:23; 19:15–16).

So, Abraham’s actions here are exactly the opposite of “blind faith.” Abraham obeys because he has seen, first-hand, that God will do what is right, and that God’s plans do not require Abraham to understand every detail. Abraham is trusting in what he already knows about God—he is not carelessly agreeing to murder his son.

So, Abraham rises early in the morning to set out on the three-day journey to Moriah. He quickly gathers what will be needed to do as the Lord has said: his donkey, two servants, wood for the fire, and Isaac. Isaac may well be a teenager by this time. The text refers to him as a “lad.” Later verses will show that he is old enough to travel, to ask intelligent questions (Genesis 22:7) and to carry firewood (Genesis 22:6). Isaac’s part in this is not that of a frightened, kidnapped toddler. He seems to act with just as much willingness as Abraham.

Verse 4. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

God has commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac, whom he loves, as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah. Moriah was about 50 miles from Beersheba, where Abraham lived. After a three-day journey with his donkey, two servants, all the wood needed for an offering, and Isaac, Abraham finally arrives at a place where he is able to see the mountainous region ahead of them.

Abraham’s willingness to obey this command is not an instance of blind faith. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. Prior incidents in Abraham’s life have shown him that God can accomplish good, even when human beings do not fully understand how it is possible. Isaac’s own birth was an example of God fulfilling a promise which seemed impossible, from a human perspective (Genesis 17:17; Genesis 21:1–2). Abraham is trusting his prior experience with God, assuming that God will—somehow—make this situation right. Abraham obeys, not because he suddenly thinks God wants human sacrifice, but because he assumes, with trusting faith, that God is planning something behind the scenes.

Verse 5. 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.”

Interpreters of this event wonder: is Abraham convinced that God will intervene to stop him from killing Isaac before the moment comes? Or, that Isaac will be brought back to life? We’re never told, exactly, but what Abraham says to his servants here is a clue. He tells them that he and the boy will go, worship, and come back again. One way or another, Abraham seems to suggest that he expects Isaac to accompany him on the way back.

The term translated “boy” in the ESV is from the Hebrew root word na’ar, used to refer to “youths, lads, or young men.” Given the way Isaac speaks and works in this episode (Genesis 22:6–7), he’s probably a teenager, acting willingly alongside his extremely elderly father.

Abraham clearly trusted God. God explicitly told Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac, as an everlasting covenant for his offspring (Genesis 17:19). God had also said that it would be through Isaac that Abraham’s offspring would be named (Genesis 21:12). Since Isaac had not yet had any children, God’s promise meant that Isaac must live on. Abraham has seen God turn seemingly impossible situations into examples of His righteousness and faithfulness in the past. This included saving Lot, while destroying the wicked people of Sodom (Genesis 19:15–16). It certainly included the birth of Isaac, a “miracle baby” in every way (Genesis 17:17; 21:1–2).

Another clue to Abraham’s thought process is given in Hebrews 11:17–19. There we’re told Abraham believed God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. Whatever Abraham expected to happen next, he does not hesitate to continue to obey God’s command to sacrifice the son he loved. This is not because he thinks God actually wanted a human sacrifice; rather, it is because Abraham trusts God enough to obey, even when he does not fully understand.

Verse 6. 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.

Abraham is resolute. He continues on the path to obey God’s command by sacrificing the son he loves as a burnt offering. Leaving the two servants and the donkey behind, Abraham and Isaac walk up toward the mountain together, Isaac carrying the wood for the fire, Abraham carrying the flame and the knife. The fact that Isaac is able to carry the wood strongly suggests he is no child—more than likely, he is a teenager by this time.

Again, we’re given no hints as to Abraham’s emotional state. That does not mean Abraham is unconcerned; Scripture does not record every last detail in every situation. All we know is that Abraham is following a path of obedience, based on his trust in God. This trust is grounded in the many times Abraham has seen God proven righteous, even when the situation seemed impossible.

The following verse will reveal that Isaac still has no idea what Abraham has planned. This, again, suggests a few things about Isaac. An extremely old man would have been unlikely to overpower Isaac, meaning he was also acting in faith, by trusting his father Abraham.

Verse 7. 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 and Isaac walk along together, climbing toward the spot where the sacrifice and burnt offering will take place. Isaac is carrying the wood. Abraham carries the flame and the knife. Only Abraham, at this point, knows that God has issued a command for Isaac to be sacrificed on this mountain (Genesis 22:1–2). Abraham’s willingness to obey, despite such a dire request, is based on his trust in God. Over and over, Abraham has seen God turn seemingly impossible situations into proof of His righteousness. So, Abraham obeys God out of well-established trust, not blind faith.

Finally, Isaac says, “My father.” Abraham responds as he did when God said “Abraham” at the beginning of this chapter: “Here I am.” He calls Isaac “my son.” Isaac asks a logical question: Where is the lamb? He clearly does not yet understand that he is to be the sacrifice.

Abraham’s response in the following verse will not fully explain this to Isaac, either. Interestingly, though, Isaac will cooperate with Abraham even when he is bound on the altar. A boy strong enough to carry firewood up a mountain would not have been overpowered by a man well over 100 years old. Isaac’s upcoming participation demonstrates his own trust. This cooperation foreshadows the willing sacrifice of Christ some two thousand years later (John 10:17–18).

Verse 8. Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

Isaac and Abraham are walking together toward the spot where the sacrifice of a burnt offering will be made. Isaac has asked where the lamb is. Abraham now responds somewhat cryptically: God will provide for Himself the lamb. What Abraham does not tell Isaac is that God’s command was for the sacrifice to be Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2).

Of course, Abraham’s willingness to obey this command is not driven by blind faith or evil. Instead, Abraham seems convinced that God has some plan, behind the scenes, to make all things right. That fits perfectly with the experiences Abraham has had with God so far in his life: seemingly impossible situations working out to prove God’s righteousness.

Given his response, we’re left to wonder if Abraham imagines that God will indeed stop this and provide a literal lamb in some way. Or, does Abraham mean that God has provided Isaac as the lamb for Himself, referring to Isaac’s miraculous birth? Or, that God has provided Isaac as the sacrifice but intends to raise him from the dead? We can’t fully know. In any case, Abraham does not flinch in continuing to move toward fulfilling God’s command. Judging by his actions, his faith in God’s goodness, character, and power remain absolute.

Touchingly, Isaac’s simple trust in his father also remains intact. A young man who can carry wood up a mountain could not be overpowered by an elderly man—when Isaac is bound on the altar, he has to allow it to happen (Genesis 22:9). The two obviously care for each other. Abraham continues to show his willingness to give to God this boy he loves, trusting the Lord to do what is right.

Verse 9. 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.

As we read through the story told in Genesis 22, we come very close to the moment we have been dreading. Abraham has been commanded by God to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2). Abraham has obeyed, thus far, seemingly under the assumption that God has some greater plan or purpose in mind (Genesis 22:5). Abraham and Isaac arrive at the place God has shown to Abraham for the sacrifice. Abraham builds the altar and lays out the wood on top of it.

Then he prepares to do, but for the command of God, what would be unthinkable. He binds Isaac with a rope and lays him on the altar. Did Isaac protest? Did he struggle? Or did he stand obediently without resisting and allow himself to be tied and laid out? Did either Isaac or Abraham cry? We’re not told any of these details, but what we do know of the story strongly suggests that Isaac was a willing participant. He’s old enough to ask questions (Genesis 22:7), and to carry firewood (Genesis 22:6). He’s alone with an elderly man (Genesis 22:5). Since he could have easily run away from or overpowered Abraham, it makes the most sense to assume Isaac allowed himself to be bound. Of course, Scripture does not say this directly, so we cannot be absolutely certain.

What we know for sure is that Abraham continued to demonstrate his unshaken faith in God by willingly obeying this command. He was clearly passing God’s test of his faith, showing that his love for the Lord was greater than his love for his son. Even though he does not understand, Abraham still obeys—this is the definition of “faith,” which in a biblical context means “trust.”

The other thing we know is that Isaac here serves as a picture of the very action taken by Jesus about two thousand years from this moment. Jesus, the Son, willingly allowed Himself to be sacrificed for the sins of the world by His Father God. As Isaac did, Jesus carried the wood that was to be used in His own execution. Jesus, however, actually died as the sacrificial lamb, raised back to life as Abraham may have imagined Isaac would be (Hebrews 11:19).

Verse 10. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, the son he loved, as a burnt offering. Now that Isaac was bound and laid out on the altar, the moment had come. Again, Abraham’s confidence in God’s goodness, power, and character is so thorough that he does not appear to hesitate. He takes the knife and prepares to kill his precious and long-awaited son. This is the moment of truth—the phrasing here clearly indicates that Abraham is taking action. He is not merely “holding” the knife and waiting for something to happen. He is actively, obediently following the command given him by God.

This obedience, of course, is not based in ignorance or blind faith. Instead, Abraham is trusting God to do what He has done so many times before: work behind the scenes to do the right things, even when human beings cannot understand.

Before we read on to the next verse, in which the angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham to stop him, it’s worth taking a moment to consider God’s character. Was the Lord cruel to ask this of Abraham? Was God being capricious like the gods of mythology who casually tormented their human followers? Such questions require some thoughtfulness. They should not be dismissed too quickly.

God identifies Himself as love (1 John 4:8). He demonstrated His love to the universe by the sacrifice of His own Son for our sins (Romans 5:8). He is the same God who asked Abraham to do what He Himself would later do with Jesus. Given what we see in the very next verse, God always knew that Isaac would not be harmed. So, then, what was the point of all of this? God’s purpose in testing Abraham’s faith will be clarified in the following verses.

Verse 11. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

In the instant before this verse, Abraham was poised to kill his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22:9–10). This was in obedience to a command given directly from God. Of course, this would have seemed as unthinkable to Abraham as it does to us. Abraham’s obedience comes as a result of his trust in God. Abraham has seen, first-hand, how God can prove His righteousness, even when limited people cannot understand what is happening. Abraham is not blindly obeying for no reason. He is acting for the best possible reason: because he has experienced God’s goodness enough to trust Him!

The repetition of Abraham’s name and the cry of the voice from heaven indicates the urgency of the moment. Abraham responds as he did when God first spoke to him in verse 1, and as he did when Isaac asked him about the lamb: “Here I am.” Once more, none of Abraham’s emotion is revealed to us. He appears to be ready to do next whatever the Lord asks of him. He was certainly prepared to commit the act God had asked of him, right up until the moment he is stopped by this voice.

Verse 12. 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.”

In complete and unhesitating obedience to God, Abraham was preparing to kill Isaac as he lay tied up on an altar. Knife in hand, Abraham is stopped by an urgent voice from heaven calling out his name. Now the angel of the Lord makes it clear: Don’t hurt the boy in any way. This was God’s plan all along, and Abraham has passed God’s test of his faith.

The angel of the Lord, truly the Lord in another form, goes on: Now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your only son from me. In the Old Testament, especially, to “fear God” means to have such great respect and reverence for the Lord’s power and righteousness that you obey Him above all others. God’s test satisfied the question of whether Abraham “feared” God once and for all.

Abraham’s faith, we should note, is not ignorant or blind. Instead, he is choosing to trust God as a result of prior experiences. Time and again, God has proven that Abraham does not need to understand every detail, he merely needs to obey. God will work to prove His own righteousness in the end. Here, again, this is proven to be the case, though in a far more direct and dramatic form.

The Lord again refers to Isaac as “your son, your only son.” We must not miss the parallel to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Verse 13. 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.

Earlier in Genesis 22, Isaac had asked his father where the lamb was that they were to sacrifice. Abraham replied that the God would provide for Himself the lamb (Genesis 22:8). Whether Abraham understood that God had provided for Himself Isaac or that another lamb would be provided, we don’t know. In either case, God does exactly as Abraham said He would.

The lamb, a ram, was presented ready-made to Abraham for the sacrifice. It was caught in a thicket right behind him. Abraham had only to replace Isaac with the ram and continue the offering. The ram given by God served as the substitute for Isaac in Abraham’s burnt offering.

Again, we’re told nothing of the emotions or words of Abraham or Isaac in response to all of this. What matters most to the Lord is made quite clear: their actions (James 2:20–22). Whatever he was feeling or thinking, Abraham trusted God and obeyed. He had passed the test, and the Lord had provided another offering as a way of worshipping God.

The call from heaven not to kill Isaac (Genesis 22:12), and the provision of a substitute sacrifice, serve to prove that Abraham’s trust in God was well-placed. Just as He had in the past, God demonstrated that He was willing and able to keep His promises, and display His righteousness, even when limited human beings could not understand what was happening.

Verse 14. 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.”

Abraham has just passed an enormously difficult test of his trust in God. Abraham obeyed God’s seemingly cruel command to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2), up to the moment where God intervenes to prevent the act from happening (Genesis 22:11–12). After commanding Abraham not to sacrifice his only son, the Lord provided a substitute sacrifice, a ram. (Genesis 22:13) Abraham commemorated the place by naming the mountain. He called it “The Lord will provide.”

The phrase “to this day,” is a reference to the writing of the book of Genesis. So, at least until that point, the name given to the mountain by Abraham stuck. It was the mountain of “The LORD will provide.” It became a saying, apparently: “On the mountain of the LORD, it will be provided.”

It was not unusual in Genesis for a name to be changed in order to mark a significant event or interaction with the Lord. Beersheba had been named for the oath that included Abraham’s well (Genesis 21:31). Bela had been renamed Zoar when Lot and his daughters took refuge from God’s judgment there (Genesis 19:22). And Abraham and Sarah both had been renamed by God on the day He revealed to Abraham that Isaac would soon be born (Genesis 17:5; 17:15).

Verse 15. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven

Previously, Abraham had taken his son, Isaac, to a particular mountain at God’s command. There, so far as Abraham knew, he was to sacrifice his son to God (Genesis 22:1–2). Abraham’s decision to trust that God had something unseen in mind was rewarded: God intervenes to prevent Isaac from being harmed (Genesis 22:11–12). The long-awaited son of Abraham and Sarah has been spared. The ram has been provided by God and offered in Isaac’s place (Genesis 22:13–14). Abraham has named the mountain “The LORD will provide.”

This encounter with God is not over, yet. The angel of the Lord—the Lord Himself—has more to say to Abraham. He calls down a second time.

Verse 16. and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

The voice of the angel of the Lord—the Lord Himself—calls out to Abraham after stopping him from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:11–12) and after Abraham has sacrificed the ram God provided instead (Genesis 22:13–14).

The Lord begins by saying that because Abraham has not withheld his only son from the Lord, the Lord has sworn “by Himself” to do what is named in the following verses. This is the only time God swears an oath to do something in the stories of the patriarchs. Why does He swear “by” Himself, or “on” Himself? Hebrews 6:13 spells it out: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.”

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath” (Hebrews 6:16–17). In other words, what God is about to promise to Abraham in the following verses carries huge significance. So, God uses a human concept, for the sake of our human understanding.

Verse 17. 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,

Abraham has just passed an incredibly difficult test of his trust in God: being asked to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2). Abraham’s willingness to obey is based on his prior experiences, which have always shown that God will be proven righteous in the end. Even when human perspectives fall short, God knows what He is doing. In the end, God intervenes and provides an animal sacrifice (Genesis 22:11–13), once again justifying Abraham’s faith.

In the previous verse, the Lord declared that He had sworn “by Himself” to do for Abraham what is listed in this and the following verse. In essence, God is confirming and emphasizing that He will do for Abraham what He has promised several times before. Here though, the promises are delivered with greater force and specificity. The Lord says, “I will surely bless you” or “I will really bless you.” God has been blessing Abraham all along, but the promise is underlined with the word “surely” this time. There can be no doubt about God’s blessing of Abraham.

The Lord also promises to multiply Abraham offspring as the stars of heaven, something He had promised before as Abraham looked at the night sky in Genesis 15:5. For the first time, though, the Lord adds that Abraham’s offspring will be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. That’s a lot of descendants!

In addition, the Lord swears that Abraham’s descendants will conquer their enemies. Put poetically, they will possess the gates of enemy cities. This is a more specific way of pointing to the day when Israel would conquer her enemies while taking possession of the promised land of Canaan.

The following verse includes one more promise the Lord swears “by Himself” to do for Abraham.

Verse 18. and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

In the previous verses, the Lord declared that He had sworn “by Himself” to do for Abraham several very specific things. Those included blessing Abraham, multiplying his offspring enormously, and giving his offspring victory over their enemies.

Now the Lord adds one more promise that applies to everyone who might read these words. The Lord says that in Abraham’s offspring, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This promise, too, is repeated from previous interactions with the Lord (Genesis 12:3; 18:18), with the addition that this blessing on the peoples of the earth will come through Abraham’s descendants and not merely through him.

How will this happen? Most significantly, the offspring of Abraham will lead through Isaac to Jacob and down through history to Jesus Himself. All the peoples of the earth have the opportunity to be saved from sin and included in God’s family through faith in Abraham’s offspring Jesus (Galatians 3:7).

This verse concludes that the Lord will do all of these things because Abraham has obeyed the Lord’s voice. It’s interesting that the Lord made all of these promises to Abraham without any condition in earlier encounters. Then, the promises were given merely because God wanted to give them. Now, Abraham’s obedience is included as a reason for these gifts from the Lord.

It’s beautiful circle. The gifts are given unconditionally by the grace of God. The receiver of the gift recognizes God’s goodness and obeys God’s commands. God now cites the receiver’s obedience as reason to give the gifts He would have given, anyway.

Verse 19. So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

This is the final verse in the story of Abraham’s obedience in his willingness to sacrifice his only son at God’s command. Abraham has seen God’s goodness proven over and over, so he trusts that God has some good outcome in mind. And, as expected, God intervenes to stop Isaac from being harmed, while providing an animal sacrifice (Genesis 22:11–13). When the ritual is completed, Abraham and Isaac go back down the mountain, to meet Abraham’s two servants. The small company travels together back to Abraham’s home in Beersheba.

Though Abraham might not have known exactly what would happen when he left these two servants to go up the mountain, he was right: “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5).

Verse 20. Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

Sometime after the events described earlier in this chapter, perhaps years later, Abraham received news from the home he had left behind when God sent him to the land of Canaan. The news was that his brother Nahor’s wife, Milcah, had born eight children over the years. This is quite the comparison to Sarah’s one child, Isaac.

The names of these children of Nahor and Milcah, as well as some of their grandchildren, are listed in the following verses. These notes are important mostly to establish the family history of Isaac’s eventual wife, Rebekah.

Context Summary
Genesis 22:20–24 relates a few details about Abraham’s extended family. The prior story involved God’s test of Abraham’s faith, which Abraham passed through his trusting obedience. The following section begins chapter 23, which relates the death and burial of Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

Verse 21. Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

In the previous verse, Abraham learned some news about his extended family. Abraham had left his homeland when God called him to enter Canaan, and in the many years since, Abraham’s brother Nahor has fathered several children with his wife Milcah. This and the following verses lists these nephews and nieces of Abraham. They include Buz, Uz, and Kemuel, who became the father of Aram. These names are given primarily because they explain the family history of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife.

Verse 22. Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”

In verse 20, Abraham learned some news from the land he left behind when God called him to enter Canaan. Abraham’s brother Nahor had fathered several children with his wife Milcah. They include Buz, Uz, and Kemuel, who became the father of Aram. Additional names given in this verse include Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. In the following verse, we’ll learn that Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Rebekah would eventually marry Abraham’s son Isaac.

Verse 23. (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham ‘s brother.

In verse 20, Abraham learned that his brother Nahor had fathered several children with his wife Milcah. Nahor is still living in the land Abraham left behind when God called him to enter Canaan. Now we learn that one of those children, Bethuel, became the father of Rebekah. Rebekah would go on to marry Abraham’s son, Isaac. Together they will produce a son, Jacob, who will one day be renamed Israel, and whose children will form the tribes of God’s chosen people.

Verse 24. Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

In previous verses, Abraham learned that back in the land he left behind when God called him to enter Canaan, his brother Nahor had fathered eight children with his wife Milcah. One of the eight, Bethuel, became the father of Rebekah. Abraham’s son Isaac would later marry Rebekah (Genesis 24). This is an important marriage, since Isaac and Rebekah will produce a son, Jacob, whom God will later rename Israel. This makes Isaac and Rebekah the grandparents of God’s chosen people.

Now we learn that Nahor fathered an additional four children with Reumah, his concubine.

It’s hard to miss that in the time it took Abraham to father two children, Ishmael and Isaac, his brother had fathered 12 offspring. We’re not told how this news impacted Abraham. Was he excited for the expansion of the family line? Was he sad or discouraged? We don’t know. We do know that he continued to trust God to keep His promises. The next chapter provides evidence of Abraham’s confidence that the land of Canaan would become the land of his offspring.

End of Chapter 22.

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