By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Hebrews 11:17
One of the best known stories of the Bible is the account of Abraham offering his son Isaac on the mountain in Moriah, as related in Genesis 22. It is a touching story for any of us, and can be a gripping and powerful Gospel message when properly told to the Sunday School children. We cannot help but marvel at the faith that Abraham showed on that occasion, and the grace that God displayed to him in response. Most times when the story is told, Isaac is presented as a young lad of ten or 12 years of age, fully under the control of his father. But that is a false picture, according to Josephus, author of the Antiquities of the Jews. He places Abraham’s age on that occasion as 125, which would mean Isaac was a full-grown man in his 20s. If this is so, it is difficult to imagine the aged Abraham being able to overpower his son to bind him to the altar for sacrifice. If this is so, we must look at Isaac as being in full compliance with God’s call for him to be sacrificed. He was not just an innocent offering, he was also a willing one. So our text tells us of the faith of not just one, but two great men of God. And in their faith, they give to us one of Scripture’s most powerful pictures of the offering of another only begotten Son.
The book of Genesis gives us great details on the lives of Abraham and his grandson Jacob, with much less told regarding the life of Isaac. So we tend to downplay the role of Isaac. We should not do that. When we consider the scene on the mountain as Abraham prepares the altar, we rightfully applaud the father for his faith. But when we consider Abraham binding his son to the altar, we must – if Josephus is right – regard both men as in full agreement with God’s demand. In this, these two men provide us a picture of the harmony in Heaven as the Father and the Son prepare for the sacrifice that you and I needed. If Isaac had been unwilling, and if Abraham had captured and subdued him by force, the picture would have been only that of the sacrifice of the animals that had been continuing since the days of Adam and Abel. Instead, the faith of these two men brings us to worship the God Who so loved us and the Son Who so willingly died in our stead.
I don’t think you or I would be able to do what Abraham or Isaac did on that occasion. And that is appropriate, because you or I were also not able to do anything to save ourselves from our sins. So as we appreciate Abraham’s faith today, and Isaac’s obedience, we are thankful for the lovely peek they give us into the very heart of our God. -Jim MacIntosh