Genesis
22:3 ¶ And Abraham rose up early in the
morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac
his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto
the place of which God had told him. 4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar
off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young
men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship,
and come again to you. 6 And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he
took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto 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 lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them
together. 9 And they came to the place
which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand,
and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis
22:11 ¶ And the angel of the LORD called
unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon
the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked,
and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son. 14 And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it
shall be seen.
Without
questioning Abraham proceeds toward his obedience to God’s seemingly horrific
command. For we know that human sacrifice is forbidden by God as an act of
worship from the previously quoted Deuteronomy 12:29-31; Jeremiah 19:5, and
Jeremiah 32:35.
Mount
Moriah is what we know today as the Temple Mount.
2Chronicles
3:1 Then Solomon began to build the
house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto
David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of
Ornan the Jebusite.
The
third day represents to us the
resurrection of Christ after three days.
Luke
24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day:
This
resurrection is a theme mentioned in several places in prophetic verses in the
Old Testament.
Hosea
6:2 After two days will he revive us: in
the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Isaac
as a type of Christ. Verse 8 shows Abraham speaking a prophecy of Christ, the
Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36), as it is a ram that is provided for this sacrifice
as a ram is the sacrifice of Aaron and his son’s consecration as God’s priests
in Exodus 29. Isaac is being set apart for God’s purpose and we are being given
a glimpse of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.
…God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering…
Notice
here that to stop him, God, as the angel of the Lord, the appearance of God,
which appearance is Christ as we have seen, calls Abraham out of heaven. Notice
the similar scene with Hagar in preceding passages.
Genesis
22:15 ¶ And the angel of the LORD called
unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast
done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and
they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
Christ,
the visible image of the invisible God, the angel of the Lord, the one of the
three parts of God by which all things were created, makes a promise to
Abraham. (see comments on chapter 1, verse 3, for the Biblical explanation of
who Christ is.) In the promise He makes a statement of equivalence between the
amount of sand on the sea shore and the number of stars in the heavens.
Although we can never know this number in this life scientists do approximate
that there is a similar number of both although many insist that there are more
stars in the heavens than sand. In any event, the point of this is not to
engage in a scientific statement but to underscore the concept of a lot of or very many. This is done in other places to signify a large amount.
Deuteronomy
28:62 And ye shall be left few in
number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou
wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
But
if you insist that this does refer to an exact number then you must also
consider the possibility of interpreting the Bible in such a way that in
eternity the Jews, who some say will inherit the physical earth while followers
in Christ from the church age will abide in the New Jerusalem, will reproduce
fully populating from their scant ten million roughly today on the earth to
perhaps the entire universe as Rebekah’s brother and mother prophesied a number
in the billions for them eventually. The following is more of a specific kind
of number.
Genesis
24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said
unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those
which hate them.
As
explained before in 19:1-3 comments the
gate is the place of judgment in a city. It is a place of authority and the
Hebrews here are promised much victory.
Because
Abraham obeyed God the entire earth is blessed and all men will have the
opportunity to be reconciled to God. Our amnesty in the rebellion begun by Adam
against the King of all existence is again ensured. This promise is referred to
in several places which I recommend you read, paying attention to the context.
See Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 26:4; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8,9.
Paul
makes the argument that this promise, as with the land grant, comes directly
through Christ and eventually to Christ in Galatians 3. This is how the Jews
will inherit the land they were promised, through Christ, and this is how all
believers will inherit eternal life, through Christ.
First,
Paul compares Abraham believing God, the foundation of his salvation, with our
believing Christ, who is God, the foundation of our salvation along with
believing in His resurrection as stated in Romans 10, starting in verse 9.
We
believe what Christ said about Himself. First, to define what believe on means as believing what
Christ said;
John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Acts
16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Now,
see how Paul uses Abraham’s belief, though like ours, imperfect, to begin his
argument. Note in verse 9 that to be faithful is to be full of faith and
constant to it and is not about how often you darken the church’s doors.
Galatians
3:6 ¶ Even as Abraham believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham. 8 And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed
with faithful Abraham. 10 For as
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written,
Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them. 11 But that
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The
just shall live by faith. 12 And the law
is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men;
Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth,
or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that
the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was
four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the
promise of none effect. 18 For if the
inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham
by promise.
So,
that Jew and Gentile can be reconciled to God by this promise through Christ
and that the Jews receive their promise of land in eternity through Christ’s
acquisition of it Himself physically. As the angel of the Lord, Christ, made
the promises so do they find their fulfillment in Him.
Remember,
the Bible is the record of God’s efforts at reconciling man to Himself. This is
the alternative to just letting all mankind share a fate worse than simply
ceasing to exist, an eternity of agony and judgment in a lake of unquenchable
fire for our souls. We can honor Abraham, in his obedience, for being part of
God’s plan for our reconciliation to Him. But, we give all the glory to God who
made our reconciliation possible, sure, and complete; for without His grace,
His unmerited favor, we would be lost.
Genesis
22:20 ¶ And it came to pass after these
things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born
children unto thy brother Nahor; 21 Huz
his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and
Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 And Bethuel
begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she
bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Genesis,
chapter 23
Genesis
23:1 ¶ And Sarah was an hundred and
seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is
Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep
for her.
Genesis
23:3 ¶ And Abraham stood up from before
his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you:
give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of
my sight. 5 And the children of Heth
answered Abraham, saying unto him, 6
Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of
our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his
sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. 7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to
the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be
your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for
me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 That he
may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his
field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of
a buryingplace amongst you. 10 And
Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered
Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at
the gate of his city, saying, 11 Nay, my
lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it
thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
12 And Abraham bowed down himself before
the people of the land. 13 And he spake
unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt
give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of
me, and I will bury my dead there. 14
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth
four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury
therefore thy dead.
Genesis
23:16 ¶ And Abraham hearkened unto
Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the
audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money
with the merchant. 17 And the field of
Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave
which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all
the borders round about, were made sure 18
Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth,
before all that went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife
in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the
land of Canaan. 20 And the field, and
the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a
buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
Moses,
writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us information about
Milcah being the mother of children by Abraham’s brother, Nahor. If you read
the book of Job you will see that the writer of Job, Elihu, is a Buzite, or
descendant, perhaps a grandson, of Buz. see Job 32. Of course, there may have
been another person named Buz but the general time frame works for the events
of the book of Job which took place in what became known as the land of Edom.
Job was a Gentile, not a Hebrew.
Milcah
and Nahor will be the grandparents of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife. See Genesis 24:15.
Sarah
is now 127 years old. She dies in Canaan. Heth was a son of Canaan, who was
cursed in the incident between Noah and Ham in Genesis 9. Heth is the father of
the Hittites as we see by verse 10. Later, Uriah the Hittite will play the role
of innocent victim in the story of David in 2Samuel 11.
What
follows is the purchase of a cave in which to bury Sarah. Remember, when
Abraham refused to take any reward from the King of Sodom in Genesis 14? Here,
Abraham refuses to accept this cave without paying for it. There is a pattern
here, it would seem, of not wishing to be in thrall to a person who offers you
something for free. It appears to be a matter of honor. Notice David refusing
to accept a place to offer a sacrifice as a gift but demanding to pay for it in
2Samuel 24. And, it may be a ritual, a custom played out where it is expected
to offer something for free and it is expected to offer money for it.
One
last thing, notice the custom of burying the dead out of one’s sight rather
than exposing the dead to the ravage of scavengers and decay as some cultures
did and still do. Also, keep in mind that in the diaspora of mankind from the
building of Babel that some cultures grew to not just respect the dead but to
worship the dead, their ancestors, as gods. This is the source of some god
mythologies around the world. The cult of death in human history has a long
tradition which will show itself in later chapters where the heathen make marks
on their bodies to venerate the dead. Death itself can be worshipped as is
evident by certain groups in modern society. Consider philosophies where death
is to be preferred or, if not preferred, glorified like the cult of
hyper-patriotism in war, abortion-on-demand, and euthanasia and examine them closely
and the writings of their most vocal proponents. In the various expressions of
the cult of death war, abortion, and euthanasia are sacraments almost. Beware
of anyone who glorifies death without the resurrection. They will justify it by
pragmatism, patriotism, sacrifice, or a matter of human rights. They will wrap
it in a flag, the Constitution, humans as mere animals, reason, practicality or
any number of justifications. It is Satan who wishes us to focus on death
alone. That is the key to controlling our thought processes and affections, our
beliefs about everything from science to how we view the end of life. Here, Abraham wishes only to show respect for
Sarah and bury her out of his sight.
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