Summary
Shawn teaches that Abraham's unwavering faith was demonstrated during the near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah, believing God would fulfill His promises even if it meant raising Isaac from the dead, which parallels the faith in resurrection seen in Jesus' day. This event, where God provided a ram as a substitute offering, illustrates Abraham's certainty in God's provision and is a foundational example of genuine, doubt-free faith.
Abraham's story illustrates that true faith in God leads to actions rooted in love, exemplifying the first great commandment to love God wholeheartedly; this faith was demonstrated through his readiness to sacrifice Isaac, reflecting a complete trust in God's promise and leading to works that fulfill faith, as explained in James. In this teaching, it is emphasized that faith and love work in tandem, like the wheels of a motorcycle, driving believers toward their spiritual destination in alignment with the ministry's focus on "Light, Learning, Love, and Liberty."
The teaching by Shawn highlights the spiritual journey described as four stages: Light, Learning, Love, and Liberty, using biblical passages such as John 8:30-32 and the Parable of the Sower. This process involves initially believing in God (Light), continuing to learn His word (Learning), embracing love as the ultimate truth (Love), and finally achieving freedom through the fruit of love (Liberty), emphasizing personal liberation through faith and selfless agape love.
Shawn's teaching emphasizes that the story of Abraham and Isaac illustrates the importance of obedience over sacrifice, as demonstrated when God intervened to stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac; this act signifies that God seeks proof of faithfulness and commitment rather than physical offerings. Furthermore, Shawn suggests that God's engagement with humanity through questions, despite knowing all outcomes, serves as a method to involve humans in understanding their own faith and obedience.
The teaching explores the interpretation of "Jehovahjireh" as either "The Lord will provide" or "The LORD is seen," suggesting a literal view where the narrative aligns with biblical prophecy and the eventual revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Emphasizing God's promise to Abraham, it discusses God's promise-making character, highlighting the significance of God's covenantal oath rooted in unchangeable divine purposes and encouraging believers to hold onto the hope assured by God's unwavering promises.
The teaching by Shawn explores the nature of the Abrahamic covenant, highlighting that it is an unconditional promise by God to fulfill blessings through Abraham's lineage, established independently by God passing alone between the sacrificed animals. Although Genesis 22 presents a test of Abraham’s faith with Isaac, demonstrating obedience does not alter the covenant's unilateral nature but rather affirms the reality of Abraham's faith, showing how faith and works are interconnected yet distinct, with the covenant being ultimately fulfilled through Christ as explained by Paul in Galatians.
The Story of Abraham and Isaac
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Genesis 22.9-19
January 22nd 2023
So, we left off with Abraham and Isaac traveling to the place of sacrifice on Mount Moriah and Isaac asking his father where the animal was to be offered and Abraham responded with:
My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
The Testing of Abraham's Faith
In John 8:56 Jesus said to the Jews around him:
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Perhaps Jesus was speaking to this time Abraham was on Mt. Moriah, having loaded the wood on the back of his only Son and leading him like a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter?
So let’s read on beginning at verse 9:
Genesis 22:9 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.
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.
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.
The Mindset of Abraham
Alright, back to verse 9:
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.
The idea of genuine faith is that it exists without the shadow of doubt. In the face of doubt, there is fear and in the face of fear faith is unlikely. It seems to me, from all we have read, that Abraham was convinced in his faith that he and Isaac would come back down from the mount and that in the least, God would raise Isaac back up from the dead. With this being the case, I submit that Abraham was not fearful here because Abraham was not doubtful of this ultimate end.
Remember God has come to him several times and reiterated the promise that Sarah would conceive (she did) and that through this son of promise he would have countless progeny. We tend to think of Abraham sort of being wishy washy and your know, pausing to act, delaying around to see if God would intervene. That is comforting to us and how we know we would move forward on this thing.
I suggest that Abraham was convinced that he had to slay Isaac and that God would, without a doubt raise Him back to life. Remember, God gave life to Sarah’s womb that was long dead. Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus day, and to me the only rejoicing would and could come from His resurrection from the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. He would be subject to, so taking all of this I submit that the mindset of Abraham was not a mindset of doubt or fear or hesitation.
The Intention of Sacrifice
Several Talmudic scholars maintain that neither Abraham nor God ever intended there to be a sacrifice. I would agree to this of God but am convinced that Abraham was going forward full steam ahead.
He was fully committed to…
Faith and Obedience
Doing what God commanded and proceeded in faith, in love for God about all things, and with a total expectation that God would manage the results well. I do not play the game anymore which I used to that Abraham was playing along never intending to offer up His Son.
Quite the opposite. I maintain that when he lifted the knife he fully intended to plunge it into his only son's chest – as hard and brutal as that sounds but the writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed God would raise him and that implies his dying. So, he proceeded forth and we read in verse 9 that he bound his son.
I would submit that this was both necessary once Isaac realized what was going on (we don’t ever hear of what Isaac did in response to this) and being young and strong he could have overcome his aged father. I also see the binding as in similitude of Jesus being bound to the cross.
The Agony of Faith
Most commentators at this point wax philosophically in defense of Abraham and his actions and go to great lengths to describe the anguish of Abraham in and through all of this. One writes:
“what agony must his heart have felt at every step of the journey, and through all the circumstances of this extraordinary business? What must his affectionate heart have felt at the questions asked by his innocent and amiable son? What must he have suffered while building the altar, laying on the wood, binding his lovely son, placing him on the wood, taking the knife, and stretching out his hand to slay the child of his hopes?”
I do not accept this view. The command is to love God with all our heart, all our mind and all of our soul. I believe that in faith Abraham was utterly dedicated to God and His ability to keep his promise of making him a great nation through this son and that true faith when engaged, goes to work, without fear, without hesitation, trusting.
I am sure that there was a moment or time when Abraham mourned. Perhaps it was the moment God commanded this – or over the course of the three days journey. But I no longer believe Abraham lifted the knife while in his head believed God would stop him. Sorry.
And this is a radical position because it literally strips the humanity out of the situation, and takes the fatherly love Abraham has for Isaac and proposes blinding obedience acting from the heart in faith. That is right.
Faith and Love
Aside from the significant picture this event has to God offering up the Only Son whom He too loves, we are exposed to an undeniable fact about genuine faith here folks – it acts in love – in this case, Abrahams faith acted in love for God, which is the first great commandment.
It is NOT something that ever travels alone. The back tire of the motorcycle is faith, driving the bike forward; the front tire is love. They turn together, work together and prove the cycle operative, rideable and able to deliver the rider to its heavenly destination.
For this reason James wrote:
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
We saw through our verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty. study of James that the works he speaks of here is love – the works the fruit in scripture is always agape loveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty. – and in the case of Abraham it was love for God first, which again is the great commandment. Abraham had faith to do what God commanded and his faith being genuine led him to act, or love. Who? God over all other things.
Ministry Focus
I am going to go to the whiteboard to help explain this in the faith. You may not know this but in our ministry we believe and teach an approach to living the Christian life through four L words – ready.
We have a motto or order of focus in this ministry: LIGHT, LEARNING, LOVE, LIBERTY.
The Order and Process of Growing in Faith
– The Four L's
I didn’t just reach out for alliterative words – they speak to the order and process that God moves all who are willing to see and receive Him by and then to grow in faith so as to love so as to be free. Let me explain them using three simple passages from scripture – from Jesus talking to the Jews found in John 8 and from the Parable of the Sower. Here Jesus is teaching the Jews about how He came from God his father and how he represents him and His will and not his own and in verse 30 we read
John 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
(Then we read)
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Let’s break this all down on the white board.
The Four L's
Light
John 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
“Experimental knowledge from willingness to do God's will.” Better Greek reads, John 7:17 (RSV) if any man's will is to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. Here we see the two-way street and how the will of all souls plays a major role in belief. Those who hear the word and receive it with joy (second third and fourth ground). They all had the desire to hear, were willing, seeking, open from the heart. And many believed on him.
Numero uno
First “believe”
(Light)
May be rebirth
May be spiritual conception?
But it is the start.
Learning
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.
This describes the good soil, meaning those who continue in His word. How? Learning – they continue in His Word learning of Him. Those that are removed from continuing in His word do so because they are 1, offended by it, or 2, the cares or 3 riches of the world interfere. Continue in His Word (Learning) Knowing God more Maturing in faith Resisting strife
Love
32 And ye shall know the truth, Continuing in His word allows for roots to grow downward and this enables us to mature in strength and begin to produce fruits of love upward; the truth is love, for God is love.
It is at this time, once we have shown ourselves to be disciples indeed, that God anoints us with the Spirit of His Son, as Galatians 4:6 maintains, saying: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!”
The Spirit of His Son is love – selfless agape love. This is the truth for God is love. Love (know the Truth) The fruit of the Spirit The acts of Love The verb of Love
Liberty
“and the truth shall make you free.
The fruit of Love MAKES US FREE. Every time we choose to love as God commands we become incrementally free. Instead of in bondage to our flesh or to the selfish acts of others we become liberated by choosing God’s way of acting. Personal Liberty (set free BY THE FRUIT OF LOVE!)
Returning to Abraham, I would imagine that in his choosing to “continue in God’s doctrine,” he learned the truth about the living God and in and through this very experience the father of the faith was even more greatly emancipated from fear, worry, and woe.
Light. Learning. Love. Liberty.
I think we ought to consider Isaac here too though the narrative gives us no insight. But let’s say he was 25 years old we know that he had to submit to Abrahams hands to lay him down and bind him. I reject the notion that Abraham overpowered him but instead see Isaac was submitting to His father too in faith, love and trust. In this sense, Abraham would represent the Father telling his son what must be done and Isaac, the obedient and willing Son, laying down His life. Such illustrations of what God would do for the world. Verse 10
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
I used to read this backward, that Abraham took the knife and stretched forth His hand – I mean that is what the
The Story of Abraham's Obedience
Children's picture books illustrate Abraham holding a gleaming knife above his head, ready to plunge. But the reading is:
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Which suggests that all Abraham did was reach for the knife to do the deed and has nothing to do with raising it.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Now, you remember that several weeks ago we tried to assert that anytime a messenger from God speaks that the Jews considered this to be God himself speaking. I suggest that God spoke through messengers in the Old Covenant – heavenly and earthly – and that this is no exception.
But we again are faced with people reading into this and saying things like:
“The very person who was represented by this offering; the Lord Jesus, who calls himself Jehovah, in verse 16, and on his own authority renews the promises of the covenant. He was ever the great Mediator between God and man.”
If this is true, then Jesus pre-incarnate was truly a separate person from the Father and the notion of the Trinity holds true. I can see how it could be true in terms of conjecture, but there is only presupposition in this as we have zero scriptural proof.
Whoever was speaking, we read at verse 12:
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.
Lay not thine hand upon the lad. The picture through both Abraham and Isaac served its purpose and it appears that God is satisfied. We can see that Isaac was now fully offered both by his father and by himself. Abraham the father yielded up the son, Isaac, who too offers up his life; on both sides, as far as will and purpose could go, the sacrifice was complete. God simply spares the father the torture of putting the knife to his son's throat as this was a picture, a type full of purpose and meaning of the actual thing to come.
The Concept of Obedience Over Sacrifice
We are, however, introduced to the idea of what God would do ultimately and in reality with His own son, but until that day, He would institute animal sacrifice on the altar as a means to temporarily cover the sins of the Nation. But at this verse we are confronted with yet another line that perplexes as the angel of the Lord says–
“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.”
Open theists – or people who reject that God knows everything but instead say that God knows all the potential outcomes of things – use this passage as one of the clearest evidences of God not knowing all things. What I believe Open Theists overlook is the practice of God asking questions of people where He already knows the answer.
Hearkening back to the Fall, remember we read in Genesis 3:9 that God was looking for Adam and said:
“But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
It seems that this is God’s way of including us into things by asking us questions of which He is fully aware. So I don’t think these words are literal – I think that they are more of a way for God to say,
“It is apparent that you fear/love/trust me, Abraham – is it apparent to you?”
In this, we find the idea that obedience is truly greater than sacrifice – that God was not wanting the actual sacrifice of Isaac but sought to prove Abraham, to perhaps himself and the world, that he was obedient. That is why we read in 1st Samuel 15:22:
And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
The Ram in the Thicket
Interestingly, in Christ, we will discover both – obedience AND the ultimate sacrifice of Himself as a means to fulfill everything on behalf of His Father. Verse 13:
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
The Naming of Jehovah-jireh
Abraham 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. Some suggest that this name means that the Lord will provide, because He provided a way for Abraham to offer sacrifice without it being Isaac. Many Christians today refer to this name as a way of teaching that the Lord will provide all things for the faithful. I don’t mind this, and believe its entirely possible for this to be the case but I suggest we see the name a liter more literally.
The Jewish Publication Society of 1917 translates this verse into English to say, And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: 'In the mount where the LORD is seen.' And so while I do believe that the Lord does provide and that Abraham does seem to name the place, “the Lord will provide,” after seeing the ram caught in the thicket, along with the prophetic notion that the Lord would ultimately provide a savior for the world, I tend to see the Hebrew interpretation of, The LORD is seen as more fitting.
The Vision of Abraham
Why? I hearken forward to Jesus again when He says to his brethren in John 8, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and saw it and was glad.” And in addition to the resurrection wonder if what Abraham was actually saying was “ON THIS VERY MOUNT THE LORD (YHWH) SHALL BE SEEN.” Meaning, here people will someday see God in the flesh. Remember that this is the temple mount and Jesus taught in the temple and was seen of men. Some try to extrapolate that this was where he was crucified but we already put that to rest and so I see this as the preface words to what Jesus says to the Jews of His day. (Verse 15-17)
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;
The Oath of the Lord
Again, we find that the one called the angel of the Lord is also called Jehovah – make of it what you will. Whether in the name of God or if this was God himself or the Son of God preincarnate, second person of the Trinity, he made an oath and because there is nothing God Almighty can swear upon, He swears or appeal to Himself. The writer of Hebrews speaks to this and says in Hebrews 6:13-18
16 Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. (RSV) 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
So, God says, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 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 seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” This sounds like God’s blessing was conditional on Abraham when he says, “because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee . . . “
But earlier God had sworn by Himself because there was no greater. What are we to say? We remember that in making his covenantal promise to Abraham, God enacted a ceremony in which a smoking firepot and flaming torch passed between animals that had been divided. The fire pot and torch likely represent God. They call to mind God’s revelation of himself in fire in Exodus at the burning bush and at Sinai. The significance of passing through the pieces is indicated by Jeremiah 34:18.
The Abrahamic Covenant
"Men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts.” Notably, in Genesis 15, God placed Abram in a deep sleep before He passed through the pieces himself. This indicates a unilateral promise by God to fulfill the land promise for Abraham. Furthermore, the unilateral promise includes Abraham’s physical seed defined in this passage as those who sojourn in Egypt for four hundred years before returning to dispossess the inhabitants of the land (Genesis 15:13-16).
But complicating the unconditional cutting of the Abrahamic covenant are statements like this one found in Genesis 22:16 where God says “because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you. . . .” The order of events in the Abraham narrative is important for making sense of the causal statements here. God already made an unconditional promise that Abraham’s seed would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (in Genesis 15:4-5). Because God had passed between the cut animals alone, He indicated that He alone was responsible for upholding the covenant. So why does God now say that he will bring to pass covenantal blessings because of Abraham’s obedience?
Abraham's Faith and Obedience
Two facts are significant here. First, Abraham does enter this covenant by faith. Second, Genesis 22 outlines a test for Abraham. Meaning, his faith is tested to see if he truly trusts God’s promises when God commands him to do something that would seem to put those promises in jeopardy. Abraham demonstrates his faith in God’s promises by trusting that God would raise Isaac from the dead if need be. Abraham has already entered into the covenant by faith in Genesis 15. But here his faith is shown to be a reality. When God says he will do certain things because Abraham has obeyed, God is saying that the covenant really will be fulfilled according to God’s prior commitments because Abraham demonstrated the reality of his faith. In this way, Genesis 22 aligns well with James 2. Abraham was justified by faith much earlier, as Genesis 15:6 attests. But in the sacrifice of Isaac, his works fulfilled or proved this faith professed. The narrative does not allow the conclusion that Abraham merited the promises due to obedience or even due to perfect faith. He lied and sinned in chapter 20 in the very year that Sarah was to conceive. Nonetheless, God kept his covenant promise and Isaac was born in chapter 21.
The Covenant in Israel’s History
The way the covenants play out in Israel’s history confirm the unconditional nature of the Abrahamic covenant. For instance, when God says in Hosea 1:9, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God,” he indicates a reversal of the Mosaic covenant in which God promised, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). The latter phrase of Hosea 1:9 could be translated, “And I [will be] Not I Am to you,” a reversal of the name God revealed to the people at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 3:14). The import of the language is that the people have so violated the Mosaic covenant that it is as if they are now like the Gentiles?they are not God’s people and God is not their God. Following this word of judgment, there comes a word of promise: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered” (Hosea 1:10). Since this is an allusion to the Abrahamic covenant, the implication is that their violation of the Mosaic covenant, which leads to them becoming “Not my People,” is backstopped by the Abrahamic covenant.
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Paul explains how this would be in Galatians 3:16 saying, “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.” And here we see how the promise would be fulfilled.
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
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David Laura Eric
