God never tempts anyone to sin (that is the province of Satan) but He does test  the faithful.  After all that has gone before –  Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldees, and journeying to the Promised Land in faith, the Covenant,  and the extraordinary birth of the son of promise – Isaac –  when Abraham was 100 years old. 

It was now time for Abraham to be tested – the ultimate test – to prove Abraham – and to portend the future.  We must always hold God first in our lives.  Please consider that since the LORD is omniscient – He already knows the outcome of this test! 

GENESIS 22:1-14

22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

² And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

HERE IS THE TEST – DID ABRAHAM LOVE HIS SON MORE THAN HE LOVED GOD? ON “ONE OF THE MOUNTAINS” TELLS US THAT GOD HAD A PARTICULAR PLACE AND A PARTICULAR MOUNTAIN – MOUNT MORIAH!  THE SAME PLACE WHERE SOLOMON’S TEMPLE WOULD LATER BE BUILT AND THE SAME PLACE WHERE JESUS WOULD OFFER HIMSELF AS THE LAMB OF GOD!!!!!

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.

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.

JEHOVAHJIREH = THE LORD WILL PROVIDE

BOTH ABRAHAM AND GOD THE FATHER OFFER SONS ON ALTARS – THIS IS KNOWN AS BIBLICAL TYPOLOGY

• Isaac carried his own wood/Jesus carried His own cross
• God provided the lamb/Lamb
• Isaac was held by ropes/Jesus was held by iron nails
• Isaac gave no resistance/ Jesus gave no resistance
• Abraham’s son was spared/ God spared not His own Son
• In the mount of the Lord/ Christ died on Mt Calvary
• Ram caught in thorns was offered/ Christ was crowned with thorns
• Isaac was heir to everything  Abraham had /Jesus Christ is the heir to everything  of God the Father’s – all power, all wealth, all glory, all kingdoms, the universe, all praise, all honor, all eternity, all judgment, all righteousness, all truth, all Lordship, all love, all mercy, all grace.

MORE SONGS AND WORDS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT CALVARY THAN ANY OTHER PLACE ON EARTH!

Please consider the Lord’s omniscience – in knowing what Abraham would do – but Abraham himself, did not know what he would do!  These are the deep things of God, beloveds.