Pivotal moment

It might be something terrible—a crippling accident, or the loss of someone we’re very close to, something like that. Or it might be something wonderful—the birth of a child, suddenly being given a way to escape a war-torn country. Whether wonderful or terrible, there are life-changing events, that forever divide life into “before” and “after”.

There are a number of such events experienced by people we encounter in the Bible. I think most everyone would agree that one of them was when God directed Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. It’s recorded in Genesis 22—might be good to reread it now, so it’s fresh in your memory.

It’s often been noted that what God asked of Abraham was horrific, something any parent would find impossible to do. How was it that Abraham didn’t object, didn’t delay, in fact got up early the next morning and headed out to sacrifice his son? The answer is provided in the New Testament, specifically Hebrews 11: 17-19.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Abraham’s thought process, the writer claims, was: a) God had promised that Isaac would be the one through whom the promises of “the seed” would be fulfilled. b) Isaac had no children. c) God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. d) God will never renege on His promises. e) Therefore, God must intend to raise Isaac from the dead. In fact, he figured it was guaranteed. So he could do it, horrible as it would be.

But how did the Hebrews writer come to this conclusion? We need to read carefully the account in Genesis. First off, let’s correct a misimpression. A lexicon shows us that both Abraham and the angel called Isaac “the boy” or “the lad”. Isaac is often depicted as being a child. However, the same word is applied to the “young men” who were Abraham’s servants, and it’s used in many other places to refer to grown men, including soldiers. The servants and Isaac might have been young men, but they were young men. Isaac had to be a grown man, to carry the large load of wood that would be required to burn a body (verse 6).

Okay, now let’s look carefully at what we’re told. In verse 5 father, son and servants arrive: “Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy [young man!] will go over there and worship and come again to you.’ ” Did you read it carefully? Abraham said he and his son would go worship, and then they will return. Abraham fully expected a living Isaac to return with him.

In verse 7, Isaac asked why they didn’t have an animal to sacrifice. Abraham’s answer is in verse 8: “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” As a result of this answer, we’re told, “So they went both of them together.” Can you imagine that one question and one answer are the sum total of the conversation? Abraham surely told Isaac what was going on. Explained, specifically, his thought process. There’s an enormous weight carried in that final sentence of verse 8. “So they went both of them together.” Isaac was going with his father willingly, knowing what was happening.

He had to have been. When they got to the spot, “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.” Here’s where Isaac’s maturity is important. He was a young man able to carry a heavy load of wood. His father was a very old man. There’s no way Abraham could tie up his son, unless the young man was a willing participant. And of course, this is part of the type God was having them act out. The fulfillment of the type was that God was going to give His own Son, and the Son would be a willing participant.

The writer to the Hebrews carefully looked at this and rightly concluded: Abraham believed in resurrection! I think we have to conclude the same was true of Isaac.

This was a pivotal moment. For Abraham for sure, but he’d spoken with God and with angels many times over the years—this was essentially a next step for him. But for Isaac, I believe this was life changing. He would have been terrified, I think, but he submitted nonetheless. He was willing to die, firmly believing God can raise the dead. He would never forget.

We don’t get a lot of information about Isaac’s life, definitely less than his dad Abraham or his son Jacob. It may help us gain a deeper understanding of what we do have, to remember that this event would always be there in the back of his mind.

Love, Paul