God does not tempt like the devil, but He sometimes tests us to measure our love for Him and to probe the motivations of our hearts. God tested (from the Hebrew Nâsâh: to test, to prove, to ensure) Abraham and asked him to offer his only son, the son of promise, Isaac. God told him to go to Moriah and offer Isaac, his only son, meaning the only one within God’s plan of salvation, on one of the mountains. Abraham’s love for God was to be demonstrated by offering his only son, just as God showed His love for the world by giving His only son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice and offering for our salvation.

Note that Moriah, which means “seen by YHWH,” is a range of mountains. The same place where Isaac was to be sacrificed is the location where the temple was later built, and Jerusalem extended. The summit of the Moriah mountains is Calvary “Golgotha,” the place where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave His life for humanity. The scene that occurred on Mount Moriah was a foreshadowing of what would happen centuries later on the cross of Golgotha.

After receiving God’s instruction to sacrifice his only son, Abraham went without saying a word to his wife, his servant, or even to Isaac himself, teaching us that some acts of faith must be carried out discreetly and remain between us and God. Upon arrival, Abraham laid his son on the altar. Remember that at this time, Isaac was no longer a baby, but a boy (from the Hebrew na’ar referring to a boy between 12 and 15 years old), and Abraham was over a hundred years old. The boy was strong enough to struggle and escape, but he willingly obeyed the voice of God.

Every act of faith or offering that God asks of us must be done willingly and with faith, believing that God will provide. Ultimately, Abraham did not kill Isaac because God stopped him and provided a ram, whose head was caught by the horns in a thicket. This reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice, who died in our place with a crown of thorns on His head.

Speaking of Mount Moriah, it is the same place where Solomon would later build the temple. In David’s time, this area belonged to Araunah Ornan (Araunah: the triumphal cry of YHWH; Ornan: the light manifested in all its brightness among the trees, or on a tree. See 1 Samuel 24:18; 1 Chronicles 21:15; Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1). The names of the owner of the area (Araunah Ornan) were very prophetic, as they spoke of God’s light manifested in the darkness while our Lord would be crucified on the wood, and there, He would cry out triumphantly “IT IS FINISHED” (see Matthew 27:45, 50; John 19:30).

While the ram replaced Isaac, the physical son of Abraham representing humanity (the physical descendants of Abraham), the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, took the place of humanity to give us eternal life. After seeing this miraculous provision, Abraham called the place YHWH Jireh, which means that God sees, knows, and provides! Literally, YHWH has seen, prepared, and will provide (a sacrifice). Abraham believed that the GIVER is also the RESURRECTOR (see Hebrews 11:17-19). He prophetically saw God providing a solution for humanity; he saw Jesus’ day (see Matthew 27:29; John 8:56-58).

After this sacrifice, God, as “The Angel of the LORD” (a theophany of Jesus), told Abraham that He would bless him, that his offspring would be like the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea, and his offspring would possess the gates of their enemies (see Genesis 22:17). This is the first place where the two examples of offspring are put together: the dust of the seashore (see Genesis 13:16) as the physical descendants of Abraham (Israel), and the stars of the sky, Abraham’s offspring by faith – the spiritual descendants (see Genesis 15:5).

This is an image of what Christ has done. By His death, He enabled both the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham to become heirs of God’s promises. Possessing the gates of the enemies means restraining them so they cannot go out and act freely. This is also the promise made to the Church of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 16:18).

Abraham’s blessing affected his brother Nahor, who also had eight children, including Bethuel, from whom came Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife (see Genesis 22:23). By marrying Rebekah later, Isaac essentially married his niece.

This text is an excerpt from the book “THE PENTATEUCH: Under the Eyes of Grace” written by Dr. Rhema Divin NGOY.

We invite you to read the next article, “Death Begins.“