Isaac the Promised Son

“In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21)

Strengthened by God (Hebrews 11:11), Sarah conceived and gave birth to the promised seed Isaac, whose name means “laughter”. The joy of the occasion is immortalised in the words of Sarah, “God hath made me laugh so that all that hear will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6).

As Isaac grew, tension developed when Sarah saw Ishmael mocking her son and she asked that Abraham send Ishmael and Hagar away, “for”, she said, “the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac” (Genesis 21:10). The matter distressed Abraham, but God confirmed that Sarah was right, saying, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12).

This statement clearly confirmed to Abraham that the great promise of the seed to come (the Lord Jesus Christ) was to be through Isaac (Galatians 3:16; 26–29). It was upon the basis of this statement that Abraham’s faith was strengthened to help him to succeed in the greatest test of his life, when God asked him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice (Genesis 22)

“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest” (Genesis 22:1–14)

In this chapter we witness the greatest test of faith that Abraham faced. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). The word “tempt” is more correctly rendered “try” or “test” (Hebrews 11:17). God does not tempt man to sin, in the sense of enticing him; but God does test a man’s faith to see whether it is enduring (James 1:13–15).

Abraham Offers His Son Isaac

Abraham’s willingness to obey God, when he was asked to offer his son Isaac, is an outstanding example of loving obedience and faith. This supreme trial of faith for Abraham points forward to God’s offering of His “only beloved Son”, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Abraham and Isaac, as father and son, went together to make the offering God had asked of Abraham. Isaac willingly cooperated because he understood the significance of God’s promises and shared his father’s faith. He realised that ultimately the true “seed” would come who, through the shedding of his blood, would provide the way for the forgiveness of sins. Without the sacrifice of that “lamb”, the promised blessing for all nations which God had made to Abraham could not be fulfilled.

Isaac’s life was spared when God called to Abraham saying: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad…for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:11–12). God told him to offer instead a ram caught nearby in a thicket.

God Offers His Son Jesus

There are many parallels here with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as he cooperated with his Father and laid down his life. Some of these are set out in the following table.

When the hour came for Jesus to face the terrible ordeal of his sacrifice, he drew near to his Father in prayer: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). It was His Father’s will that he lay down his life as the “lamb of God” to bear away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Father and Son together worked through that dreadful suffering, knowing there was no other way to redeem mankind from sin and death. Jesus willingly cooperated in his Father’s purpose, recognising that before immortality and the Kingdom of God could be a reality, sin must be dealt with (Isaiah 53:5–7; Hebrews 10:5–10).

Jesus knew the joy that would ultimately be his if he was faithful to his Father’s will: “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). The Psalmist had written, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [the grave]; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:10–11).

This Incident Explained in the New Testament

There are two particular passages in the New Testament where this incident of Abraham offering his son Isaac is explained.

“By faith Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac” (Hebrews 11:17–19)

Paul is very clear as he explains that Abraham, in full confidence of faith, made all the preparations necessary for offering Isaac. Since God had said, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Hebrews 11:18), there was no doubt in Abraham’s mind that God would raise him from the dead. He was confident that God, who had given life to the deadness of Sarah’s womb so that she was able to give birth to Isaac, would also bring Isaac back to life again so that the promises might be fulfilled in him. In fact, when God provided a ram instead of Isaac, it was as if Abraham received his son back from the dead. Paul says that “in a figure” he received Isaac as if he had risen from the dead.

Our faith in the resurrection must be as unshakeable as Abraham’s. We believe that the “seed”, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, has been raised to life and that through him the promises of God will be completely fulfilled (Romans 4:24–25).

“Was not Abraham our Father justified by works?” (James 2:20–24)

When God showed Abraham the stars of heaven and said, “So shall thy seed be”, he believed God and so he was justified (declared “righteous”) by God because of his faith. In the same way, when we believe God’s word and are baptised into Christ, our sins are forgiven and we stand justified (or “righteous”) before God. As God put Abraham’s faith to the test in a very practical way, so He will test us to see if our actions are likewise motivated by faith. In Abraham’s case his trial centred upon Isaac, his only beloved son. With unfaltering faith he obeyed God’s command to offer his son and his faith was seen in action. James says, “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (James 2:22).

God’s Final Promise to Abraham

“In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:15–19)

We now come to the last recorded words that God spoke to Abraham. We have followed the life of Abraham over a period of 45 years from the age of 75 when he left Haran in obedience to God (Genesis 12:1–3), through to the incidents of Genesis 22 when it is calculated he was about 120 years old. During this period Abraham’s unswerving faith has been seen, and was confirmed in this great and final trial in the offering of his son.

God testifies His acceptance of Abraham’s faithfulness in the following words.

Genesis 22:16 “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord...” Paul refers to these words, pointing out the certainty of their fulfilment because of this oath that the God of heaven and earth has taken upon Himself (Hebrews 6:13–17). The promise to Abraham will be fulfilled.

“because thou hast done this thing...” As James said, Abraham’s faith was demonstrated by his obedient actions (James 2:21–23).

Genesis 22:17 “Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” We again note that the “seed” promised is singular. “His” is the 3rd person singular personal pronoun and refers to Christ (Galatians 3:16,26–29).

Genesis 22:18 “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” We recall that when Abraham was called from Ur he was told, “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Now he is shown that this blessing is to be extended to all people through his seed. This blessing comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ by baptism into him (Galatians 3:26–29). The blessing involves the forgiveness of our sins and, as a result, favour with God (Acts 3:25–26).he sins of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49–50).

Adapted from “The Exploring the Bible Course” by David Evans