Genesis 22:1-4 "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. (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."
"God did tempt Abraham." We need to investigate anytime we have a
question about a particular word. For most of us, there is one word that glares
back at us as we read this passage. Yes, that word is "tempt." Why
would God tempt Abraham? We are told in the book of James 1:13, "Let no
man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth he any man." So the next thought would be, "Is
there a contradiction in the Bible?" The answer is a definite NO, there
are not any contradictions in the Word of God. Anytime there seems to be a
contradiction, we can be assured that contradiction is in our approach to the
Word rather than in the Word itself.
So then, what is meant by those 4 words, "God did tempt Abraham"? The
original Hebrew meaning for the word, tempt, is to test or prove. Be certain
that God was not trying to find out how Abraham would respond. He knew exactly
what Abraham was going to do. Rather, God was going to reveal a very special
blessing to Abraham. You are all familiar with what took place on Mt. Moriah
with God providing the ram for the substitutional sacrifice. But something much
greater was seen on that day. We read in Genesis 22:4, "Then on the third
day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." Jesus would
later say, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and
was glad." (John 8:56) I don't know how clearly it was seen, but in some way,
Abraham saw the day of Jesus Christ as that Lamb of God which took your place
and mine. He saw it on Mt. Moriah where later the city of Jerusalem would be
built. What took place on the hill outside of Jerusalem? That's right, "Jesus,
the Lamb of God, took our place and died on the cross." He presented
Himself as that glorious sacrificial Lamb.
No, God did not need to know how Abraham would respond; rather, He was showing
His grace and mercy unto Abraham. He showed the fullness of His grace and mercy
to you and me when Jesus allowed the nails to be driven through His hands and
feet. His sacrificial offering of His righteous and holy blood paid the debt in
full that was against us. Praise His Holy Name!!
1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
3. Was it for crimes that I have done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!