By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac: and he that had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was
said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead; from whence also he received him in
a figure. (Hebrews 11:17–19)

The Scriptures provide a number of great examples
of faith, in the Old Testament as well as the New.
From the OT, there is the example of Abel, who
“offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain” (Heb. 11:4). There is Noah, who is said to
have “prepared an ark” (11:7), summarizing with
three little words (only two in Greek) 100 years of
labor and preaching. Examples like these abound
from the OT, including Moses and the prophets like
Elijah the Tishbite and John the Baptizer. From the
NT, there is the example of Paul, who preached the
gospel fearlessly in places where it nearly cost him
his life (cf. Acts 14:19). There are Aquila and
Priscilla, who “laid down their own necks” for the life
of their brother Paul and opened their home to the
Roman church (Rom. 16:4–5).

In my own thinking, however, there can be no
greater example of faith given by a mortal man than
that exhibited in this week’s reading by Abraham the
patriarch. God had made Abraham rich in gold,
silver, and cattle (Gen. 13:2). Abraham had servants
numbered by the hundreds (14:18). Of all
Abraham’s possessions, however, there were none
so great as the gift God gave him in the 100th year
of his life––Isaac his son. This was the child God
had promised him, the child that would make him
the father of nations. No parent can likely imagine
the anxiety then that must have overcome Abraham
when God commanded him to take his son to
Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering. What
dreadful imaginations must have captivated the
mind of this old prophet on the eve of their
departure, and yet we never read of doubts or
hesitation, for Abraham had faith enough in God to
know that He could restore his life as easily as He
had given it at the first (Heb. 11:19). Perhaps the
most worrisome thing of all, however, was a thought
that few have entertained––how he was to explain
this to Isaac. There must have been hundreds of
ideas rehearsed in Abraham’s mind on that threeday
journey, but could he really be adequately
prepared when Isaac finally broke the dreadful
silence with that question that he couldn’t keep
himself from asking: “Where is the lamb?” The
response given was one that only the greatest faith
could muster: “God will provide himself a lamb”
(Gen. 22:8). Indeed God has provided a Lamb, the
sacrifice offered for all of those who are “of the faith
of Abraham” (Rom. 4:16).

After reading the text listed below, see if you
can answer the following questions.

Non-trivial Questions (Genesis 22:1–24) 

1. Into what land did God command Abraham
    to go in order to offer a burnt sacrifice?
2. How many days did it take Abraham to
    reach the place God had specified?
3. Who carried the wood for the burnt
    offering?
4. Who prevented Abraham from slaying his
    son?
5. What name did Abraham give to this
    place?
6. In what place did Abraham dwell
    immediately after this event?