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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XXII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page136"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We have here the famous story of Abraham's offering up his son
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Isaac, that is, his offering to offer him, which is justly looked
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upon as one of the wonders of the church. Here is,
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I. The strange
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command which God gave to Abraham concerning it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. Abraham's strange obedience to this command,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:3-10">ver. 3-10</A>.
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III. The strange issue of this trial.
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1. The sacrificing of Isaac
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was countermanded,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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2. Another sacrifice was provided,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.
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3. The covenant was renewed with Abraham
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hereupon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:15-19">ver. 15-19</A>.
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Lastly, an account of some of Abraham's
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relations,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:20-24">ver. 20</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge22_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abraham Commanded to Offer Isaac.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1872.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass after these
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things, that God did tempt Abraham,
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and said unto him, Abraham:
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and he said, Behold, <I>here</I> I <I>am.</I>
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2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine
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only <I>son</I> Isaac, whom thou lovest, and
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get thee into the land of Moriah; and
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offer him there for a burnt offering
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upon one of the mountains which I
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will tell thee of.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is the trial of Abraham's faith, whether
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it continued so strong, so vigorous, so
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victorious, after a long settlement in communion
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with God, as it was at first, when by
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it he left his country: then it was made to
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appear that he loved God better than his father;
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now that he loved him better than his
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son. Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The time when Abraham was thus tried
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>After these things,</I> after all the other
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exercises he had had, all the hardships and
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difficulties he had gone through. Now, perhaps,
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he was beginning to think the storms
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had all blown over; but, after all, this encounter
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comes, which is sharper than any yet.
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Note, Many former trials will not supersede
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nor secure us from further trials; we have not
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yet put off the harness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+20:11">1 Kings xx. 11</A>.
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See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:6,7">Ps. xxx. 6, 7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The author of the trial: <I>God</I> tempted
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him, not to draw him to sin, so Satan tempts
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(if Abraham had sacrificed Isaac, he would
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not have sinned, his orders would have justified
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him, and borne him out), but to discover
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his graces, how strong they were, that
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they might be <I>found to praise, and honour,
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and glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:7">1 Pet. i. 7</A>.
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Thus God tempted
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Job, that he might appear not only a good
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man, but a great man. <I>God did tempt Abraham;</I>
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he did <I>lift up Abraham,</I> so some read
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it; as a scholar that improves well is lifted
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up, when he is put into a higher form. Note,
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Strong faith is often exercised with strong
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trials and put upon hard services.</P>
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<P>
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III. The trial itself. God appeared to him
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as he had formerly done, called him by name,
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<I>Abraham,</I> that name which had been given
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him in ratification of the promise. Abraham,
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like a good servant, readily answered, "<I>Here
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am I;</I> what says my Lord unto his servant?"
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Probably he expected some renewed promise
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like those,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:1"><I>ch.</I> xv. 1</A>,
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and
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1"><I>ch.</I> xvii. 1</A>.
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But, to his
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great amazement, that which God has to say
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to him is, in short, <I>Abraham, Go kill thy son;</I>
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and this command is given him in such aggravating
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language as makes the temptation
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abundantly more grievous. When God
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speaks, Abraham, no doubt, takes notice of
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every word, and listens attentively to it; and
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every word here is a sword in his bones: the
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trial is steeled with trying phrases. Is it any
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pleasure to the Almighty that he should
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afflict? No, it is not; yet, when Abraham's
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faith is to be tried, God seems to take pleasure
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in the aggravation of the trial,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. The person to be offered.
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(1.) "<I>Take
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thy son,</I> not thy bullocks and thy lambs;"
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how willingly would Abraham have parted
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with them by thousands to redeem Isaac!
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<A NAME="Page137"> </A>
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"No, <I>I will take no bullock out of thy house,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:9">Ps. l. 9</A>.
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I must have thy son: not thy servant,
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no, not the steward of thy house, that
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shall not serve the turn; I must have thy
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son." Jephthah, in pursuance of a vow,
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offered a daughter; but Abraham must offer
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his son, in whom the family was to be built up.
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"Lord, let it be an adopted son;" "No,
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(2.) <I>Thy only son;</I> thy only son by <I>Sarah.</I>" Ishmael
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was lately cast out, to the grief of Abraham;
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and now Isaac only was left, and must
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he go too? Yes,
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(3.) "Take <I>Isaac,</I> him,
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by name, <I>thy laughter,</I> that <I>son indeed,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:19"><I>ch.</I> xvii. 19</A>.
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Not "Send for Ishmael back, and
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offer him;" no, it must be Isaac. "But,
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Lord, I love Isaac, he is to me as my own
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soul. Ishmael is not, and wilt thou take Isaac
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also? All this is against me:" Yea,
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(4.) That
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son <I>whom thou lovest.</I> It was a trial of Abraham's
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love to God, and therefore it must be
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in a beloved son, and that string must be
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touched most upon: in the Hebrew it is
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expressed more emphatically, and, I think,
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might very well be read thus: <I>Take now that
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son of thine, that only one of thine, whom thou
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lovest, that Isaac.</I> God's command must
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overrule all these considerations.</P>
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<P>
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2. The place: <I>In the land of Moriah,</I> three
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days' journey off; so that he might have
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time to consider it, and, if he did it, must do
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it deliberately, that it might be a service the
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more reasonable and the more honourable.</P>
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<P>
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3. The manner: <I>Offer him for a burnt-offering.</I>
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He must not only kill his son, but
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kill him as a sacrifice, kill him devoutly, kill him
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by rule, kill him with all that pomp and
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ceremony, with all that sedateness and composure
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of mind, with which he used to offer
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his burnt-offerings.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge22_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge22_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abraham's Obedience.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1872.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 And Abraham rose up early in the
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morning, and saddled his ass, and took
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two of his young men with him, and
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Isaac his son, and clave the wood for
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the burnt offering, and rose up, and
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went unto the place of which God had
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told him.
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4 Then on the third day
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Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw
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the place afar off.
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5 And Abraham
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said unto his young men, Abide ye
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here with the ass; and I and the lad
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will go yonder and worship, and come
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again to you.
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6 And Abraham took
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the wood of the burnt offering, and
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laid <I>it</I> upon Isaac his son; and he took
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the fire in his hand, and a knife; and
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they went both of them together.
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7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his
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father, and said, My father: and he
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said, Here <I>am</I> I, my son. And he said,
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Behold the fire and the wood: but
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where <I>is</I> the lamb for a burnt offering?
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8 And Abraham said, My son,
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God will provide himself a lamb for
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a burnt offering: so they went both
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of them together.
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9 And they came
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to the place which God had told him
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of; and Abraham built an altar there,
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and laid the wood in order, and bound
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Isaac his son, and laid him on the
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altar upon the wood.
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10 And Abraham
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stretched forth his hand, and
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took the knife to slay his son.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here Abraham's obedience to this
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severe command. <I>Being tried, he offered up
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Isaac,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:17">Heb. xi. 17</A>.
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Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The difficulties which he broke through
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in this act of obedience. Much might have
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been objected against it; as, 1. It seemed
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directly against an antecedent law of God,
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which forbids murder, under a severe penalty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:5,6"><I>ch.</I> ix. 5, 6</A>.
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Now can the unchangeable God
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contradict himself? He that hates robbery
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for burnt-offering
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:8">Isa. lxi. 8</A>)
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cannot delight
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in murder for it.
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2. How would it consist
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with natural affection to his own son? It
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would be not only murder, but the worst of
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murders. Cannot Abraham be obedient but
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he must be unnatural? If God insist upon
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a human sacrifice, is there none but Isaac to
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be the offering, and none but Abraham to be
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the offerer? Must the father of the faithful
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be the monster of all fathers?
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3. God gave
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him no reason for it. When Ishmael was to
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be cast out, a just cause was assigned, which
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satisfied Abraham; but here Isaac must die,
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and Abraham must kill him, and neither the
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one nor the other must know why or wherefore.
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If Isaac had been to die a martyr for
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the truth, or his life had been the ransom of
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some other life more precious, it would have
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been another matter; of if he had died as a
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criminal, a rebel against God or his parents,
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as in the case of the idolater
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+13:8,9">Deut. xiii. 8, 9</A>),
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or the stubborn son
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+21:18,19">Deut. xxi. 18, 19</A>),
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it might have passed as a sacrifice to justice.
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But the case is not so: he is dutiful, obedient,
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hopeful, son. "Lord, what profit is
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there in his blood?"
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4. How would this
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consist with the promise? Was it not said
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that in <I>Isaac shall thy seed be called?</I> But
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what comes of that seed, if this pregnant bud
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be broken off so soon?
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5. How should he
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ever look Sarah in the face again? With
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what face can he return to her and his family
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with the blood of Isaac sprinkled on his
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garments and staining all his raiment?
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"<I>Surely a bloody husband hast thou been to
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me</I>" would Sarah say (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+4:25,26">Exod. iv. 25, 26</A>),
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and it would be likely to alienate her affections
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for ever both from him and from his
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God.
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6. What would the Egyptians say,
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and the Canaanites and the Perizzites who
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dwelt then in the land? It would be an
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eternal reproach to Abraham, and to his
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altars. "Welcome nature, if this be grace."
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These and many similar objection might
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|
have been made; but he was infallibly assured
|
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|
<A NAME="Page138"> </A>
|
|
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that it was indeed a command of God and
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|
not a delusion, and this was sufficient to
|
|
answer them all. Note, God's commands
|
|
must not be disputed, but obeyed; we must
|
|
not consult with flesh and blood about them
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+1:15,16">Gal. i. 15, 16</A>),
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but with a gracious obstinacy
|
|
persist in our obedience to them.</P>
|
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<P>
|
|
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II. The several steps of obedience, all
|
|
which help to magnify it, and to show that
|
|
he was guided by prudence, and governed by
|
|
faith, in the whole transaction.</P>
|
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<P>
|
|
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|
1. He rises early,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
|
|
Probably the command
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|
was given in the visions of the night,
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|
and early the next morning he set himself
|
|
about the execution of it--did not delay, did
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not demur, did not take time to deliberate;
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|
for the command was peremptory, and would
|
|
not admit a debate. Note, Those that do
|
|
the will of God heartily will do it speedily;
|
|
while we delay, time is lost and the heart
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|
hardened.</P>
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|
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<P>
|
|
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|
2. He gets things ready for a sacrifice,
|
|
and, as if he himself had been a Gibeonite,
|
|
it should seem, with his own hands he cleaves
|
|
the wood for the burnt-offering, that it might
|
|
not be to seek when the sacrifice was to be
|
|
offered. Spiritual sacrifices must thus be
|
|
prepared for.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
3. It is very probable that he said nothing
|
|
about it to Sarah. This is a journey which she
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|
must know nothing of, lest she prevent it.
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|
There is so much in our own hearts to hinder
|
|
our progress in duty that we have need, as
|
|
much as may be, to keep out of the way of
|
|
other hindrances.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
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|
4. He carefully looked about him, to discover
|
|
the place appointed for this sacrifice,
|
|
to which God had promised by some sign to
|
|
direct him. Probably the direction was given
|
|
by an appearance of the divine glory in the
|
|
place, some pillar of fire reaching from heaven
|
|
to earth, visible at a distance, and to which
|
|
he pointed when he said
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
|
|
"We will go
|
|
yonder, where you see the light, and worship."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. He left his servants at some distance
|
|
off
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
|
|
lest they should interpose, and
|
|
create him some disturbance in his strange
|
|
oblation; for Isaac was, no doubt, the
|
|
darling of the whole family. Thus, when
|
|
Christ was entering upon his agony in the
|
|
garden, he took only three of his disciples
|
|
with him, and left the rest at the garden
|
|
door. Note, It is our wisdom and duty,
|
|
when we are going to worship God, to lay
|
|
aside all those thoughts and cares which may
|
|
divert us from the service, leave them at the
|
|
bottom of the hill, that we may attend on the
|
|
Lord without distraction.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. He obliged Isaac to carry the wood
|
|
(both to try his obedience in a smaller matter
|
|
first, and that he might typify Christ, who
|
|
carried his own cross,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+19:17">John xix. 17</A>),
|
|
while he himself, though he knew what he did,
|
|
with a steady and undaunted resolution carried
|
|
the fatal knife and fire,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
Those that through grace are resolved upon
|
|
the substance of any service or suffering for
|
|
God must overlook the little circumstances
|
|
which make it doubly difficult to flesh and
|
|
blood.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
7. Without any ruffle or disorder, he talks
|
|
it over with Isaac, as if it had been but a
|
|
common sacrifice that he was going to offer,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was a very affecting question that
|
|
Isaac asked him, as they were going together:
|
|
<I>My father,</I> said Isaac; it was a
|
|
melting word, which, one would think,
|
|
would strike deeper into the breast of Abraham
|
|
than his knife could into the breast of
|
|
Isaac. He might have said, or thought, at
|
|
least, "Call me not thy father who am now
|
|
to be thy murderer; can a father be so barbarous,
|
|
so perfectly lost to all the tenderness
|
|
of a father?" Yet he keeps his temper, and
|
|
keeps his countenance, to admiration; he
|
|
calmly waits for his son's question, and this
|
|
is it: <I>Behold the fire and the wood, but where
|
|
is the lamb?</I> See how expert Isaac was in
|
|
the law and custom of sacrifices. This it is
|
|
to be well-catechised: this is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] A trying
|
|
question to Abraham. How could he endure
|
|
to think that Isaac was himself the lamb?
|
|
So it is, but Abraham, as yet, dares not tell
|
|
him so. Where God knows the faith to be
|
|
armour of proof, he will laugh at <I>the trial of
|
|
the innocent,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+9:23">Job ix. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It is a teaching
|
|
question to us all, that, when we are going
|
|
to worship God, we should seriously consider
|
|
whether we have every thing ready, especially
|
|
the lamb for a burnt-offering. Behold,
|
|
the fire is ready, the Spirit's assistance and
|
|
God's acceptance; the wood is ready, the instituted
|
|
ordinances designed to kindle our
|
|
affections (which indeed, without the Spirit,
|
|
are but like wood without fire, but the Spirit
|
|
works by them); <I>all things are now ready,</I>
|
|
but where is the lamb? Where is the heart?
|
|
Is that ready to be offered up to God, to
|
|
ascend to him as a burnt-offering?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was a very prudent answer which
|
|
Abraham gave him: <I>My son, God will provide
|
|
himself a lamb.</I> This was the language,
|
|
either,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Of his obedience. "We must
|
|
offer the lamb which God has appointed now
|
|
to be offered;" thus giving him this general
|
|
rule of submission to the divine will, to prepare
|
|
him for the application of it to himself
|
|
very quickly. Or,
|
|
|
|
[2.] Of his faith. Whether
|
|
he meant it so or not, this proved to be
|
|
the meaning of it; a sacrifice was provided
|
|
instead of Isaac. Thus, <I>First,</I> Christ, the
|
|
great sacrifice of atonement, was of God's
|
|
providing; when none in heaven or earth
|
|
could have found a lamb for that burnt-offering,
|
|
God himself found the ransom,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:20">Ps. lxxxix. 20</A>.
|
|
<I>Secondly,</I> All our sacrifices
|
|
of acknowledgment are of God's providing
|
|
too. It is he that prepares the heart,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:17">Ps. x. 17</A>.
|
|
The broken and contrite spirit is a
|
|
sacrifice of God
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:17">Ps. li. 17</A>),
|
|
of his providing.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
8. With the same resolution and composedness
|
|
of mind, after many thoughts of
|
|
heart, he applies himself to the completing
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page139"> </A>
|
|
|
|
of this sacrifice,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
He goes on with
|
|
a holy wilfulness, after many a weary step,
|
|
and with a heavy heart he arrives at length
|
|
at the fatal place, builds the altar (an altar
|
|
of earth, we may suppose, the saddest that
|
|
ever he built, and he had built many a one),
|
|
lays the wood in order for his Isaac's funeral
|
|
pile, and now tells him the amazing news:
|
|
"Isaac, thou art the lamb which God has
|
|
provided." Isaac, for aught that appears, is
|
|
as willing as Abraham; we do not find that
|
|
he raised any objection against it, that he
|
|
petitioned for his life, that he attempted to
|
|
make his escape, much less that he struggled
|
|
with his aged father, or made any resistance:
|
|
Abraham does it, God will have it
|
|
done, and Isaac has learnt to submit to
|
|
both, Abraham no doubt comforting him
|
|
with the same hopes with which he himself
|
|
by faith was comforted. Yet it is necessary
|
|
that a sacrifice be bound. The great sacrifice,
|
|
which in the fullness of time was to be
|
|
offered up, must be bound, and therefore so
|
|
must Isaac. But with what heart could
|
|
tender Abraham tie those guiltless hands,
|
|
which perhaps had often been lifted up to
|
|
ask his blessing, and stretched out to embrace
|
|
him, and were now the more straitly
|
|
bound with the cords of love and duty!
|
|
However, it must be done. Having bound
|
|
him, he lays him upon the altar, and his hand
|
|
upon the head of his sacrifice; and now, we
|
|
may suppose, with floods of tears, he gives,
|
|
and takes, the final farewell of a parting
|
|
kiss: perhaps he takes another for Sarah
|
|
from her dying son. This being done, he
|
|
resolutely forgets the bowels of a father, and
|
|
puts on the awful gravity of a sacrificer.
|
|
With a fixed heart, and an eye lifted up to
|
|
heaven, he takes the knife, and stretches out
|
|
his hand to give a fatal cut to Isaac's
|
|
throat. Be astonished, O heavens! at this;
|
|
and wonder, O earth! Here is an act of faith
|
|
and obedience, which deserves to be a spectacle
|
|
to God, angels, and men. Abraham's
|
|
darling, Sarah's laughter, the church's hope,
|
|
the heir of promise, lies ready to bleed and
|
|
die by his own father's hand, who never
|
|
shrinks at the doing of it. Now this obedience
|
|
of Abraham in offering up Isaac is a
|
|
lively representation,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Of the love of God
|
|
to us, in delivering up his only-begotten Son
|
|
to suffer and die for us, as a sacrifice. It
|
|
<I>pleased the Lord</I> himself to <I>bruise him.</I> See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:10,Zec+13:7">Isa. liii. 10; Zech. xiii. 7</A>.
|
|
Abraham was
|
|
obliged, both in duty and gratitude, to part
|
|
with Isaac, and parted with him to a friend;
|
|
but God was under no obligations to us, for
|
|
we were enemies.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Of our duty to God,
|
|
in return for that love. We must tread in
|
|
the steps of this faith of Abraham. God, by
|
|
his word, calls us to part with all for Christ,--all
|
|
our sins, though they have been as a
|
|
right hand, or a right eye, or an Isaac--all
|
|
those things that are competitors and rivals
|
|
with Christ for the sovereignty of the heart
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+14:26">Luke xiv. 26</A>);
|
|
and we must cheerfully let
|
|
them all go. God, by his providence, which
|
|
is truly the voice of God, calls us to part
|
|
with an Isaac sometimes, and we must do it
|
|
with a cheerful resignation and submission to
|
|
his holy will,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:18">1 Sam. iii. 18</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_14"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Isaac Rescued.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1872.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 And the angel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> called
|
|
unto him out of heaven, and said,
|
|
Abraham, Abraham: and he said,
|
|
Here <I>am</I> I.
|
|
12 And he said, Lay not
|
|
thine hand upon the lad, neither do
|
|
thou any thing unto him: for now I
|
|
know that thou fearest God, seeing
|
|
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine
|
|
only <I>son</I> from me.
|
|
13 And Abraham
|
|
lifted up his eyes, and looked, and
|
|
behold behind <I>him</I> a ram caught in a
|
|
thicket by his horns: and Abraham
|
|
went and took the ram, and offered
|
|
him up for a burnt offering in the
|
|
stead of his son.
|
|
14 And Abraham
|
|
called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh:
|
|
as it is said <I>to</I> this day, In the
|
|
mount of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> it shall be seen.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Hitherto this story has been very melancholy,
|
|
and seemed to hasten towards a most
|
|
tragical period; but here the sky suddenly
|
|
clears up, the sun breaks out, and a bright
|
|
and pleasant scene opens. The same hand
|
|
that had wounded and cast down here heals
|
|
and lifts up; for, though he cause grief, he
|
|
will have compassion. <I>The angel of the Lord,</I>
|
|
that is, God himself, the eternal Word, the
|
|
angel of the covenant, who was to be the
|
|
great Redeemer and comforter, he interposed,
|
|
and gave a happy issue to this trial.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Isaac is rescued,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
|
|
The command
|
|
to offer him was intended only for trial,
|
|
and it appearing, upon trial, that Abraham
|
|
did indeed love God better than he loved Isaac,
|
|
the end of the command was answered; and
|
|
therefore the order is countermanded, without
|
|
any reflection at all upon the unchangeableness
|
|
of the divine counsels: <I>Lay not thy
|
|
hand upon the lad.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
1. Our creature-comforts
|
|
are most likely to be continued to us when
|
|
we are most likely to be continued to us when
|
|
we are most willing to resign them up to
|
|
God's will.
|
|
|
|
2. God's time to help and relieve
|
|
his people is when they are brought to
|
|
the greatest extremity. The more imminent
|
|
the danger is, and the nearer to be put in
|
|
execution, the more wonderful and the more
|
|
welcome is the deliverance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Abraham is not only approved, but applauded.
|
|
He obtains an honourable testimony
|
|
that he is righteous: <I>Now know I that
|
|
thou fearest God.</I> God knew it before, but
|
|
now Abraham had given a most memorable
|
|
evidence of it. He needed do no more;
|
|
what he had done was sufficient to prove the
|
|
religious regard he had to God and his authority.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
1. When God, by his providence,
|
|
hinders the performance of our sincere
|
|
intentions in his services, he graciously
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page140"> </A>
|
|
|
|
accepts the will for the deed, and the honest
|
|
endeavour, though it come short of finishing.
|
|
|
|
2. The best evidence of our fearing God is
|
|
our being willing of serve and honour him
|
|
with that which is dearest to us, and to part
|
|
with all to him or for him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Another sacrifice is provided instead
|
|
of Isaac,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
Now that the altar was built,
|
|
and the wood laid in order, it was necessary
|
|
that something should be offered. For,
|
|
|
|
1. God must be acknowledged with thankfulness
|
|
for the deliverance of Isaac; and the
|
|
sooner the better, when here is an altar
|
|
ready.
|
|
|
|
2. Abraham's words must be made
|
|
good: <I>God will provide himself a lamb.</I> God
|
|
will not disappoint those expectations of his
|
|
people which are of his own raising; but
|
|
according to their faith it is to them. <I>Thou
|
|
shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. Reference must be had to the
|
|
promised Messiah, the blessed seed.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Christ was sacrificed in our stead, as this ram
|
|
instead of Isaac, and his death was our discharge.
|
|
"<I>Here am I</I> (said he,) <I>let these go
|
|
their way.</I>"
|
|
|
|
(2.) Though that blessed seed
|
|
was lately promised, and now typified by
|
|
Isaac, yet the offering of him up should be
|
|
suspended till the latter end of the world:
|
|
and in the mean time the sacrifice of beasts
|
|
should be accepted, as this ram was, as a
|
|
pledge of that expiation which should one
|
|
day be made by that great sacrifice. And it
|
|
is observable that the temple, the place of
|
|
sacrifice, was afterwards built upon this
|
|
mount Moriah
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+3:1">2 Chron. iii. 1</A>);
|
|
and mount Calvary, where Christ was crucified, was not
|
|
far off.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. A new name is given to the place, to
|
|
the honour of God, and for the encouragement
|
|
of all believers, to the end of the world,
|
|
cheerfully to trust in God in the way of
|
|
obedience: <I>Jehovah-jireh, The Lord will provide</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
probably alluding to what he had
|
|
said
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
<I>God will provide himself a lamb.</I>
|
|
It was not owing to any contrivance of
|
|
Abraham, nor was it in answer to his prayer,
|
|
though he was a distinguished intercessor;
|
|
but it was purely the Lord's doing. Let it
|
|
be recorded for the generations to come,
|
|
|
|
1. That <I>the Lord will see;</I> he will always have
|
|
his eye upon his people in their straits and
|
|
distresses, that he may come in with seasonable
|
|
succour in the critical juncture.
|
|
|
|
2. That he will <I>be seen,</I> be seen <I>in the mount,</I> in
|
|
the greatest perplexities of his people. He
|
|
will not only manifest, but magnify, his wisdom,
|
|
power, and goodness, in their deliverance.
|
|
Where God sees and provides, he
|
|
should be seen and praised. And, perhaps,
|
|
it may refer to <I>God manifest in the flesh.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_19"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abraham's Blessing Confirmed.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1872.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And the angel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> called
|
|
unto Abraham out of heaven the second
|
|
time,
|
|
16 And said, By myself
|
|
have I sworn, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, for because
|
|
thou hast done this thing, and
|
|
hast not withheld thy son, thine only
|
|
<I>son:</I>
|
|
17 That in blessing I will bless
|
|
thee, and in multiplying I will multiply
|
|
thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
|
|
and as the sand which <I>is</I> upon
|
|
the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess
|
|
the gate of his enemies;
|
|
18 And
|
|
in thy seed shall all the nations of the
|
|
earth be blessed; because thou hast
|
|
obeyed my voice.
|
|
19 So Abraham returned
|
|
unto his young men, and they
|
|
rose up and went together to Beer-sheba;
|
|
and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Abraham's obedience was graciously accepted;
|
|
but this was not all: here we have
|
|
it recompensed, abundantly recompensed,
|
|
before he stirred from the place; probably
|
|
while the ram he had sacrificed was yet burning
|
|
God sent him this gracious message, renewed
|
|
and ratified his covenant with him.
|
|
All covenants were made by sacrifice, so was
|
|
this by the typical sacrifices of Isaac and the
|
|
ram. Very high expressions of God's favour
|
|
to Abraham are employed in this confirmation
|
|
of the covenant with him, expressions
|
|
exceeding any he had yet been blessed with.
|
|
Note, Extraordinary services shall be crowned
|
|
with extraordinary honours and comforts;
|
|
and favours in the promise, though not yet
|
|
performed, ought to be accounted real and
|
|
valuable recompences. Observe, 1. God is
|
|
pleased to make mention of Abraham's
|
|
obedience as the consideration of the covenant;
|
|
and he speaks of it with an encomium:
|
|
<I>Because thou hast done this thing, and hast
|
|
not withheld thy son, thine only son,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
He lays a strong emphasis on this, and
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>)
|
|
praises it as an act of obedience: in it
|
|
thou hast <I>obeyed my voice,</I> and to obey is
|
|
better than sacrifice. Not that this was a
|
|
proportionable consideration, but God graciously
|
|
put this honour upon that by which
|
|
Abraham had honoured him.
|
|
|
|
2. God now
|
|
confirmed the promise with an oath. It was
|
|
said and sealed before; but now it is sworn:
|
|
<I>By myself have I sworn;</I> for he could swear
|
|
by no greater,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:13">Heb. vi. 13</A>.
|
|
Thus he interposed
|
|
himself by an oath, as the apostle expresses
|
|
it,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:17">Heb. vi. 17</A>.
|
|
He did (to speak
|
|
with reverence) even pawn his own life and
|
|
being upon it (<I>As I live,</I>) that by all those
|
|
immutable things, in which it was impossible
|
|
for God to lie, he and his might have strong
|
|
consolation. Note, If we exercise faith, God
|
|
will encourage it. Improve the promises,
|
|
and God will ratify them.
|
|
|
|
3. The particular
|
|
promise here renewed is that of a numerous
|
|
offspring: <I>Multiplying, I will multiply thee,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
Note, Those that are willing to part
|
|
with any thing for God shall have it made up
|
|
to them with unspeakable advantage. Abraham
|
|
has but one son, and is willing to part
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page141"> </A>
|
|
|
|
with that one, in obedience to God. "Well,"
|
|
said God, "thou shalt be recompensed with
|
|
thousands and millions." What a figure
|
|
does the seed of Abraham make in history!
|
|
How numerous, how illustrious, were his
|
|
known descendants, who, to this day, triumph
|
|
in this, that they have Abraham to their
|
|
father! Thus he received a thousand-fold in
|
|
this life,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+19:29">Matt. xix. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. The promise,
|
|
doubtless, points at the Messiah, and the
|
|
grace of the gospel. This is the oath sworn
|
|
to our father Abraham, which Zacharias refers
|
|
to,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:73-75">Luke i. 73</A>,
|
|
&c. And so here is a
|
|
promise,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Of the great blessing of the
|
|
Spirit: <I>In blessing, I will bless thee,</I> namely,
|
|
with that best of blessings the gift of the
|
|
Holy Ghost; the promise of the Spirit was
|
|
that blessing of Abraham which was to come
|
|
upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:14">Gal. iii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Of the increase of the church,
|
|
that believers, his spiritual seed, should be
|
|
numerous as the stars of heaven.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Of
|
|
spiritual victories: <I>Thy seed shall possess the
|
|
gate of his enemies.</I> Believers, by their faith,
|
|
overcome the world, and triumph over all the
|
|
powers of darkness, and are more than conquerors.
|
|
Probably Zacharias refers to this
|
|
part of the oath
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:74">Luke i. 74</A>),
|
|
<I>That we, being
|
|
delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might
|
|
serve him without fear.</I> But the crown of all
|
|
is the last promise.
|
|
|
|
(4.) Of the incarnation
|
|
of Christ: <I>In thy seed,</I> one particular person
|
|
that shall descend from thee (for he speaks
|
|
not of many, but of one, as the apostle observes,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:16">Gal. iii. 16</A>),
|
|
<I>shall all the nations of
|
|
the earth be blessed,</I> or shall <I>bless themselves,</I>
|
|
as the phrase is,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:16">Isa. lxv. 16</A>.
|
|
In him all
|
|
may be happy if they will, and all that belong
|
|
to him shall be so, and shall think
|
|
themselves so. Christ is the great blessing
|
|
of the world. Abraham was ready to give
|
|
up his son for a sacrifice to the honour of
|
|
God, and, on that occasion, God promised
|
|
to give his Son a sacrifice for the salvation
|
|
of man.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge22_24"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 And it came to pass after these
|
|
things, that it was told Abraham,
|
|
saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also
|
|
born children unto thy brother Nahor;
|
|
21 Huz his first born, and Buz
|
|
his brother, and Kemuel the father of
|
|
Aram,
|
|
22 And Chesed, and Hazo,
|
|
and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
|
|
23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these
|
|
eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's
|
|
brother.
|
|
24 And his concubine,
|
|
whose name <I>was</I> Reumah, she
|
|
bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and
|
|
Thahash, and Maachah.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This is recorded here,
|
|
|
|
1. To show that
|
|
though Abraham saw his own family highly
|
|
dignified with peculiar privileges, admitted
|
|
into covenant, and blessed with the entail of
|
|
the promise, yet he did not look with contempt
|
|
and disdain upon his relations, but
|
|
was glad to hear of the increase and prosperity
|
|
of their families.
|
|
|
|
2. To make way for
|
|
the following story of the marriage of Isaac
|
|
to Rebekah, a daughter of this family.</P>
|
|
|
|
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