GENESIS LESSON 32


     We will begin this lesson in Genesis 22:1 "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]."

     One thing about Abraham, he knew God's voice and was always
willing to obey God.

     Genesis 22:2 "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."

     You must remember what this son meant to Abraham. There was a
very close to worship situation. Abraham had lost his son of the
flesh. Notice here, that in God's sight, Isaac was his only son. God
knew how much Abraham loved this son. That was the very reason this
son was what he had to give up. Whatever, or whomever, we put ahead of
God has to be sacrificed (given up), if we are to truly be in right
fellowship with God. This spot, Moriah, is in Jerusalem today. The
custom of the false gods in the area was to do human sacrifice on the
mountains. God would allow this greatest of all temptations to Abraham
to see, if in the face of the worst odds possible, Abraham would still
worship Him. This is almost beyond comprehension to us.

     Genesis 22:3  "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."

     There are a number of symbolisms we need to see in this Scripture
above.

     God sacrificing His only son.
     Abraham sacrificing his son.

     Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass.
     The provisions for this sacrifice were carried on an ass.

     Jesus died between two men on the cross.
     Abraham took two men with them.

     Jesus carried a wooden cross.
     Isaac carried wood for the sacrifice. (wood means worldliness).

     Jesus went to Golgatha on orders from God.
     Abraham and Isaac went to Moriah in Jerusalem on orders from God.

     Jesus obeyed His Father and said "nevertheless not my will, but
     thine."
     Isaac obeyed Abraham without question.

     Genesis 22:4 "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes,
and saw the place afar off."

     There are all kinds of implications, here. Isaac was as good as
dead these three days. His dad, Abraham, grieved for him as the
disciples grieved for Jesus three days, Jesus' body, of course, was in
the grave three days. Resurrection was on its way.

     Genesis 22:5 "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here
with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come
again to you."

     Jesus said I will come again, just as this Scripture says the
same thing. All of this is a parallel to the cross. At one point,
Jesus left the two on the cross, just as Abraham left these two
behind. At some point, Isaac had to realize something strange was
going on. Where was the sacrifice?

     Genesis 22:6 "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering,
and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand,
and a knife; and they went both of them together."
     Genesis 22:7 "And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said,
My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the
fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?"

     Here, it appears that Isaac had become aware, as Jesus did at
Gethsemene. Both a little reluctant to go through with this, but, still
obedient. the lamb, as always, stood for the innocence.

     Genesis 22:8 "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together."
     Genesis 22:9 "And they came to the place which God had told him
of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and
bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood."

     After Jesus had carried the cross to the hill, they laid it down,
and Jesus was nailed to the cross. Jesus was on the altar of sacrifice
for us. Isaac, also, was bound to this wood and laid on the altar.

     Genesis 22:10 "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son."
     Genesis 22:11 "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I."

      This is where all similarity ends. When Abraham was about to
sacrifice his son, there was Someone higher to say don't do this. He
had passed the test. He was willing to sacrifice the one thing (his
son) that meant everything here on this earth to him. He had withheld
nothing from God. God was satisfied. When Jesus was sacrificed, there
was no higher power than His Father.

     Genesis 22:12 "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 [son] from me."
     This was a grievous test that Abraham went through. We can
understand better the grief that Father God went through at the
sacrifice of His Son. The sun darkened and the earth quaked in sorrow.

     Genesis 22:13 "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and
behold behind [him] 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."

    This is the greatest symbolism of Jesus' sacrifice of all. Jesus
is our substitute. We should have suffered and died on that cross, but
Jesus God's Son, took our place. God has always provided a substitute.

     Genesis 22:14 "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-
jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall
be seen."

     You see, names meant something special in the Old Testament.
"Jehovahjireh" means God my provider. How wonderful, that is what He
really is.

     Genesis 22:15 "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out
of heaven the second time,"
     Genesis 22:16 "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD,
for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son,
thine only [son]:"
     Genesis 22:17 "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 [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess
the gate of his enemies;"
     Genesis 22:18 "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

     The ministering spirit of the Lord, Himself, spoke to Abraham; and
the Lord swore by Himself, because there was no greater. He reiterated
the blessing again on Abraham. Abraham had passed the test. All
believers, throughout the ages, would be blessed, because of the
faithfulness of Abraham.

     Genesis 22:19 "So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they
rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-
sheba."
     Genesis 22:20  "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;"
     Genesis 22:21 "Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel
the father of Aram,"
     Genesis 22:22 "And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph,
and Bethuel."
     Genesis 22:23 "And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did
bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother."
     Genesis 22:24 "And his concubine, whose name [was] Reumah, she
bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah."

     "Kemuel" means assembly of God. "Bethuel" means the abode of God.
Rebekah was actually what all the above was about, because she would
become the wife of Isaac. She was a cousin actually, but in those days
(as now), it was very important not to marry a heathen.

     Study chapter 23 of Genesis for the next lesson.
















































                             Questions 32


1.  Who tempted Abraham?
2.  When God called, what did Abraham say?
3.  Who did God ask Abraham to sacrifice?
4.  Where?
5.  Did God count Ishmael as Abraham's son?
6.  What kind of an offering was Isaac to be?
7.  What do we have to give up to follow Jesus?
8.  What type of worship service did the false gods require in this
    area?
9.  Where were their services held?
10. Who went with Abraham and Isaac?
11. What did they carry to use on the altar?
12. How does this symbolize the cross?
13. Moriah is where?
14. What stands out clearly in both Jesus and Isaac toward God and
    Abraham?
15. How many days were they on the trip?
16. What was Isaac for these days?
17. What is all of this paralleled to?
18. Isaac carrying the wood to Mt. Moriah symbolized what?
19. What has the lamb always stood for?
20. What symbolized Jesus being nailed to the cross?
21. When did all similarity end?
22. What is the greatest symbolism of all in this?
23. What does "Jehovahjireh" mean?
24. Why did the Lord swear by himself?
25. Through whose seed shall all the earth be blessed?
26. What does "Kemuel" mean?
27. What does "Bethuel" mean?
28. Why was Rebekah so important in this?