1. God tested Abraham (vs. 1-2)
 a) “tested”- a severe trial to show & grow Abraham’s faith (he is not told this). “take now”- “please take” 
     term of entreaty rare in a Divine command (gently bracing him for the difficulty).
 b) “your son, your only son, whom you love”- Ishmael was sent away. Abraham had a strong fatherly 
     affection upon this only son upon whom all hope of God’s promises rested.
 c) Moriah (2 Chron. 3:1 where Solomon would build the temple), about 45 miles from Beersheba.
 d) “burnt offering”- symbolized a total surrender to the Lord. Later revelation makes clear the Lord was 
     against child sacrifices (Lev. 20:2-5, Deut. 12:31). This command would be against all that Abraham 
     knew God to be like & seemingly opposed to the covenant promises He made.
2. Abraham’s journey (vs. 3-8)
 a) “rose early/morning”- immediate obedience that didn’t question that it was God who spoke. His 
     actions are dragged out in agonizing details in an order that might suggest: his disorientation, keeping 
     things from Sarah/others or delaying the hardest part of the preparation. After 3 days of travel, he lifted 
     his eyes and saw God’s designated place for the sacrifice.
 b) “I & the lad (probably at least a teenager, 21:20, 37:2, Josephus says 25) will go…worship…return.” 
     Hebrews 11:17-19 indicates Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead.
3. Abraham’s sacrifice (vs. 9-12)
 a) Isaac carried the wood on his back (like Jesus- John 19:17), while Abraham carried the hot coals & 
     knife for the sacrifice. Isaac’s question (vs. 7) is gut wrenching. Abraham responded, “God will 
     provide/see”. He will provide for Himself the suitable burnt offering, and He has (John 1:29).
 b) More agonizing actions are spelled out. Isaac cooperated. Abraham was going through with the 
     sacrifice & Isaac allowed it. Just before Abraham slayed Isaac, the angel/LORD intervened with 
     urgency, “Abraham! Abraham!” He stopped Him from slaying Isaac with the knife, and declared that 
     now He knew that Abraham feared God since he would not withhold his son, his only son from the 
     Lord. Abraham passed the test: He demonstrated that trusting & obeying God was more important than 
     his cherished only son. How about you?
4. The Lord provided a sacrifice (vs. 13-14)
 a) Likely a ram caught by its horns in a nearby thicket made noise. Abraham raised his eyes (v4,13), 
     looked (v8), and recognized this was the burnt offering sacrifice the Lord provided instead of Isaac. 
 b) Abraham fittingly named the place, “The LORD will provide.” This led to the proverbial expression, 
     “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” He is the One who sees & provides in His place of 
     choice. God’s action with His only Son would take the sacrifice to the final step (Romans 8:32).
5. The Lord swore to bless (vs. 15-18)
 a) By Myself I have sworn”- a major attention getter (Heb. 6:13-19). His word is enough, but He backs it 
     up by swearing by His own unchangeable self.
 b) The LORD repeated & reinforced earlier promises: “I will greatly bless you” (12:2), “I will greatly 
     multiply your seed”- 13:16 “as the dust/earth”, 15:5 as the stars, now “as the stars & the sand of the 
     seashore.” He added “your seed shall possess…gate/enemies” (cp. 12:3)- conquer & rule over them. 
     “In your seed all nations/earth shall be blessed/bless themselves” because of Abraham’s obedience of 
     faith. Israel would be a source of blessing to the nations, but the ultimate fulfillment of this was Christ.
The journey home (v19)
 a) Abraham & Isaac would never be the same. They returned to the servants & then to Beersheba.
 b) This was the crowning experience of Abraham’s faith: He obeyed God even when His command did 
     not make sense. He believed God would raise Isaac to fulfill His promises and/or provide in some 
     other way. In a test, we should trust the Lord to provide. God doesn’t hold back from us, let us not 
     hold back from Him. What has God given to you that you need to surrender back to Him?