Genesis 22:1–19

Abraham and Isaac

Ages 12 to 15

The account

Genesis 22 presents a severe test of Abraham. God called to him, and Abraham answered. God then told Abraham to take Isaac, the son he loved, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on a mountain God would show him.

Abraham rose early the next morning. He saddled his ass, took two of his young men and Isaac, cut wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place God had named. On the third day, Abraham saw the place from a distance. He told the two young men to remain with the ass while he and Isaac went farther to worship, and he said that they would come back to them.

Abraham placed the wood on Isaac. Abraham carried the fire and the knife. As they went together, Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the burnt offering was. Abraham answered that God would provide himself a lamb.

When they reached the place, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, bound Isaac and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham then reached out and took the knife to slay his son. At that moment, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, calling Abraham's name twice. Abraham answered, and the angel told him not to lay his hand on Isaac or do anything to him.

The angel said that Abraham's actions had shown that he feared God because he had not withheld his son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a thicket. He took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of Isaac. Abraham called the place Jehovahjireh.

The angel of the Lord then called to Abraham from heaven a second time. The message repeated and enlarged God's promise: Abraham would be blessed, his seed would be multiplied like the stars of heaven and the sand by the sea, his seed would possess the gate of his enemies, and through his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed because Abraham had obeyed God's voice.

Abraham returned to the young men, and together they went to Beersheba, where Abraham lived. Genesis does not give Isaac's age in this passage, so descriptions that make him a small child or assign him a specific age add something the text does not say.

Memory verse

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:8

Think about it

Why is Abraham's statement that he and Isaac would return to the young men important to notice in the middle of the test?
What does the repeated phrase about Abraham and Isaac going together add to the account?
Why is the ram important at the exact moment when the angel stops Abraham?
What does the second message from the angel show about the connection between Abraham's obedience and the promises already given to him?

Going deeper

The wider Genesis account had already said that God's promised line would be called in Isaac (Genesis 21:12). Hebrews 11:17–19 later reflects on Abraham's test and says he believed God was able to raise the dead. James 2:21–23 also points to Abraham's offering of Isaac when discussing faith shown through works. These later passages look back on Genesis 22 as a major example of Abraham's faith and obedience.

What can we learn?

This account can teach us about trust and obedience when a command is difficult to understand. It also shows the importance of staying with what the text actually says: Isaac is spared, a ram is provided in his place, and the account ends with God's promise reaffirmed.