Symbolism in the Story of Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22

Introduction

In the article “Symbolism in the Story of Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22“, I will explore how the story of Abraham and his son Isaac, described in Genesis 22, carries deep symbolism that anticipates God’s plan of redemption. Through the analysis of this episode, I will investigate the meaning of Abraham’s trial, the sacrifice of Isaac, and how these events prefigure the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Throughout the text, we will understand how this story transcends its historical context, revealing lessons about faith, obedience, and the relationship between God and humanity.

The Story of Abraham and Isaac

The story of Abraham is present in the three largest monotheistic religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Abraham is a figure who appears in the books considered sacred by these religions. His story is described in the Torah. He is mentioned in the writings of the “New Testament” in Christianity (which also includes Jewish writings) and is also referenced in the Quran of Islam.

In today’s study, we will analyze an event in the history of Abraham and Isaac (his son), not only from a historical perspective but also from a symbolic and prophetic one. The event to be studied is reported in Genesis 22:1-14, as we can read below:

Genesis 22:1-14 – “And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go unto the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell thee. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he cut wood for the burnt offering, and arose, and went unto the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Stay here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and when we have worshipped, we will return unto you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and they both went together. Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘ Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they both went together. And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ And he said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me‘. Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. Hence it is said to this day, On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided“

Abraham is Tested: Abraham and Isaac

As we can read in the text above, God gives a test to Abraham, His servant. To prove Abraham’s faithfulness, God asks him to take his only son and offer him as a sacrifice. Isaac was the son given to Abraham by God’s promise. He was the only son Abraham had with his beloved wife Sarah, who was barren. The birth of Isaac was a miracle on God’s part, since Abraham and Sarah were old, and especially because Sarah was barren. God’s order to Abraham was certainly something very painful to fulfill, and yet it was carried out to the end by this man, at least until the moment when God intervened.

Abraham’s faith was certainly tested in this event. He did not argue with God about His request, nor about what would happen later when he lost his beloved son. He simply complied with the order he had been given, even though he had great sorrow in his heart (note that when he left home, he did not tell Sarah what would be done, but only informed her that he would make a sacrifice to the Lord, without telling her what would be sacrificed. Until the end, he carried this sorrow alone).

The Questioning of Isaac

Along the way, his son Isaac questioned him, saying: “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?“. Isaac had already noticed the absence of the sacrifice, but it was still unclear what would be offered, since neither of them was bringing any animal to be sacrificed to the Lord. In response to his question, Abraham answers him: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son“.

Abraham and Isaac arrive at the place, prepare the altar, and, with regret, Abraham ties Isaac up to sacrifice him. Although the Bible does not mention it, Isaac seems to accept the situation, not reacting or running away, and is willing to be sacrificed according to God’s order.

The Angel of the Lord Appears

But at the moment when Abraham raises his hand with the knife (or dagger) to sacrifice his beloved son, an Angel of the Lord interrupts the execution and says the following words: “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me“. At that moment, Abraham looks back and sees a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. With joy, he understands that the Lord has truly answered the feelings in his heart, when He answered his son that “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son!” With this, the sacrifice would be made, for the Lord had provided a lamb to die in place of his beloved son Isaac. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will Provide“.

Why did God test Abraham?

This story is one of the most moving in the Bible. Abraham was a person who left many things behind to serve the Lord. He did not refuse anything that God asked of him. He is considered in the Scriptures the “father of faith“, because he always did what God ordered, believing in Him until the end, even if he had to do something that caused him some kind of harm.

But what is interesting about this story we have just read is the fact that this was a test God gave His servant. The chapter begins by making it very clear that this was a test from the Lord:

Genesis 22:1 – “And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, Here am I“

We might ask ourselves: “Didn’t God know what Abraham’s decision would be? Why did He need to test Abraham?“.

God Already Knew! So Why Did He Prove It?

Surely God knows all things, including those that have not yet happened! The Scriptures are very clear on this point:

Daniel 2:28 – “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries; he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the last days“

Psalms 139:4 – “Although there is not a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it completely“

Isaiah 46:9-10 – “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other God, there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done …“

Through the study of the Scriptures, we understand that God knows all things, including those that have not yet happened! He is the One who reveals the future (and He has proven this countless times through prophecies and signs given about things that were to happen). Therefore, the question that remains about this story is: “Why did God test Abraham?“.

In your trial there is a revelation!

Genesis 22:1 – “And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, Here am I“

To understand the “why” of this ordeal, we need to pay attention to every detail recorded in this story.

Genesis 22:2 – “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go unto the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell thee“

Your Only Son

Notice that when God spoke to Abraham, the Lord specified what Abraham was to give as a sacrifice. He made it clear that the sacrifice was to be “your only son“. It wasn’t just anyone that God was specifying for this sacrifice. It had to be the “only son” that Abraham had (and obviously, here it refers to his relationship with Sarah, who had been promised a son, and not Hagar, Sarah’s servant). Furthermore, the Lord adds another important detail about this son that Abraham had. He was “Isaac, whom you love“. Yes, this was Abraham’s beloved son! The son he had with his beloved wife, and he had him through a miracle and divine promise.

Sacrificing Humans Was Forbidden by God

At this point, it is also important to consider that God’s order to sacrifice a human being was something new until then, as this type of sacrifice had never been requested by God. Until then, only a few specific animals were sacrificed to the Lord. This order from God was something new and contrary to what had been done until then. In fact, later on, God made it clear in the Law He gave to Moses that He would not accept human sacrifices, as this was a common practice among pagans:

Deuteronomy 12:31 – “You shall not do so to the Lord your God; for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, they have done to their gods; for they have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods“

So far, we have seen that God already knows all things, and therefore, He already knew what Abraham’s position would be on this issue. He already knew about Abraham’s faithfulness and faith. Furthermore, the order of what should be sacrificed by Abraham was contradictory to what God Himself expected. This makes it clear that God was not interested in “testing“. Abraham, but rather that He wanted to leave a very important revelation through this story, which would be known by the three greatest future religions of our world (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam).

Revelation in its own context

God’s revelation is in the trial given! Let’s read the second verse again, highlighting some important details:

Genesis 22:2 – “And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go unto the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell thee“

As highlighted in the text above, we can extract the following information:

1. Abraham was the father of Isaac.
2. Isaac was his only son.
3. Abraham loved Isaac.
4. Abraham had to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.

What does God want to reveal to us through this story?

A parallel: The Plan of Salvation!

This story of Abraham foresaw God’s plan of salvation! It is in perfect harmony with how God would save those who repent of their sins. Let’s read the golden verse about the plan of salvation reported in the Gospel of John, as well as the account of the moment when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist:

John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved“

Matthew 3:16-17 – “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased“

Notice the parallel with the highlighted texts and the relationship with the verse read previously from Genesis 22:2. In both cases, we find a Father who gives His Son as a sacrifice, who is beloved and unique!

The Symbolism of This Event

In other words, the “Father” (God) is symbolized by Abraham, and the “Son” (Jesus) is symbolized by Isaac! The plan of salvation was symbolized by Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, just as God had to offer Jesus as a sacrifice in place of the repentant sinner. And finally, Isaac was not just anyone! He was the only and beloved son of Abraham. In the same way, Jesus is not just anyone; He is the only and beloved Son of God the Father!

• Father -> Abraham: God
• Son -> Isaac: Jesus Christ

In the trial that God gave Abraham, He was already revealing how humanity would be saved! In other words, His only begotten Son would be given as a sacrifice. This truth is found in the writings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The three largest monotheistic religions in the world should be aware of this truth. However, they all reject this revelation in some way. Judaism denies the person and divinity of Jesus Christ. Islam believes in Jesus only as a prophet. And Christianity, for the most part, rejects the true filiation of Jesus to the one and only Sovereign God of the universe. This is evident through the numerous doctrines and divergences that exist about divinity, such as the Trinity, Oneness, and others, which deny this truth.

1 John 2:23 – “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; but whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.“

Conclusion

In today’s study, we were able to see the importance of studying the Scriptures, because in them we find revelations that the Lord gives us through the stories He left recorded. Our salvation would be provided through the sacrifice of Jesus that God would need to make to save us. Let us praise the Lord for this sacrifice! Without it, we would not have life again!

May God bless us!