The Hebrew word for the binding of Isaac is Akedah. This was God’s ultimate test for Abraham. After waiting patiently for 25 years, God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice! Abraham passed the test with flying colors.
God called Abraham by name and told him to take Isaac his only son, whom he loved, and go to Mount Moriah. The name Moriah has a beautiful meaning in Hebrew – it signifies being handpicked by God. Moriah was mentioned only twice in the Bible, and this was the first mention.
With Isaac carrying the wood, Abraham took a journey to Mount Moriah. The wood on Isaac’s back was a foreshadow of the cross behind Jesus’ back.
Genesis 22:9-14
9 They came to the place which God had told him of. Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now, I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “Yahweh Will Provide”. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”
Reflection
The angel of the LORD called out Abraham’s name twice and stopped him from stabbing his son. Scholars believed that this Angel of the Lord was a Christophany of the pre-incarnate Christ.
Abraham passed the test with flying colors. He obeyed the God’s command. God provided a sacrificial ram trapped in the bush, just at the right moment. After sacrificing the ram as a burnt offering, Abraham called the place, Jehovah Jireh, which means, God will provide, in Hebrews.
God promised Abraham posterity as numerous as the stars of the heaven and the sand on the seashore. The whole world will be blessed by Abraham’s ultimate descendant Jesus Christ.
Application
Abraham is a type of God the Father. Isaac is a type of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
Ancient Mount Moriah is present day Calvary.
At the same place two thousand years ago, God provided His only Son to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Whoever believes in Christ shall not perish but have eternal life, John 3:16.
Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross 2000 years ago?
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross 2000 years ago to save us from sin. Thank You for salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Thank you for sanctification and eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Abraham was Abram before God changed his name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5. God appeared to Abram and called him to leave his home, relatives, country, and everything, to an unknown destination, with an unknown future. This was a tall order and it must have come as a shock to him. But God promised to bless him and the whole world, through him.
Genesis 17:5, Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Verses 1-3, 1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
God called Abram to leave his dwelling place in Ur of the Chaldees, his relatives, his father’s house, to go to an undisclosed destination, not knowing what his future will be. The Hebrew word for God is the tetragrammaton YHWH, or Yahweh, represented by the capitalized LORD. Yahweh is the covenantal name of God.
God gave Abram 6 promises, make him into a great nation, bless him, make his name famous, bless those who bless him, curse those who curse him, and bless the whole world universally through him.
Verses 4-5, 4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.
Abram did not fully obey the LORD. Abram left Ur of the Chaldees with his father, Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, see Acts 7:4. Ur of the Chaldees was Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Abram did not go to Canaan immediately. After leaving Ur of the Chaldees, he settled down in Haran instead of proceeding all the way to Canaan. Haran, in present-day Turkey, is northwest of Ur and is only halfway to Canaan.
Abram left Haran with his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, after the death of his father Terah, and traveled southwest to Shechem in Canaan. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Canaan was present-day Israel.
Acts 7:4, “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.”
Verses 6-8, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
Abram passed through Shechem in the land of Canaan The LORD appeared to Abram a second time and gave promised to give Canaan to him and his descendants. Abram built an altar to the LORD and prayed to Him at Shechem. He pitched his tent on a mountain between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. Abram was an idol worshiper before God called him. Now he built an altar to Yahweh and worship the One true God. Abram was a nomad, pitching his tent as he went from place to place.
Verses 9-13, 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
As Abram continued to travel south, the LORD tested him by bringing on a famine. Instead of trusting the LORD to provide for him in the famine, he went down to Egypt. Sarai was very beautiful and Abram was afraid the Egyptians would kill him. He pleaded with Sarai to lie to Pharoah by telling him that she was his sister. Abram the father of faith failed the test of faith! He ran away from Canaan because of a famine. He connived with his wife to tell a lie!
Verses 14-16, 14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
When Abram entered Egypt, Pharoah was struck by Sarai’s beauty and took her into his harem. He treated Abram well because he thought Abram was his sister. Pharoah gave Abram sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, and camels.
Verses 17-20, 17 Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.
The LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with plagues because he was trying to get close to Sarai. When Pharoah discovered that Sarai was Abram’s wife, he summoned Abram to leave Egypt immediately with all his possessions.
Application
The post-flood people wanted to make their names great by their own effort, but the LORD displaced them into obscurity and confused their language. The LORD called Abraham out from obscurity and his name great. Abraham did not do anything. He just had to believe and trust the LORD. You must not try to promote yourself. God will promote you if you believe and trust Him.
Abraham did not fully obey the LORD. He stopped at Haran and settled down there. He waited until his father’s death before proceeding to Canaan. If God calls you, will you obey Him fully, partially, or not at all? If you did not obey the LORD fully, you will miss out on His blessing.
Abram built a prayer altar to the LORD in Shechem. Have you built a prayer altar to the LORD in your house?
Abram’s faith was weak. He left Canaan when there was a famine. He told Sarai to tell a lie to Pharoah that she was his sister. Abram did not trust the LORD to provide for him in the famine. Will you trust God to provide for your needs? The LORD is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides, Genesis 22:14.
Genesis 22:14, So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Spiritually speaking, going to Egypt is always going down, and going to Jerusalem is always going up. Egypt represents the world and Jerusalem represents the city of God.
Canaan is the promised land. God promised to give Canaan to Abram, Genesis 12:7.
If God called you to an unknown destination, and start from scratch, will you obey Him and go?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to obey You. Help us to follow Your leadership and guidance. You know what is best for us. You know how our future will end. Our future is in Your hand. Help us to walk worthy of Your calling. Increase our faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dr ANDREW C S KOH
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This book is based on the first book in the Bible. It is great in helping the laymen to understand and reflect on these chapters of Genesis. It is easy to read and very informative. Beautiful prayers are there in each chapter. A great read. I am on the ARC team. I received this book free and I leave an honest review. I recommend this book to other readers, Sharmani Jeyaram, Amazon, 5 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT: This book is an EXCELLENT interpretation of Genesis 1:1-11 The book correlates with scripture and relays in terms that are easy to comprehend. Dr. Andrew C. S. Koh has become one of my favorite authors!, Tiffany Townsend, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars
Understanding the beginning: The author has given cliff notes on the most pivotal books in history. Making the book a great study guide. The best thing about books by the author is that every word written matches the Bible. If you are new or well-versed in the faith-recommend book, Tiffany Townsend, Amazon, 5 out of 5 stars
Very informative. Dr. Koh adds scriptures and prayer after each section. Learned from his writings that I had not even thought of. Would recommend it to those who are really looking into getting to know God in a more intimate way, Rachelle Bachiu, Goodreads 5 out of 5 stars.
Description
This is a Christ-centred, life-changing, Expository Commentary, Daily Devotion, and Bible Study Guide, on the first book of the Bible, Genesis from chapters 1 to 11. This is a simple, non-academic commentary for laymen to understand and apply biblical truth to contemporary life. This is a continuation of Biblical Commentaries I wrote during the pandemic of 2020-2022. This book has the power to change, correct, convict, deepen, transform, mature, enrich, teach, and bless your life. If you are searching for the truth and want to study the book of Genesis systematically, this is the book for you.
