Gen 22-23

Gen 22

1 Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

12“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

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.”

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

Gen 23

1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land

13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants. 17 So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded

18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.

19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

Snapshot 37 This Is a Test, This Is Only a Test

Gen 22-23

God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son.  And Abraham arranges to comply.  A few thoughts right here.  First, Abraham has another son – but Isaac is the chosen line for the promise.  I am sure Ishmael is happy to be left out of this section.  Second, Abraham has negotiated with God before to save Lot.  Where is all of that skill here???  We know right away that this was a test – but he did not.   Third, Abraham is over a 100 years old, how did he even have the energy?  Abraham lived to 175 – so I guess he is middle aged here.  

Child sacrifice was something pagans did.  I think one point of this is that God is not like the pagan gods.  It also emphasized the need to rely on God completely.  And it also foreshadows the sacrifice made by God himself.   When I lost my son, my sweet niece comforted me by saying that God really did understand because He lost His son too.  True here as well.  We are internally outraged by the sacrifice here and relieved it is not required that we give up a son for God.  But God does just that:  He gives up His son for us.  God is a God who understands loss because he made a huge sacrifice.  

Notice three days are mentioned – like the three days before the resurrection.  

I have more trouble with the story from Isaac's perspective.  He trusts his father fully and is almost murdered.  I don't know how you rebuild that trust.  I wonder if he heard from God too when he was rescued.  I hope so.  But he is in no doubt that Abraham loves God more than him.  From this, Abraham receives a promise of blessing.

I think God still asks us to make sacrifices sometimes: jobs, relationships, money and so forth.   But those things are usually for our benefit.  

Abraham is told his brother has kids by Milkah (a good breastfeeding name).  Ok.  So one is Uz and another Buz – from Job???  Could not find an answer for that one, but I am betting they are related.  

And did you notice the brother has 12 sons?  He had a stronger line, but God blessed the unlikely brother.  Though, in fairness, there is a lot of inter-marriage between these branches.  Will try to find a good charge of that.  Found one from Realclearbible.com.  It is a twisty little tree by modern standards.  

Gen 23

Sarah lives to 127 -so Abraham outlives her by 50 years.  She dies in a foreign land.  Abraham mourns her death and then wants to buy a burial site.  There is this odd discussion where the Hittites want to give him land and he insists on buying it.  I wonder what Bibleheads make of this.  They say that he wanted clear and public ownership.  This is the place Abraham is buried along with  Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.  This also shows that Abraham had the respect of the people of that time.  Some suggest he overpaid for the land.  

So maybe this shows Abraham being fair and not taking advantage of the blessing on his family.  That would be character development since took money to take Sarah back.  Still makes me chuckle.  Like the old joke: Take your wife, no really!