The Story of Isaac
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
(Heb 11:17-18)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Few references in the Old Testament are as important in Christology as the person of Isaac. When God promised Abraham “I will make of you a great nation” (Gen 12:2) and “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen 12:7), Abram was already seven-five years old (Gen 12:4). Furthermore, Abraham’s wife, Sarai, was both past child-bearing age and barren (Gen 11:30), even if she was beautiful in her old age (Gen 12:11).
The Hagar Incident
The Hagar incident simply confirmed that no one believed that Sarai could have children, least of all Sarai herself (Gen 16:1-8). In the ancient world, infertility could be handled through offering your husband a slave woman, which Sarai did (Gen 16:2). When Hagar became pregnant, Sarai became jealous and treated her badly so Hagar ran off. The Lord appeared to Hagar in the desert and told her to return to her mistress and gave her a prophecy of Ishmael (Gen 16:4-12). At this point, the text records that Hagar named God as the God who sees (Gen 16:13). She returned to her mistress.
Abraham was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him a son, Ishmael (Gen 16:16).
The Promise Reiterated
Yet, God’s promise to Abraham was through Sarai:
“And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” (Gen 17:15-16)
Isaac means “he laughed” in Hebrew for a reason—no one believed that Abraham and Sarah could have a child. At the time of this promise to Sarai, Abraham is one hundred years old and Sarai is ninety (Gen 17:17). Isaac was a miracle baby.
Inheritance Squabble
A child born to such a slave, such as Hagar, would legally belong to the infertile wife and would have the same inheritance rights as a child born to the wife. After Sarah had Isaac, she realized that Ishmael was Abraham’s first-born son and would receive the majority of the inheritance. Jealous for her son, she had Abraham free Hagar and send her away (Gen 21:9-10), which was cruel but within her legal rights.
The story of Hagar’s prayer and God’s rescue (Gen 21:11-21) is particularly significant for Muslims, who claim Ishmael as their ancestor. Ishmael’s genealogy is recorded in Genesis 25:12-18. The well mentioned in the passage is called Zamzam1 and my mother-in-law visited Mecca and brought back a bottle of water from this well that stayed in our frigerater for years. A Muslim who has made this trip is granted the title: Hajji.
Hagar Symbolizes Law
The Apostle Paul took the story of Hagar and Sarah allegorically to represent the old and new covenants:
“But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” (Gal 4:23-26)
This allegory comparing Hagar with law and Sarah with Gospel makes the point that our relationship with God is not something forced or codified, but alive and freely given in Jesus Christ.
Mount Moriah
The incident at Mount Moriah started with a command from God:
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:1-2)
The idea of a child sacrifice to a god was well-attested in the Ancient Near East and only abolished in the Roman Empire in 97 AD.2 More typically, child sacrifice, much like abortion today, involves female babies because thinly veiled beneath the religious ceremony, worship of Baal or Asherah (Jer 19:4-6), was an economic incentive, like poverty, crop failure, and starvation. In the case of Isaac, this sacrifice is proposed as a loyalty test for Abraham.
Note that the text describes Isaac as a boy or young man, even though the story of Hagar almost immediately precedes this one, which is reinforced by comment that Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice (Gen 22:5-6). Some commentators make the point that Abraham, as an old man, could not chase down a teenage boy and bind him, if he were to resist. This suggests that Isaac was a willing participant in the sacrifice.
Having bound Isaac and laid him on the altar, we read:
“Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Gen 22:10-12)
Abraham passed the loyalty test and God reiterates his promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations (Gen 22:15-17).
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah is an allegory to Jesus’ death on the cross. Because Abraham did not withhold his son, neither did God3 (Heb 11:17-19; Jam 2:21)
Footnotes
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamzam_....
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_s....
3 The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is believed by some to be the site of Mount Moriah. Muslims believe that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the intended sacrifice.
The Story of Isaac
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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