Abraham & The Sacrificial Offering of Isaac

Today's lesson will cover the life of Abraham and one of the most controversial yet faithful acts in all of scripture: the sacrificial offering of his son Isaac. 

Before we get into the sacrifice of Issac, let's journey back in Abrahsms life and see the trials that he endured that made him Abaraham the father, the husband, the faithful and "friend" of God.  

 Abraham 1:1 In the land of the aChaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, bAbraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of cresidence; 

 5 My afathers, having turned from their righteousness, and from the holy commandments which the Lord their God had given unto them, unto the worshiping of the bgods of the cheathen, utterly refused to hearken to my voice; 

 6 For their ahearts were set to do bevil, and were wholly turned to the god of cElkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt;

 7 Therefore they turned their hearts to the sacrifice of the aheathen in offering up their children unto these dumb idols, and hearkened not unto my voice, but endeavored to take away my blife by the hand of the priest of Elkenah. The priest of Elkenah was also the priest of Pharaoh. 

 8 Now, at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea, for the offering unto these strange gods, men, women, and children. 

 Pause: Abraham then gives an explanation of these Gods that the Egyptians worshipped  

 12 And it came to pass that the priests laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as they did those virgins upon this altar; and that you may have a knowledge of this altar, I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record.

Pause: He talks about what the altar looked like, all the hieroglyphics. 

 15 And as they lifted up their hands upon me, that they might offer me up and take away my life, behold, I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord ahearkened and heard, and he filled me with the vision of the Almighty, and the angel of his presence stood by me, and immediately bunloosed my bands; 

 16 And his voice was unto me: aAbraham, Abraham, behold, my bname is Jehovah, and I have heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy cfather’s house, and from all thy kinsfolk, into a strange dland which thou knowest not of; 

19 As it was with aNoah so shall it be with thee; but through thy ministry my bname shall be known in the earth cforever, for I am thy God. 

 And then God destroys the altar and the priests.  

 The scriptures are not detailed texts for many reasons, one obvious reason being the capacity (time and energy) in which it took to write an account--on stone, clay, leather, parchment.

 So why invest in this story of all stories about Abraham? 

So the reader can greater understand how this moment in Abrahsms life prepared him for an even more trying moment his future self would experience.  

 Because our vision is either looking at the present or some times the past, we don't quite understand how present trials affect our future--wether good or bad. 

•How can our trials help us prepare for future difficulties? If we allow them to that is?  

 The law of opposition is not always easy to understand or accept. I am still trying to grasp the concept that our trials can be for our betterment. However, as I've looked at my past, and the past of others, I've come to gain a testimony that the law of opposition is requisite in helping us achieve success, become more faithful, more well rounded, and grounded individuals.  

 Do any of you have an experience you want to share about having your faith tested and the blessings that came from that experience? 

 2. The second part of the lesson discusses the seed of Abrahahm.  

 In Genesis 15:5-6 we read what The Lord revealed to Abraham about his seed:  

 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and atell the bstars, if thou be able to cnumber them: and he said unto him, So shall thy dseed be. 

 6 aAnd he bbelieved in the Lord; and he counted it to him for crighteousness. 

 There were 2 women responsible for this fulfillment of this prophecy. Who were they? Sarah--AbrahSms wife, and Hagar--Sarah's handmaiden.  

 In the account we read that Sarah is the one who convinced Abrahahm to take Hagar as his wife. Why? 

Just as Eve understood the higher law in partaking of the fruit, so did Sarah understand that God had prophecied that Abrahsm would be blessed with seed and so she made a way for him to do so.  

 HANDOUT 1 
D&C 132: 
34 God acommanded Abraham, and Sarah gave bHagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.

35 Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, acommanded it. 

 We know that Hagar conceived Ishmael and had a large and blessed posterity thereafter--12 princes came out of Ishmaels lineage, and the entire Arabic nation was eventually established. 

And we know that God, years later blessed Sarah and Abraham, in their old age, with Issac, which The Lord bestowed his covenant upon. 

 This is what Abraham said of Sarah conceiving in her old age:  

 Genesis 17:17 aThen Abraham mifell upon his face, and blaughed (rejoiced), and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an chundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 

 What do these 2 events of Abraham passing on his seed--through Hagar and Sarah--teach us about how God fulfills his promises?

In his own time and way.  

 3. Sacrifice of Issac 

Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did atempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

The word tempt in this verse means to test or prove.  

 Does The Lord ever test our faithfulness? Why?  

 Why would the sacrifice of Issac have been a difficult test for Abraham? (Abraham and Sarah had waited their whole lives to have a child. 

Another reason this would have been difficult is that as a young man, Abraham himself had nearly been sacrificed by the false priests of Pharaoh [Abraham 1:1, 5–20].) 

 Also, not only was Isaac his son, but God had promised that the Abrahamic covenant would continue through Isaac and his descendants [Genesis 17:19].  

 Let's pause here for a moment and talk about the Abrahamic covenant of which we are all beneficiaries. 

Can anyone in here explain the Abrahamic covenant?  

 1. Christ was promised to come through Abraham/Issacs lineage.  

2. Abraham’s posterity would receive certain lands as an eternal inheritance 

 3. The gospel ordinances were given to Abraham: baptism, the priesthood, celestial marriage--all things that would permit him and us an eternal increase.  

 All of these promises and blessings were promised to Abrahams mortal posterity. And just to clarify, all those who are not born of Abrahams lineage are adopted--through the ordinances of the gospel--into the Abrahamic covenant.  

 Understanding the magnitude of this covenant and knowing it was only going to be handed down through Issac, you can imagine How bewildering this sacrifice must have been to Abraham. 

Do we ever experience trials that don't make sense? 

 Let's go ahead and read the account of the sacrifice of Issac. I know it's an unbelievable and even horrifying narrative, but I want you to see the beautiful symbolism in it as well: 

 Genesis 22:2 And he said, aTake now thy son, thine bonly son Isaac, 

(Wait a second, Abraham had another son--Ishmael. Why did he say "only" son? Who was Gods ONLY Begotten Son? Jesus Christ) 

whom thou clovest, and get thee into the land of dMoriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 

 3 ¶And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the awood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Who also rode on an donkey? 

Jesus rode on a donkey because donkeys are humble creatures. They are neither proud nor extravagant, but simply humble. Jesus, the King of Kings, chose to demonstrate His humility by riding on a humble beast.

 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and alaid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

He took the wood and placed it on Issacs back to carry to the altar. Who had to carry his own cross for his crucifixion? Jesus Christ.  

 I love this next verse, I can just hear the innocence, the faith, love, and complete obedience Issac had for his father  

 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, aHere am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

This statement "Here am I" made me think of the Savior saying "here am I send me, and also, "Father thy will be done", showing complete faithfulness and obedience  

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

 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and alaid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the baltar upon the wood. 

 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

Here is this response a second time: "here am I"...the mediator of this sacrifice  

12 And he said, aLay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou bfearest God, seeing thou hast not cwithheld thy son, thine only son from me. 

 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Who does the ram in the thicket represent? Jesus Christ. 

 So this complete act was symbolic of Christs atonement. Remember when we learned about Adam not understanding the law of an animal sacrifice but doing it anyway? He did it to be reminded that the animal on the altar would one day be Jesus Christ sacrificing his life in order to redeem us from the fall. And so it was with Abraham.  

 How do these comparisons help you better understand Heavenly Father’s love for you in sacrificing his Son? 

 This test of sacrificing Issac needed to be so that this story could come into existence. 

I don't think there is any other story in scripture that gives us a better glimpse into what it must have felt like for Heavenly Father to sacrifice his son for us. This is a story most of humanity can relate to because we can't imagine any degree of harm coming to our children. 

 HANDOUT 2
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “This story … shows the goodness of God in protecting Isaac and in providing a substitute so he would not have to die. Because of our sins and our mortality, we, like Isaac, are condemned to death. When all other hope is gone, our Father in Heaven provides the Lamb of God, and we are saved by his sacrifice” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 51; or Ensign, Nov. 1992, 37). 

 What did Abraham prove through this test?  

 James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father ajustified by works, when he had boffered Isaac his son upon the altar? 

 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by aworks was faith made bperfect? 

23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham abelieved God, and it was imputed unto him for brighteousness: and he was called the cFriend of God.

Two lessons we can learn from Abraham: God was 1st in Abrahams life. And Abraham unequivocally had a strong, confident relationship with God.  

 How can we have a more active rather than passive relationship with God? How can we love and obey him not just in hard times but in peaceful, happy times?

Extra: 

Let's talk about the Abrahamic covenant of which we are heirs, because it's often vague and brushed over. 

Pull out your BD 
Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation). Then he had conferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestial marriage (which is the covenant of exaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase. Finally he received a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity (D&C 132:29–50; Abr. 2:6–11). Included in the divine promises to Abraham were the assurances that (1) Christ would come through his lineage, and that (2) Abraham’s posterity would receive certain lands as an eternal inheritance (Gen. 17; 22:15–18; Gal. 3; Abr. 2). These promises taken together are called the “Abrahamic covenant.” It was renewed with Isaac (Gen. 26:1–4, 24) and again with Jacob (Gen. 28; 35:9–13; 48:3–4).

The portions of the covenant that pertain to personal salvation and eternal increase are renewed with each individual who receives the ordinance of celestial marriage (see D&C 132:29–33). Those of non-Israelite lineage, commonly known as Gentiles, are adopted into the house of Israel and become heirs of the covenant and the seed of Abraham through the ordinances of the gospel (Gal. 3:26–29).

Being an heir to the Abrahamic covenant does not make one a “chosen person” per se but does signify that such are chosen to responsibly carry the gospel to all the peoples of the earth. Abraham’s seed have carried out the missionary activity in all the nations since Abraham’s day. (Matt. 3:9; Abr. 2:9–11.)

To fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham—having particular reference to the fact that the literal seed of his body would be entitled to all of the blessings of the gospel (Abr. 2:10–11)—a number of specific and particular things must take place in the last days. The gospel must be restored, the priesthood must be conferred again upon man, the keys of the sealing power must be given again to mortals, Israel must be gathered, and the Holy Ghost must be poured out upon the Gentiles. All this has already taken place or is in process of fulfillment. See also Adoption; Gentile.

What are our responsibilities as heirs of the Abrahamic covenant?