Genesis 21-22

Genesis 22:1

We don’t know why Abraham continues to move away from Canaan, the land the Lord promises to him, but he moves back to the Negev again. The end of chapter 21 tells us that this is the land of the Philistines. Once the disputes with King Abimelech are resolved, Abraham settles down and plants a Tamarisk tree. Of all the things that happened, why would the Bible include this small detail. Personally, I don’t know but I’m glad it did. 

Did you know that this site of the well and tamarisk is still a historical, tourist attraction? Archeologists aren’t certain if this is the exact same structure of the well that Abraham originally constructed, but for centuries, this specific site has been attributed to him. In memory of this story, a Tamarisk tree was recently planted. Yes, tamarisk trees actually exist in this region. This is significant because if it was improbable for a Tamarisk tree to grow here the Bible would be erroneous. Once again, the Bible is proving itself to be a history book, making accurate historical references. 

This same region of Beersheba, is referred to many times in the old testament. In passing it is mentioned in Joshua and Samuel’s time and during King David’s era. There are even archeological findings of civilizations such as housing and pits for grain storage dating all the way back to Samuel’s time in the 11th century B.C. Beersheba is indeed a place that was inhabited. (armstronginstitute.org)

Now let’s focus on the story of Abraham and Isaac. Finally, the son chosen by God has been born to Abraham. Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, but the Lord cares for them in the wilderness. Once Isaac grows up, God sets out to test Abraham. (Genesis 22:1) This is very important that we don’t skip over this verse that identifies these next set of requests from the Lord to be a test. The request to sacrifice Isaac is not a desire of the Lord, it’s a test that gets abruptly interrupted before any harm is done. God wanted to test Abraham to see if Abraham loved his gift (Isaac) more than the giver (God). 

Once again, Abraham does not hesitate. He gets up early the next morning with the provisions necessary for the sacrifice. He also takes the long three-day journey to Moriah. As mentioned in our podcast, the sacrificing of children was not a foreign concept to Abraham. Living in these pagan lands of the Canaanites and Philistines, Abraham was probably aware of the practices of sacrificing children to the pagan gods. God expresses his detest for the sacrifice for children at least eight times in scripture. Most of these are found in the book of law, Leviticus, but here are two other references:

In this, we see that child sacrifice is not the desire of God, but wholehearted devotion is. This entire Bible is a story of God trying to bring his rebellious children back into an undefiled relationship with Him. 

Abraham trusted in God more than his own perception of what the outcome might be. He got up early to give up the one thing he prayed about the most for the past 30+ years. As a result, Abraham was seen as righteous in God’s eyes because of his faithfulness. Not to mention thousands of years as being the example of faithful and righteous. Would you get up early to give up the one thing or person you’ve prayed for the most?

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