Daniel P Warner

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Isaac

The miracle child

Burning Bush Blogs

Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills

Category: Personal Study

Thread: New to the Bible – The Patriarchs – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Post Topic: Isaac – the miracle child

Post in Thread: #2

Previous: Abraham – father of fathers

Next: Jacob – Deception, Determination, and Blessing

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-18

Genesis 26:7-11

Genesis 27:1-4

Note on this series of posts

This post fits within a continuing series meant for readers who are less familiar with Scripture, but anyone can enjoy.

The patriarchs are the fathers of the Hebrew nation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. For this series we’ll be giving honorary patriarch status to Moses, and we’ll throw in a bonus study of Joseph’s brother Judah. The patriarchs gave birth to the Jewish nation, but were quite human. Genesis doesn’t shy away from describing both their successes and failures; their virtues and their failings. Neither then, shall our blogs shy away from these topics.

Today’s story introduces Isaac, the miracle child of Abraham.

Key Verses:
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.

Genesis 22:7-8

Observations

The Good – Isaac’s faith

  • Verses 7 and 8 seemed to hint that Isaac knew something was off.
  • Surely Isaac picked up on the signs of his father’s distress.
  • In verse 9, Abraham tied Isaac, and placed him on the altar.
  • There is no account of Isaac fighting back or protesting.

The Bad – Fearful liar – about his wife (Genesis 26:7-11)

  • During a famine, Isaac moved near the land of the Philistines.
  • Like his father, Isaac lied about Rebekah being his wife because he feared they’d kill him and take Rebekah from him.
  • Did Isaac get the idea from his father, who’d made the same lie twice? And it turned out the same, with an angry king. Why don’t we learn from our mistakes?

The Ugly – Played favorites with his sons (Genesis 27:1-4)

  • Simply put, Isaac loved his outdoorsman-son Esau more than Jacob.
  • He wanted to give his primary blessing to Esau.
  • This was in direct conflict with God, who’d told Isaac and Rebekah that the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham would happen through the line of the younger son, Jacob (Genesis 25:23).
  • Isaac cared more about his own plans to elevate the status of Esau than God’s plans.

Interpretation

This map from www.biblemapper.com shows the various locations in the promised land where Isaac likely lived.

Trusting
  • According to the historian Josephus, Isaac was 25 years old at the time of the aborted sacrifice on the altar.
  • Most depictions have Isaac younger than this, but he certainly was not unable to defend himself.
  • Isaac was a miracle child, the long-awaited fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.
    • His name means “He laughed,” because of the surprise and joy of the elderly couple (Abraham and Sarah). Finally, God’s promise was fulfilled in their boy.
    • But now, God wanted Abraham to sacrifice this miracle child? What!?
  • Isaac trusted his father and in turn, God.
    • I imagine that Abraham had a long talk with Isaac on the mountain about what was going to happen.
    • I doubt Abraham tied up Isaac by force and with surprise. This is speculation, but it seems the most consistent way to interpret the scene.
    • If this picture is correct, Isaac would have submitted himself to the will of both his father and God. This is similar to how Jesus submitted himself to the will of the Father on the cross.
Geography

Isaac moved around the Negev and other parts of the Promised Land, but generally was less migratory than other patriarchs.

Correlation

Hebrews 11:17-19 – By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

  • Again, I imagine that Abraham shared this reasoning with Isaac, who shared in Abraham’s faith, perhaps to a greater extent!

Application

Generic Applications
  • God keeps his promises, although they might be on His timelines, not ours.
    • Isaac was the miracle child, delivered to Abraham on God’s timeline.
    • Abraham thought he’d wed another woman to help God fulfill his promise of a great nation; Ishamel was the result. But God did it his own way, in his own time, and Isaac was conceived through Sarah.
    • It seemed that when the next test occurred, the command to sacrifice Isaac, both Abraham and Isaac trusted God to somehow keep his promises through this trial.
Personalize it

When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, both followed the command. Abraham had learned his lesson about trusting God to provide on his own timeline, and passed the lesson down to Isaac. But Isaac forgot or ignored this lesson decades later when it came time to bless his favorite son.

It is difficult to wait on God. Even the patriarchs failed, at times. Take heart if you are waiting for God to bring something about – His plans are bigger than we can comprehend.

Historical Significance of Isaac

First son of Abraham and Sarah; the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Picture of Christ on the altar, although God determined the sacrifice not necessary.

Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:

Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.