Genesis 22 Abraham offers Issac. God honors his obedience.

Genesis 23 Sarah dies. Abraham buys a cave for burial.

Genesis 24 Issac gets a bride.

The well known story of Issac being offered up happens in Genesis 22. There are a couple of things to note.

1) Abraham is told to take his one and only son… but he has another son in Ishmael. So God is being specific about this Son promised to him from Sarah. The son of promise.

2) Abraham is said to “love” his son. This is the first place “love” is used.

3) They travel for 3 days…

4) In verse 5 Abraham exhibits his faith by saying they are going to worship and then return.

5) Like the cross, the wood was laid on Issac’s back.

6) Issac asks where is the lamb? But they don’t get a lamb instead they get a ram because Jesus would be the Lamb.

7) Abraham says God will provide for Himself a lamb, thus foreshadowing Jesus death for our sins.

8) The angel stops him and says that Abraham did not withhold his son. A ram is found in the bushes and then offered. Their faith and obedience was rewarded by God’s provision.

We cannot always expect God to provide before we completely obey. It is in our complete faith and obedience that we see God come through completely.

Genesis 23 Sarah does and Abraham wants to bury her but doesn’t have a place. Some of the surround people really like Abraham and are willing to simply give him some property. However, Abraham refuses because he doesn’t want this to be a cheap way out. He wants to honor his wife.
He also doesn’t want to be beholden to anyone who may claim that he cheated them in some way.

Also I think Abraham wanted to invest himself in this. Her life, his life was being represented by this grave. When we leave this world these kind of things are all that represent us. Abraham wanted some of his testimony to be that he was willing to pay for the things most valuable to him. He was willing to work for it. He was willing to do the right thing even if it cost him a lot.

Genesis 24 Issac gets married.

Abraham sends a servant to seek out a wife for Issac. The servant vows to find someone from their family and bring them back. The servant was trustworthy of this task. The servant also prayed to God for help and signs in finding the right one.

There’s nothing wrong for asking for signs and putting out “fleeces” like Gideon does later. But we also must be willing to watch for the things God has already given us: like the servant already knew that it had to be someone from their own family. Then the servant asked for other signs to ensure he didn’t miss the one.

When God gives you obvious signs, don’t ignore them. When God answers your prayers, follow through and do your part.

Being nice and thoughtful led Rebekah into a marriage of blessing. It’s amazing how simple things like that can change your life. Go the extra mile for people because you never know how God might bless it and you.