The Genesis of Love and Worship

The Genesis of Love and Worship

The first time the word “love” shows up in Scripture is in Genesis 22 verse 2, it reads,

Gen 22:1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

Gen 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

Here God tells Abraham to take his son whom he loves and sacrifice him. Wow!

Now, the first time the word, “worship” is found in Scripture is in the same story, Genesis 22 verse 5.

Gen 22:5 Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you."

So, when we read the words “love” and “worship” for the first time in the Bible, it is in a story about God telling a man to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering to the Lord. Weird. Let's read this account and see if we can see just whats going on here. Let's take it verse by verse.

(Gen 22:1) Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

(Gen 22:2) He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

How many sons did Abraham have? Two. One from Sarah's maid servant Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac the promised son of Sarah. If they would of waited on God he would have been Abraham's only and in God's eyes he is.

(Gen 22:3) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

(Gen 22:4) On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

So, for three days in Abraham's mind, heart, eyes, Isaac was dead, because he was going to obey the LORD.

(Gen 22:5) Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you."

Abraham knew one way or another he would walk down the hill with Isaac. God would either substitute a lamb for Isaac, or God would raise Isaac from the dead. God made a promise to Abraham many years ago that he would be the father of many nations.

(Gen 22:6) Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

Isaac, the sacrifice is carrying the wood for his own sacrifice up the hill. Sound familiar?

Abraham, the father is carrying the knife. The grip tightens around the knife at every step as he feels it cutting into his own heart.

(Gen 22:7) Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

(Gen 22:8) Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

Did you catch that? “God will provide for Himself the Lamb for the burnt offering.”

Interesting. It is as though at this point when the two started up the mountain that Abraham knew something miraculous was going to happen here.

(Gen 22:9) Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

Isaac let's his father who is over 100 years old bind him and put him on the altar to be sacrificed. Isaac could have ran if he wanted, but he submitted to his father. Isaac was a teenager at this time.

(Gen 22:10) Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Abraham was going to obey God, because he believed God. He believed God keeps His word. God said, Abraham would be the father of many nations through Isaac. So, that means if Abraham went through with this then God would have to raise Isaac from the dead.

(Gen 22:11) But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

The Angel of the Lord. None other than the One to fulfill this enactment of prophecy, Jesus.

Abraham's heart must stopped.

(Gen 22:12) He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."Abraham

Abraham probably dropped the knife and fell on his son Isaac.

(Gen 22:13) Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

The Voice Abraham heard came from Heaven and yet was behind him.

The Hebrew word for “ram” is 'ayil and means, “Strong One”. Interesting. Now, look close, the Ram or Strong One is caught in a thicket or thorns around His head.

(Gen 22:14) Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."

Abraham earlier told Isaac, “God will provide for Himself the Lamb for the burnt offering.” So he named the place, YHWH-Yireh or Jehovah-jireh “The LORD will Provide”, for God provided for Himself a sacrifice.

(Gen 22:15) Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

(Gen 22:16) and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,

(Gen 22:17) indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

And He has and will.

(Gen 22:18) "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

How are we blessed? Mary is in the direct line in the genealogy of Abraham. Mary is the mother of Yeshuah Jesus.

(Gen 22:19) So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Where's Isaac? He is probably with Abraham, but he is not mentioned again for three chapters when he united with his bride.

This event is a foreshadowing of the crucifixion of Christ to come.

Abraham was acting out what God the Father was actually going to do later, on this very same mountain, by sacrificing His only begotten Son Yeshuah Jesus for the sins of the world. Yeshuah Jesus said,

Joh 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."

When Abraham saw the ram he saw Jesus.

The Offering of Isaac points to the Crucifixion of Jesus

	Type (Model)	Anti-type (Fulfillment)
1	Abraham offered his only son (Gen 22:2; Gen 22:12).	God offered his only Son (John 3:16).
2	Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice (Gen 22:5).	Jesus carried the cross for the sacrifice (John 19:17).
3	Isaac cried out to his father (Gen 22:7).	Jesus cried out to His Father (Mat 27:46; Mar 15:34).
4	Isaac escaped death after three days (Gen 22:4).	Jesus rose from the dead on the third day (Mat 16:21; Mar 16:2-4; Luke 9:22).
5	Abraham indicated God will provide a lamb for the sacrifice (Gen 22:8).	God provided Jesus as The Lamb for the sacrifice (Isa 53:7; John 1:29; John 1:36; +Rev 5:6; Rev 7:17+).
6	God provided a ram, a male sheep, as a substitutionary sacrifice (Gen 22:13).	God provided a male, Jesus, as a substitutionary sacrifice.
7	The ram was caught by its horns (head) in a thicket (thorns) (Gen 22:13).	Jesus wore a crown of thorns on his head (Mat 27:29), a symbol of the sin He bore (Gen 3:18).
8	Sacrifice offered at specific location on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:2; Gen 22:9).	For hundreds of years, sacrifices would be offered from the same spot inside Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple(2Ch 3:1). When Jesus is crucified outside the city walls on the same mountain, the veil within the Temple is rent in two (Mar 15:38).
9	Gen 22:14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."	Abraham prophetically named the place pointing to the crucifixion where God made the ultimate provision: the sacrifice of His Son for sin (Heb 9:26-28).

Love and Worship:

The first time “love” is mentioned in Scripture it is in reference to the “only son”.

The first time “worship” is mentioned in Scripture it is in reference to the offering of the “only son” as a sacrifice.

Worship being the act of sacrifice, Sacrifice being the act of worship.

To love God is to worship God, and to worship God is to love God.

Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Psa 70:4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified!"

Here's Psalm 70:4 in the Orthodox Jewish Bible.

Psa 70:4 [5] Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and have simcha (joy) in Thee; and let such as love Thy Yeshuah (salvation) say continually, Let Elohim be magnified.

In Hebrew, the word “Salvation” is Yeshuah, Joshua, and Yeshuah is Hebrew for Jesus. So, Jesus is Salvation and Salvation, is Jesus.

Psa 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

1Co 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

All this to say;

This historical event played out by Abraham and Isaac was to show what true worship and love is, and that is obedience.

And, that God demonstrates His love by giving His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins on this very hill.

Selah, I.H.G.

Pastor D W Riffe