Prophecies

A Messiah who would come and save the chosen Jewish people was prophesied throughout the Old Testament, thousands of years before the birth of Jesus.  Some of the more well-known prophesies:  the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1); have someone prepare the way for Him (Malachi 4:5-6); minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2); be betrayed by a confidant (Psalm 41:9); and experience an excruciating persecution, crucifixion, and death (Psalm 22:16-18, Isaiah 53). 

There are 48 specific messianic prophesies, and 324 individual prophecies that related to the Messiah written by different people, in different places, in different times spanning 1000 years.  Prophets were sought after, feared, and courted by Kings.  But being a prophet had some on the job risks.  The Israel law was that a prophet of God had to be right 100 percent of the time.  If you were wrong in any prediction, you were labeled a false prophet and killed.  So prophets took prophesizing very seriously. 

There are 100’s of examples of fulfilled bible prophecy that provides evidence that God is indeed involved in our world and keeps His promises. This tangible proof of fulfilled prophecy leads us to trust God – He does what He says.  Since God’s promises are undeniable and unshakeable, we can trust Him with the specifics of our lives that are less settled and keep us up at night. How many people in the world do you not trust or believe because their words are not backed up by actions, or their money is not where their mouth is? 

Some of these covenants (promises) are one-sided, or strictly God promises – God told Abraham he will have more descendants than stars in the sky.  And some covenants are “if/then”.  God says if you follow me, then you will be blessed (rather than cursed).  In 2 Samuel 7:12-17, via prophet Nathan, God promises David a messiah through his descendants whose kingdom shall endure before God forever.    

Why does God no longer talk to us like He did to Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the lesser known Nathan?   And why do we no longer have these prophets?  Maybe God stopped sending prophets because no one was listening to them.  For the 400 years between the Old Testament and New Testament we did not hear from God.  The prophets were silent, and the word of God was neglected because the people wanted it that way.  In silencing the prophets and the seers, God simply gave Jerusalem what she wanted.  It wasn’t until He sent His Son that we started hearing from God again.  And His Son Jesus has asked His followers to take on the role of the Old Testament prophets.  We are His representatives and are to call out sin, encourage repentance, offer hope and love, love, love.

Before I get started on the prophecies that are hard to dispute, let me give you an example of a prophecy that I initially thought was a stretch until I read and studied Genesis. 

God said to the serpent after Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:15 “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers: he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 

Some say this was fulfilled in 1 John 3-8, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil (the serpent in Genesis) has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” 

My initial thought – “hey God, why not just destroy the snake, scold Adam and Eve for submitting to temptation, and let sinless life go back to the way of normal.   Let Adam and Eve stay in the perfect Garden of Eden and no doubt they will avoid this tree from now on.”  But God’s plan was not destroyed when Adam and Eve sinned.  They were innocent before the fall.  But God wants more than innocence.  He wants redemption. 

If we let him, Jesus will destroy the devil’s works and temptations within us.  And in the end times, all of the devil’s work will be destroyed. 

I now believe that the head crusher is the prophesized Jesus.  Who else could it be?  Christ is the head of Adam/Eve’s offspring, and Satan is the head of the devil’s offspring; and Jesus had his heel bruised, and he suffered in that bruising of his heel, the crucifixion; but he has crushed the head of the devil, the source of evil that leads to sin.

God wants us to be confident in our faith, and He provides us with ample evidence.  He used Israel’s history and prophets to give us signs of his plans.

 I don’t want to say that some of the 300 messianic prophecies are a stretch, but some are less wishy washy to me than others (I just gave you an example of a prophecy I moved from my once “wishy washy” prophecy group, to my now “confidant” prophecy group). But my overall feeling is 300+ promises made, 300+ promises kept.  

I have grouped select prophecies into three categories:

1.      Prophesies that Jesus could have just been acting out. As a faithful Jew, he was aware of the Old Testament prophesies regarding a Messiah, a King, the son of God.  Could he just have been role playing?  I do this in part to demonstrate that it is okay to question Jesus.  Bring it on….He can take it!  God does not disown us because of our flawed faith.  One of the attributes of God is that He is heroic and comes to our rescue.  Recognize His super power and call out to Him.  He wants us to ask these questions and demand answers as this is how we grow in our faith.

2.     Prophesies that unknowing participants fulfilled.  Non-Jews were most likely not aware of the Old Testament prophesies, but they fulfilled them in a historical way nevertheless.

3.     Amazing prophesies that no human could control (unless He was the son of God), and the amazing odds of them all being fulfilled.

Category 1: Jesus...Savior or Actor?

The following prophesies were fulfilled by knowing actors playing major roles in the divine plan of God:

 “Jesus would teach in parables”.  A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.  My favorite Jesus parable from Matthew 13:1-9, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 

This story listing all the options for what can happen to a seed reflects the same options for what  happens to all people.  Each person will meet one of the following options – never stand a chance and die before any growth, start growing but fade fast since faith is not rooted in bible, be devasted by the world around them, too overcome to grow in their faith, or grow and flourish beyond belief.

We make analogies all the time, but there are always exceptions or times when they don’t make sense. No one is always “as sweet as sugar”, no baby is always “as good as gold”, and parts of America are not “a melting pot”.  A gentleman in one of my bible studies once claimed that Jesus’ parables are perfect in that they always apply and are not nonsensical in any instance.  In the above seed parable, can you think of any other option for faith, or potential faith?  I agree with my small group member!

The prophecy:  Psalm 78:1-2 “My people, hear my teaching:  listen to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter things, things from of old”.  Without a doubt, this was fulfilled in Matthew 13:34-35. “Jesus always used parables when speaking to the crowds.  In fact, he never spoke to them without using parables to share His teachings.  This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:  I will speak to you in parables.  I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”

But since Jesus knew of Psalm 78:1-2, if he were trying to convince people He was the Savior, wouldn’t he speak in parables?  Of course.

“Jesus will enter Jerusalem on a donkey”.  The prophecy:  Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!  Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!  See, our king comes to you, righteous and victorious lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  This was fulfilled in Matthew 21:8-10 the Sunday before his death, what we celebrate today as Palm Sunday.  “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

But again, as a student of the Old Testament scripture, Jesus would have been well aware of this prophecy and an unbeliever could argue he hopped on a donkey to act out the fulfillment of the prophecy for all to see.

“The Messiah will be quiet before his accusers”.  The prophecy:  Psalm 38:12-13 “Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.  I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak.”  The fulfillment is in Matthew 27:12-14. “When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate asked him “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?  But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge – to the great amazement of the governor.”

As a sceptic, I would ask, how do you know Psalm 38:12-13 is prophesizing about the Messiah?  I read it as King David talking to God about himself.  And even assuming it is referring to a Messiah, Jesus had to know at this point he was in big trouble as the priests were calling for his crucifixion.  How could he continue to pretend he was the Messiah quietly, if he didn’t truly believe He was the Messiah?  If he was acting, wouldn’t he have said, “This is getting serious, my jig is up, okay I was just pretending?”

And that is the point I am trying to make with this prophecy category.  Yes, Jesus would be familiar with all the prophecies.  And he had to know when he was checking them off the list as he lived his life here on Earth. 

But he lived out the prophecies because He knew He was the son of God, not to try to convince others he was the Son of God.   He knew God’s plan, and in many of the fulfillments He reminded the people of the original prophecy.

Someone trying to dupe the people is not going to allow himself to be crucified.  If you are pretending to live out the prophecies so that people think you are the long awaited for King, aren’t you going to want to stick around and bask in all the adoration that goes along with being a worldly king?

Category 2: Unknowing Participants Fulfilled Several of the Prophecies

A second category of prophecies from the Old Testament includes those that are fulfilled in the New Testament by individuals who were not likely to know about the actual prophesies themselves. 

The following prophesies were fulfilled by unknowing actors playing major roles in the divine plan of God.

The Magi, also known as Wise Men and Kings, were led by a star (or perhaps an alignment of planets, the sun, the moon? – a topic for another time). Matthew never mentions that there were three Magi, there may have been more.  But based on the three gifts that were brought, Christian tradition has assumed there were three of them.  The “star” prophecy out of Numbers 24:1, A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.

God led the Magi in their own medium – they were astronomers looking at stars, perhaps familiar with some Bible prophecy, but not Jews schooled in the Torah, intimate with the Numbers 24 prophecy. 

The Magi, following the star, ended up in Jerusalem and were told by the chief priests and scribes that based on Micah 5:2, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  The Magi set out for Bethlehem.  Unknown to the Magi, Isaiah 60:3, Psalm 68:29 and Psalm 72:10 all describe kings bringing gifts to and worshipping the Messiah.  Jesus was 18 months-2 years old when the Magi showed up with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to worship the prophesized King.

So when setting up your nativity scene for Christmas, the Wise Men should be placed in your garage to adequately reflect a proportional nativity, as they were hundreds of miles away and did not arrive with the shepherds to see Jesus the night He was born as is often depicted.

None of Jesus’ bones were broken, as was required with the Passover Lamb. (Throughout the New Testament, especially in Revelations, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God.)  The prophecy: Exodus 12:46 “It (the Passover lamb) must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house.  Do not break any of the bones.”  The fulfillment or ironic coincidence is in John 19:31-33 “It was the day of preparation and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the crucified bodies hanging there the next day which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week).  So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken.  Then their bodies could be taken down.  So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.  But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs”, fulfilling Old Testament scripture that says, “Not one of his bones will be broken.”

The soldiers who did the bone breaking were Roman soldiers, not likely to be at all familiar with the Jewish customs or scripture.  They were following orders, not intentionally fulfilling historic prophecies.

They would pierce Christ’s hand and feet.  The prophecy: Psalms 22:16, “My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me.  They have pierced my hand and feet.”  The fulfillment: John 19:27 “They will look on the one they pierced.”

Again, Roman soldiers were fulfilling prophecy without realizing it.  In fact, if they knew the prophesies, they probably would have gone out of their way to avoid fulfilling them as they sure would not want to be held accountable for crucifying the Messiah.  But for the prophecies to be fulfilled, they needed to be ignorant of them.

They would cast lots for Jesus’ clothing.  The prophecy: Psalm 22:18 “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment”.  The fulfillment: John 19:23-24 “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them.  They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.  So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” So that is what they did.”

A third time that the unknowing soldiers fulfilled Messiah related prophecy.

The Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.  The prophecy: Zechariah 11:11-12, “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.  And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ – handsome price at which they valued me!  So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.”  The fulfillment:  Mathew 27:6-10 “The chief priests picked up the coins and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into a treasury, since it is blood money.’  So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.  That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve original disciples and a Jew.  He too would have known the Old Testament prophecies.  After betraying Jesus, he threw the blood money he was promised to the ground.  He then went and hung himself. 

Was he knowingly playing out the prophecy, knowing that he would go down in history as the one who set up Jesus’ crucifixion?  What positive thing did he have to gain – he was a betrayer and shortly thereafter dead?  Or was the prophecy simply fulfilled?  The priests used the tossed coins to buy the filed called Aceldama (the field of blood) or the “the potter’s field.” 

 

Category 3:  Amazing prophesies that no human could control (unless He was the son of God).

These are the good ones!  No human, unless He was the Son of God, could have fulfilled the following prophecies.  Where Jesus would be born and how he would be born were both prophesized and could not have been manipulated.   Like many of the prophecies, how Jesus would die was described by David in Psalms a thousand years before it happened.  Back then, people were not crucified, but somehow David gave a detailed account of how the Son of Man would be killed. 

I would encourage you to read up on the astronomical odds of even a portion of the prophecies coming true.  I didn’t include them hear as they entail making assumptions.  And I don’t want to get sidetracked from biblically recorded prophecies and their biblically recorded fulfillment.

A 100% human/0% God could not have staged and acted out these prophecies:

A virgin will give birth, and he will be called Immanuel.  The prophecy:  Isaiah 7:14 “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign.  Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”  The fulfillment:  Luke 1:35 “The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”  There was no other way for Jesus to be born.  If he had been from a sinful father, he would have possessed a sinful nature.  And only the Son of Man can determine when He would enter the world.  All the rest of us humans have no control over when we are conceived.

God said he would do it in Isaiah, and 800 years later Mary gave birth to our Savior.  Some argue that the Hebrew word “almah” in Isaiah could be translated either “virgin” or “young woman”.  However, the Old Testament never uses the word in a context other than virgin and the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translates almah categorically “virgin”.

The Christ will be born in Bethlehem.  The prophecy: Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.  Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”  The fulfillment:  Matthew 2:4-6 “He (King Herod) called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?’  ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they said, ‘for this is what the prophet wrote: “And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come for you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel’”.

Herod the Great, ruler of Judea, ordered the execution of all young male children in and around Bethlehem as he was fearful of a newborn king of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.  The Son of Man can determine not only when He will be born, but where He will be born.  For us other humans, we have no concept of where we are when we are born.

Jesus would perform many miracles.  The prophecy:  Isaiah 35:5-6 “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.  The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.”  The fulfillment:  Matthew 11:2-6, “John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing.  So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen – the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’ And he added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.’”  Hey fellow humans, tried performing any miracles lately?  How did it go?

Jesus would be despised and rejected.   The prophecy:  Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.  We turned our back on him and looked the other way.  He was despised, and we did not care.” The fulfillment:  Luke 4:28-29 “When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.  Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built.  They intended to push him off the cliff.”  He was not just despised and rejected, He and what He spoke of were feared.  If what He said was true, people would need to change their ways, give up some power, sacrifice some material items, and love those with whom they disagree.  And we all know how difficult that can be.

Jesus will set the captives free.   The prophecy:  Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”  The fulfillment:  Luke 4:16-21, “When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.  The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.’  He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.  All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.  Then he began to speak to them “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!’”

Nothing to add here.  This is the ultimate "drop the mic moment".

Christ will have a throne that is everlasting.  Prophecy:  Daniel 7:13-14, “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.  He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him.  His rule is eternal – it will never end.  His kingdom will never be destroyed.”   The fulfillment:  Luke 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord god will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

The Messiah will be forsaken.  The prophecy:  Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?” The fulfillment:  Mathew 27:46, “At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli Iema sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’”

The Messiah will be abandoned.  The prophecy:  Psalm 31:11, “I am scorned by all my enemies and despised by my neighbors – even my friends are afraid to come near me.  When they see me on the street, they run the other way.”  The fulfillment:  Mark 14:50, “Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away.”

In fact, the Messiah will be abandoned by those closest to him.  The prophecy:  Psalm 41:9, “Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.”  The fulfillment:  John 13:18, “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen.  But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’”

The Messiah’s predicted resurrection.  There are several, but this is my favorite: Hosea 6:1-2, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.  After two days, He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.”  Fulfillment: Luke 24:5-7, “In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hand of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”

The Christ will usher in a new covenant.  Prophecy:  Jeremiah 31:31, “’The days are coming’, declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.’”  The fulfillment:  Matthew 26:28, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for man for the forgiveness of sins.”

The prophecies and their fulfillments helped convince me that I could safely believe that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer.  But how come Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the prophesized Messiah? 

First, the Jewish people believe Messiah will be a land conquering King who would reign over a righteous land.  Jesus showed no interest in this endeavor or defeating armies, and actually suffered and died versus leading military victories. And as far as we know, Jesus never owned anything, let alone kingdoms of land.

Jesus lived during the time when the Roman Empire ruled what was once Israel.  As mentioned before, it was the Romans who killed Jesus, at the urging of the Jewish priests.  During this time there were power struggles among the Jewish priests, and disagreements over how much to cooperate with the Romans.  Jews were hoping for a messianic redeemer who would throw out the foreign occupiers and restore Jewish sovereignty in Israel.  Jesus did not attempt nor accomplish this in their lifetime.

Second, Jews are expecting a human being, not a son of God, as their Messiah.  The thought of God encased in flesh is idolatry, actually anti-God to the Jewish people.  Christians believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Jews believe in the One-ness of God, and consider the worship of a three-part God idolatry. 

Third, Jews have been persecuted by the church throughout history; targets of the crusades for over 200 years, expelled from England in 1290, banished from Spain in 1492.  Later they were and continue to be persecuted for their race. This persecution by Christians did not end with the Holocaust.  Why would Jews want our Jesus who was used as the excuse by humans with only evil in their hearts, for antisemitism?

The Jewish Messiah will rebuild the temple (Ezekiel 37: 26-28), gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6), and usher in world peace ending all suffering (Isaiah 2:4).  Whoever is the King of Israel at this time of perfection on Earth will be hailed as the Jewish Messiah.  

Christians believe all this will be accomplished in Jesus’ second coming.

 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

Please read Genesis 22, the story of God's requested offering of Isaac.  In sharing my belief in God, I have heard more than once, "How can a good God ask a father to kill his own son?" 

Genesis 22:2: He (God) 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." 

So much to unpack! 

    o  Isaac is not Abraham's only son - what about Ishmael?  Abraham had an “only son” with Sarah and an “only son” with Hagar.  Love is mentioned for the very first time in the Bible.  And no doubt, Abraham loved both his sons.  But God left no doubt about whom he was talking about when he mentioned Isaac by name.

    o  God's demand happened during a time when child sacrifices were very common as bribes to idol gods.  I thought Abraham's God was different!  

    o  Didn't this same God promise Abraham descendants from Isaac?  

    o  Remember how Abraham argued with God to save the righteous in Sodom?  How come he doesn't ask for the same mercy for his own son?  

The bible does not say how old Isaac was at this time, but we know from Genesis 21:8 that he was weaned, and in the very next chapter Genesis 23 that Sarah dies at 127.  She was 90 when he was born and 127 when she died, so Isaac could have been as old as 37 at this proposed sacrifice.  This would have put Abraham at 137 so he would have needed some cooperation from Isaac getting him up and bound on the wood pile.  

Genesis 22:1 clearly indicates that God was testing Abraham.  Dictionary definition of test:  "a procedure, or reliability of something, especially before it is taken into widespread use." Abraham's test was to see if he believed and had faith in God's covenant promises.  Or to put it simply, “Hey Abraham, have you learned anything yet?” Abraham passes the test in Genesis 22:4-5: On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.  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 did not forget God's promise that through Isaac his descendants shall be named (Genesis 21:12) so of course they both must return to the young men. I guess you could argue Abraham considered that Isaac might be returning in his arms dead, but again, there would be no descendants.

The test was not for God to see how Abraham would handle the situation.  God already knew what Abraham would do, and He will never test or tempt us knowing we will do evil.  The test was for Abraham's benefit, Isaac's benefit and our benefit.  God wanted Abraham to recognize that because of his faith, he would seek, listen to, and obey God.  The test was to provide knowledge to Abraham and all believers that God's promises can be believed, and that He never changes His mind.  We can trust God.  And when we put our faith into action and don't doubt, it only grows stronger.  

 Abraham appears to remain calm up until even the "took the knife to slay his son" part right before the angels intervened.  He must have believed both things God told him - your descendants will come through Isaac, and you need to sacrifice Isaac.  God knew Abraham would trust, even if he did not understand, and that he would pass His test.  When God sees we are willing to sacrifice, He may no longer require it. 

Did  Abraham think God would resurrect Isaac from the dead after he killed him in order to keep the covenant?   Knowing that God means what He says and does not change His mind can bring great confidence and peace. As humans, we cannot read this story without wondering what Abraham and Isaac are thinking.  But more importantly, we need to ask, "What is God doing here?"  

So the angel comes, the ram is sacrificed instead, and God tells Abraham how pleased He is with him.  There are no more interactions between Abraham, Sarah or Isaac recorded in the bible.  I am not claiming there were no more interactions, I am just pointing out that none were recorded.  Following the descriptions of who went where when makes you wonder if family bonds were severely damaged.  

Recall the sacrifice occurred in Jerusalem on Moriah perhaps exactly where the temple was built 600 years later.  Looking at the map, Abraham, Isaac and posse would have traveled three days north from home base Hebron, where Sarah remained.  After the aborted Isaac sacrifice, Genesis 22:19: Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba. Looking at the map, it looks like Abraham blew past home Hebron (and wife Sarah) and headed south to Beersheva (same as Beersheba) to LIVE!  Had Sarah heard about what happened in Moriah?  Even though Abraham could honestly say "God told me to do it.", and Sarah could relate as God had also talked to her regarding her upcoming pregnancy with Isaac, I can imagine that her reaction to the almost sacrifice of her only son was not good.  Verse 19 also specifically says Abraham returned to his men, not both he and Isaac as he had anticipated in 22:5.  The next time we hear about Isaac he is living in Negev in Genesis 24:62, way south of his father in Beersheba and his mother in Hebron.  This likely means that Isaac was closer to 37 years old than a recently weaned toddler and needed to go find out what plan God had for him.  Did he even make it home to his mother's funeral?  If he did, it is not recorded in the bible.  Genesis 25 records that Isaac did bury Abraham with his brother Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah, Sarah's resting place.  Abraham died at 175, making Isaac 75 at his death.

Galatians 4:23 addresses the "only son" and Ishmael question posed above.  Sarah and Abraham were trying to fulfill God's promise of descendants with their own plan for Abraham to have a child with household slave Hagar since Sarah was so old.  Ishmael was the son by the slave according to the flesh (human decision) and Isaac was the son by the free woman through the promise (God's decision outlined in Genesis 18:17-19: The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed: For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.").  Both sons made nations, but Isaac was "the only son" who was to continue the great and mighty nation that would bless all the other nations of the earth.

In Genesis 21: 9-14, Abraham had to make a tough decision about his first born son, Ishmael and again he relied on his faith in God.  Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian (Ishmael), whom she had borne to Abraham mocking (Isaac).  Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac."  The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.  But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.  And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant."  So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away.  And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.  God assured Abraham who also loved Ishmael that he too would prosper and provide him many descendants.  And where did Abraham go to live after the Isaac sacrifice story?  Beersheba.  Was he going to check on his eldest earthly born son?  In 22:14, Abraham called the sacrifice spot on Mariah, "The Lord will provide."  Was one of his first thoughts to check on Ishmael to further support his knowledge that God does what He says He will do?

As was prophesized in Psalm 83:4-5, there would be and continues to be turmoil between the Israelites (Isaac) and the Ishmaelites (Ishmael). They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more."  For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:  The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites."

Genesis 21:14 says "Abraham rose early in the morning" to leave with Hagar and Ishmael and Genesis 22:3 says "Abraham rose early in the morning" to leave for Moriah with his slaves and Isaac.  It is likely he spent the evening before both of these events in deep prayer with His father.

Interesting fact, the Islam religion recognizes Abraham's two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, but believes that the oldest Ishmael, considered a prophet in Islam, was the son who Abraham was willing to sacrifice until the ram appeared.  

A few Isaac/Jesus comparison:

1.  Isaac arrived under miraculous circumstances just like Jesus.  Abraham was 100 and Sarah was way past child bearing years at 90.  And of course, Jesus was born of a virgin.

2.  Isaac was called Abraham's only son, and Jesus was often referred to as God's only son.  Neither Abraham nor God the Father withheld their only sons.

3.  Both sacrifices happened on Mount Moriah.  Isaac carried his own wood, and Jesus carried His own cross. Isaac would have needed a significant amount of wood for a burnt offering, another indication that he would not have been a small boy, but at least a young man.  Jesus was a young man of 33.

4.  Neither Isaac nor Jesus questioned the will of their Fathers and allowed themselves to be put up for sacrifice.  The trust Isaac had in his earthly father Abraham and the God he had heard about his whole life was stunning.  He was willing to do whatever his father asked of him knowing that the request came from God.  Both Isaac and Jesus were obedient, loving sons.

5.  It was on the third day away from home that Isaac was to be sacrificed but was instead spared.  Jesus arose on the third day after his sacrifice.  Great news in both instances on the third day when things had been looking pretty bleak.

6.  A literal lamb was provided in Isaac's situation so that the nation could continue.  There was no ram in the thicket to spare Jesus a death He did not deserve.  Jesus was the sacrificial lamb so that the nation could continue without sin.

Most posts won't have "me" stories, but this is a good one.  As part of a bible study I was doing, I was wrestling with this story one Sunday afternoon in 1997.  I asked myself the same question I opened up with, "How can a good God ask a father (mother) to kill his (her) own son?"  I was propped up on my bed, bible open, when my 4 year old son Jordan came out of his room.  He saw me on the bed from down the hall, beelined it for my room and climbed up for a hug.  I squeezed him big and told him "I love you", thinking there is no way I could ever kill my son if God asked.  He grabbed the cross hanging around my neck and said, "I know, but you love this more."  He quickly scurried off the bed in search of his sister.  I was speechless (never happens).  Now if his 7 year old sister had said this, I would have thought it was strange, but would have credited her Sunday school teachers for instilling this rather deep concept of putting Jesus above everything else, even family.  But our church was very small and Jordan's young class was more babysitting than teaching.  And the kid had many great characteristics, but I would not have described him as a "profound" preschooler!  I truly felt that God was using my son to tell me that it was okay that I didn't understand what He asked of Abraham and centuries later, what He asked of His own son.  Just keep studying, praying and pondering and one day you will at least get it more. Instead of focusing on what Abraham and Isaac (and Sarah!) were feeling, I needed to focus on what God was doing.   And 26 years later, I can say I do get it more.  I provide this as an example of how with study and prayer, faith does grow.

Creating vs. Chaos Clean-up

Listening to a discussion on creation by Rabbi Chaim Eisen, I had an "aha" moment.

The biblical text below highlights where God “created”(green) and when He “let there be” additional order in what He had already created (yellow). 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth

Day 1 - God let there be light, separate from the darkness, calling the light day and the darkness night

Day 2 - God let there be an expanse that separated the midst of the waters, God made the expanse, and called this expanse the sky

Day 3 - God let the land separate from the seas and then let there be vegetation

Day 4 - God let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night, be signs for seasons and for days and years - God made the sun and the moon, along with the stars

Day 5 - God created the sea creatures

Day 6 - God created the land creatures

Before this, I hadn't given any thought to the difference between  God "creating", "letting", and "making" during the six days of forming the world into what we see today.  

God did not create the world in six days.  He created the heavens and the earth in the very beginning.  Then in days 1-4, God put order into the chaos He had already created in the beginning.  There was nothing new created out of nothing until day 5 and day 6 when He created the creatures.

Continuing diving deep into the text, at the end of day 2, there is no "And God saw it was good".  But on day 3 "And God saw it was good" was recorded twice.

The Rabbi put forth the theory that God did not call anything good until it was completed.  In day 2, God started His work with the water/midst separating making the sky, but His work with water was not completed until day 3 when it was also separated from the land.  So in day 3, two things were completed, the separation of water from other items and the growth of vegetation on the newly separated dry land.  This called for two "And God saw it was good" affirmations.

To be spirit lead to talk about God, one needs to know God.  To know God one needs to read and study His Word.  Rabbi Eisen and I have very different views on who is the Messiah.  The Rabbi is a scholar/teacher of the Tanakh (what us gentiles call the Old Testament).  So was Jesus.  Thank you God for placing all kinds of people in my path that help me better understand who you are by better understanding your Word.