The Sacrifice of Issac

Abraham was 10 years older than Sarah (Genesis 17:17).

Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4).

He had lived in Canaan 10 years when he took Hagar (Genesis 16:3).

Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16).

Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised (Genesis 17:24).

Abraham was 100 years old when Issac was born (Genesis 21:5).

Sarah was 90 when Issac was born.

Sarah died at 127 years of age (Genesis 23:1).

Scripture doesn’t say exactly when Abraham believed God’s promise and was justified by faith (Gen. 15:6). It happened sometime between the time he left Haran and the time he took Hagar. Scripture also doesn’t say how old Issac was when he was offered upon the altar. It appears to have taken place before Sarah died.

From the existing testimony we can deduce that Abraham received the justifying promise before he was 85. Abraham was ten years older than Sarah. He was 137 when she died. Since Sarah was 90 when Issac was born, Issac could not have been more than 37 when he was offered. He was strong enough to carry the wood to the place of sacrifice and intelligent enough to reason (Genesis 22:6,7).

Issac is referred to as a “lad” (Genesis 22:12). Ishmael is called a “lad” (Genesis 21:12, 17, 18). He was at least 14 at the time. He was born when Abraham was 86. Issac was born when Abraham was 100. Ishmael was driven away when Issac was weaned. The age of weaning is not disclosed in Scripture. Samuel's age at weaning is not disclosed, although he was old enough to help Eli around the temple (1 Sam. 1:20-2:11).

Issac was between 14 and 37 when he was offered. If Abraham believed God and was justified just one year before he took Hagar, he would have been 84.There was at least 15 years between the time Abraham was justified and the time Issac was offered. There may have been nearly 35 years between those events.

James asks, “Was not Abraham justified when he offered Issac upon the altar (James 2:21)? Although the answer, in the mind of James is yes, Genesis tells us that Abraham was justified between 15 and 35 years before, when he believed the promise of God.

Perfecting the Conscience

The perfection of the conscience is introduced in Hebrews 9:

8 ¶ The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
10 since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

One unfortunate shortfall of the Jewish ritual system was that it did not actually cleanse the conscience of the worshipper. The ritual washings could only clean the body, not the mind. Christ’s sacrifice was far superior because his blood actually purges the conscience of the believer:

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God (Hebrews 9:13,14 NRSV)!

Chapter 10 continues to elaborate upon the cleansing of the believer’s conscience:

1 ¶ For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

Hebrews is making its point by reference to the Day of Atonement. The cultic worshippers were never really cleansed from their sin. They were reminded each year on the Day of Atonement. And then the cycle started again. The people never really had rest from their sin. It was not purged from their conscience. They knew they would face it again on the DoA

To be perfect is to have no more remembrance or consciousness of of sins, as Hebrews 10:1,2 states. The conscience could not be cleansed like this in the Jewish ritual.

Christ, by one offering, has perfected forever them who are sanctified (Heb.10:14).

Verses 1 and 2 define perfection as having “no more consciousness of sins” Verse 14 tells us that we are perfected forever . The sanctified, according to Hebrews 9:13,14 are those whose conscience has been purged by the blood of Christ. They will never again face their sin, as the Jews did every year on the Day of Atonement.

Hebrews tells us that those whose conscience has been purged or cleansed by the blood of Christ [sanctified] will never again face their sins or call them to remembrance.

The Law in the New Testament

The term “law” is used numerous times in Scripture It is often defined by the context. The Greek word is [nomov]. In Strong’s Concordance, [nomov] has the number 3551.

Sometimes the “law” is referring to the writings of Moses:

Joh 1:17 For the Law <3551> was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Joh 7:19 "Did not Moses give you the Law <3551>, and yet none of you carries out the Law <3551>? Why do you seek to kill Me?"

In other examples, the law is distinguished from the prophets:
Joh 1:45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law <3551> and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

Mt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law <3551> or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

In one case, the law of Moses is distinguished from both the prophets and the Psalms:

Lu 24:44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law <3551> of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

The following passages are quoted from Psalms. Jesus referred to them as “law”:

Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law <3551>, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?

Joh 15:25 "But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law <3551>, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’

The following passage, referred to as “law” is also likely a reference to Psalms:

Joh 12:34 The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law <3551> that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?"

Note the following passage from Isaiah. Paul calls it “law”:

1Co 14:21 In the Law <3551> it is written, "BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME," says the Lord.

The following passage in Romans contains passages from Psalms and other OT books. After rehearsing them, Paul says, “Now whatever the law says…” He is calling the passages he just quoted, from various OT books, “law”:

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
19 ¶ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

The term in "law" the NT may refer to the writings of Moses, the Psalms, or the Prophets.

Perfection and Mercy

Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (SN#5046).

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (SN#3629) .

The Greek words [teleiov] (SN#5046) and [oiktermov] (SN#3629) are used interchangably in these passages. To be merciful is to be perfect. The context of the passage, in Matthew, says as much. We are admonished to be like our heavenly father, who lets the rain and sunshine fall on the just and unjust.

The word translated "merciful" in Luke is used just one other time in the NT:

Jas 5:11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful <3629>.

The word is used about 60 times in the LXX. It is often used as in the passage in James. It refers to the character of God in his gracious dealings. When David was given choice of judgment, he chose the Lord to judge him because of his mercies:

2Sa 24:14 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies (SN #3629) are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

The term in the Greek OT 2 Sam 24:14 translated "mercies" is the same word or a closely related word translated as "merciful" in Luke 6:36.

Note: The "Apostolic Bible" translation of the LXX by Charles Vanderpool has coordinated the Strong's numbering system with the Greek OT. In Strong's, OT word numbers begin with a "0". In Vanderpool's system, the OT word numbers correspond to the Greek; therefore, no "0" appears in front of the number.

Note the use of the term in the following passages:

Ne 1:11 "O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion (SN#3629) before this man." Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

Ps 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious (SN# 3629) and gives.

Ps 78:38 But He, being compassionate (SN#3629), forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath.

Ps 103:13 (102:13) As a father pities (SN# 3629) his children, the Lord pities them that fear him.

Pr 12:10 ¶ A righteous man has pity (SN#3629) for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful.

There is a practical aspect involved with the term translated as merciful. People who are merciful lend, care for their children, their livestock, grant favors and so forth.