Memory Text: Genesis 22:12 “Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Sunday, November 26 Lying through Silence
Genesis 20 NKJV “1 ¶ And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She [is] my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 ¶ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you [are] a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she [is] a man’s wife." 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 "Did he not say to me, ‘She [is] my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He [is] my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this." 6 And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 "Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he [is] a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore [her], know that you shall surely die, you and all who [are] yours." 8 ¶ So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done." 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?" 11 And Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely the fear of God [is] not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 "But indeed [she is] truly my sister. She [is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 "And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This [is] your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, "He [is] my brother."’" 14 ¶ Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave [them] to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, "See, my land [is] before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16 Then to Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand [pieces] of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who [are] with you and before everybody." Thus she was rebuked. 17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore [children]; 18 for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
Genesis 20:2 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Sarah was now about ninety years of age, and probably pregnant with Isaac. Her beauty, therefore, must have been considerably impaired since the time she was taken in a similar manner by Pharaoh, king of Egypt; but she was probably now chosen by Abimelech more on the account of forming an alliance with Abraham, who was very rich, than on account of any personal accomplishments. A petty king, such as Abimelech, would naturally be glad to form an alliance with such a powerful chief as Abraham was: we cannot but recollect his late defeat of the four confederate Canannitish kings.
Genesis 20:16 COMMENTARY GENEVA NOTES God caused this heathen king to reprove her because she concealed her identity, seeing that God had given her a husband as her veil and defence.

Monday, November 27 The Birth of Isaac
Genesis 21:9-21 KJ21 “9 ¶ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Therefore she said unto Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, "Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman. In all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." 14 ¶ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water; and he gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went and sat down apart from him a good way off, as it were, a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not see the death of the child." And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said unto her, "What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise; lift up the lad and hold him in thine hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19 And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 21:9 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY Abraham was grieved that Ishmael should misbehave, and Sarah demand so severe a punishment. But God showed him that Isaac must be the father of the promised Seed; therefore, send Ishmael away, lest he corrupt the manners, or try to take the rights of Isaac. The covenant seed of Abraham must be a people by themselves, not mingled with those who were out of covenant: Sarah little thought of this; but God turned aright what she said.
Genesis 21:9 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The verb me'acheq, “mocking,” is from the same root word as Isaac, “to laugh.” Here used in the intensive form, however, it expresses something more than simple laughter—rather, ridicule.
Galatians 4:28-31 Holman “28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as then the child born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? ‘Throw out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never inherit with the son of the free woman.’ 31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”

Tuesday, November 28 Abraham & Isaac on Mount Moriah
Genesis 22 NLT “1 ¶ Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son––yes, Isaac, whom you love so much––and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 ¶ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 ¶ At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh–Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 15 ¶ Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed––all because you have obeyed me.” 19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live. 20 ¶ Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, 24 Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.”
Genesis 22:2 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to mankind, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel by experience what it was to lose a beloved son, the son born miraculously when Sarah was past child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. The duration, too, of the action, Ge 22:4, was the same as that between Christ's death and resurrection, both which are designed to be represented in it.
Genesis 22:12 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY So far as the will and purpose of father and son could go, the sacrifice was complete. God accepted the devotion of their hearts as a gift far more acceptable in His sight, and took the will for the deed (Heb. 11:17). The heavenly voice also testifies to God’s rejection of human sacrifices. The assertions of Bible critics to the effect that the Hebrews, as a part of their regular order of service, practiced the rite of human sacrifice, so common among the Canaanites and other peoples of antiquity, is without foundation. True, in periods of apostasy the Jews did practice this rite, but this was in direct violation of God’s command.

Wednesday, November 29 Faith and Works
Hebrews 11:17-19 NRSV “17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom he had been told, "It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you." 19 He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”
Hebrews 11:19 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY It was faith in the power of God to resurrect Isaac that gave Abraham the courage to set out to offer up his son. Only thus could the aged patriarch reconcile God’s promise that Isaac was to be his heir, with God’s mandate to take Isaac’s life. To have faith in the integrity of a person who makes a promise and a demand that seem to be so mutually exclusive is the ultimate in the perfection of faith….In view of the fact that, as yet, no human being had been raised from the dead, this was faith of the highest order.
James 2:17-26 NRSV “17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.”
Romans 3:28 NRSV “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”

Thursday, November 30 The End of an Era
Genesis 24:3-4 MKJV “3 And I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of Heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. 4 But you shall go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife to my son Isaac.”
Genesis 24:3 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN Among pastoral tribes the matrimonial arrangements are made by the parents, and a youth must marry, not among strangers, but in his own tribe--custom giving him a claim, which is seldom or never resisted, to the hand of his first cousin. But Abraham had a far higher motive--a fear lest, if his son married into a Canaanitish family, he might be gradually led away from the true God.

Just reading this week's lesson....it struck me, how would we react today if we heard of someone asked to do what Abraham was asked in preparing to sacrifice Isaac?

Would we believe it was the command of God or would we think Abraham either mentally ill or under the control of the devil?

Probably our first reaction would be to consign such a person to our list of extremely mentally deficient people. But I really wonder if the test would come in the same way - Abraham's test came in this way probably because it was a custom of his world to sacrifice children to appease the gods. Today our tests might come through some serious illness such as AIDS. If so, the healing might be just as dramatic as Abraham finding a ram caught in the thicket.

....you have not withheld from me your son even your son, your one and only son... God parallels this same measure of faith with His One and Only Son, whom He did not withhold either.

My question is: God recognizes only this son so is there an explanation for this?

annie