by Jen | Jul 7, 2026 | 1-19, DISO studies, Genesis 22
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Doesn’t it seem like this summer is flying by? Thank you for taking some time to consider Genesis 22:1-19, especially if you’ve been studying with me. I’m praying the Holy Spirit is using our work to reveal mighty truths to you!
This past week, we used the process described in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to consider how we can put what we’ve discovered here to practice. Here’s what the Spirit worked through with me.
Last Week’s Work
LESSON(S) LEARNED
The key takeaway I have from this study is that Abraham’s whole life was a string of actions based on belief in God’s promises. Though we focused on a single incident in his (and especially Isaac’s!) life, Abraham’s faith was tested multiple times, giving him lots of opportunities to believe or doubt. And his trust in God was always rewarded.
In the now three decades (!) since I was saved, I have seen the same consistency. There has never been a time the Lord hasn’t provided for me, and some of those moments truly have no explanation other than that God intervened.
CONVICTION
The Spirit’s recent focus on v8 and Isaac’s perspective of God’s intervention in this sacrifice convicted me that His work in my life includes revelation for others. Before I was saved, I looked at His provision as “luck” or “coincidence” or didn’t pay any attention to it at all.
But after that moment, I knew something was different. I didn’t know what, because I didn’t know how to recognize the connection between faith and provision. In this passage, I believe Isaac submitted to the sacrifice (even though, as noted by the BibleRef.com website, he likely could have evaded being bound and placed on the altar) because he knew and trusted Abraham and Abraham’s God. In other words, growing up around Abraham’s faith and its results trained Isaac to also believe that God would provide. And He did!
Recently, I’ve been asked to develop a Bible study program for a group of teens who attend my church. My background is adult skill development—I have almost no experience working with teens! Yet I believe the timing of that request and this study is no coincidence. I’m convicted that the Lord is asking me to help these young people develop skills that will enable them to appreciate, among other biblical principles, the connection between faith and provision. So, in addition to being convicted by Abraham’s statement of faith, I also feel convicted by his repeated response to both God and God’s angel, Here I am.
CORRECTION
One verse stood out as I reviewed all the Scripture from this study—a cross-reference for verse 8: “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” It’s Jesus’s response to the disciples’ questioning how anyone could be saved if rich people will struggle to enter God’s kingdom. I think this speaks to the difference between God’s economy and the world’s economy. In the world’s economy, money opens all doors. But in God’s economy, faith is the only requirement for salvation. It’s not about what I do; it’s about what God can do through my faithful service.
ACTION PLAN
My action plan is pretty simple: I’ve committed to teaching that class this fall. We know that by faith, Abraham’s descendants did indeed number as the stars in the sky and the sands on the shore. God keeps his promises. I intend to be one who does the same!
Our Next Study
So far, we’ve learned about the LORD our Shepherd, the LORD of Hosts, and the LORD our Provider. Next, let’s dig deeper into the Old Testament and learn about the LORD our Righteousness by digging into Jeremiah 33:14-26 [and 23:1-8].
This will be a first for me, friends! To this point, I’ve purposely avoided studying the prophets. But I believe the Spirit is leading me to this passage for a reason, and I trust that whatever the outcome it will be for God’s glory. I hope you’ll join me beginning next week. I know it’s going to be good!
by Jen | Jun 30, 2026 | 1-19, DISO studies, Genesis 22
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello! Does it seem to you that these seven weeks studying Genesis 22:1-19 have flown by? I hope you’ve been able to dig a little with me here and that the Spirit has revealed amazing treasure as your study has progressed.
My work this week included reading through the cross-references for my focus verses (8 and 14), a quick review of a few other versions of them, and an even quicker check of some of the available commentaries.
Last Week’s Work
CROSS-REFERENCES
The cross-references for verse 8 seemed to fall into two categories: first, those that reminded me that nothing is too difficult for God, His resources are unlimited, and with Him, all things are possible. And second, those that pointed to Jesus as the perfect Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. This echoes what I suggested in last week’s post that this verse might be a prophecy of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the wood of a cross for all who believe.
When I looked at cross-references for verse 14, I discovered seven other locations in the Old Testament named for attributes of God’s character:
- Well of the Living One who sees me (Hagar’s name referring to God’s omniscience);
- House of God (Jacob’s name for the city where his grandfather’s covenant of land, offspring, and blessing for all mankind was extended by God);
- The face of God (Jacob’s name for the place near a stream where he wrestled with God, who changed his name to Israel);
- The LORD is my banner (Moses’ name for the altar erected after victory over Amalek);
- The LORD is Peace (Gideon’s name for the altar he erected when the LORD greeted him in peace and reassured him he wouldn’t die after seeing an angel of the LORD);
- Stone of help (Samuel’s name for the rock set between Mizpah and Shen to commemorate God’s favor when Israel defeated the Philistines);
- YHWH is there (according to Ezekiel, the name of a city to be built within Israel’s restored territory).
OTHER TRANSLATIONS
My review of v8 in several other translations was unremarkable, but the last phrase of v14 did turn up some small differences from the ESV. The King James Version renders the last phrase … in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen, while the Good News Translation says, … on the LORD’s mountain he provides, and the Amplified Bible encompasses both: … on the mountain of the LORD it will be seen and provided.
COMMENTARY
After reviewing several commentaries, I was glad to see some of them also mentioning the comparison between Isaac and Jesus I suggested in week five. And BibleRef.com gave me something else to think about with the hypothesis that Isaac, who could carry wood for the sacrifice up the mountain, would surely be able to get away from Abraham, who was 100 years older, had Isaac wanted to do so. Instead, Isaac likely allowed himself to be bound and laid upon the altar. So, both men seem to have had enormous trust in God, that He would indeed provide a suitable substitute. And their trust was not in vain, as we Christians believe our trust in the sacrificial offering of Jesus is also not in vain.
Finally, I love Charles W. Smith’s summation of this name in his discussion about v14: … because God sees, He provides. Jehovahjireh.
Dig-In Challenges
This coming week, let’s wrap up our study of 1 Samuel 17 and align with what we’ve discovered here:
- PRAY: Use my prayer from week 2, or your own.
- ALIGN: Review your study notes (or what I’ve posted since week 2) and consider what you’ve learned in this study.
- ALIGN: Then, think about how the Spirit has convicted you through this study. In other words, where has He shown you misalignment between what we’ve discovered and how you practice your faith?
- ALIGN: Next, look to God’s Word for guidance to correct that misalignment. For me, this is often a verse from the study text or from one of the cross-references.
- ALIGN: And finally, reflect on how you can change thoughts or actions to align more closely with what you’ve discovered here.
To make this stick, I commit to changing my thoughts (by focusing daily on my correction verse(s), above) and/or actions (by stopping or starting an activity as the Spirit leads) for at least three weeks.
I know the Lord will bless our efforts to understand and apply His Word!
by Jen | Jun 22, 2026 | 1-19, DISO studies, Genesis 22
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello, faithful friends! This week I started looking into how the author and his audience understood Genesis 22:8 and 14. Here’s what I discovered:
Last Week’s Work
LITERAL CONTEXT and WRITING TYPES
The most prevalent writing type I observed in Genesis 22:1-19 and its literal context is narrative. I believe this is an actual story involving God, his angel, Abraham, and Isaac. Knowing some of the rest of the Bible’s story, I also believe verse 8 contains prophecy, giving us a hint of what Jesus would do centuries later.
Reviewing Genesis 21, it begins with the long-awaited birth of Isaac. Abraham was finally beginning to see God’s promise fulfilled! God also clarifies here that Isaac was the son through whom Abraham’s offspring would be named, even though Abraham had an older son, Ishmael, from Sarah’s maid, Hagar.
On Sarah’s insistence, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away to perish in the wilderness of Beersheba. But God had another plan. With divine assistance, she discovered a well that enabled them to survive.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Tradition indicates Moses authored this book as a compilation of stories handed down through the generations. It contains a history of the world and the ancestors of the Jewish race, men and women whom God called, watched over, and blessed.
Moreover, Genesis was written for the Israelites whom Moses led from captivity in Egypt toward the “promised land,” which I think includes Moriah, where Abraham traveled to offer Isaac! If that’s the case, I can see this writing connecting those former slaves to important ancestors and helping them establish a new identity as heirs to all of God’s promises.
Wow! As I write this, the Spirit is showing me a similarity between the literal Egyptian slaves, who would be the first audience for this book, and believers, whom Paul describes as former slaves taking on a new identity in Christ. How awesome is that?!
INTERLINEAR RESEARCH
I was most interested in learning more about the phrase will provide since it appears in both of my focus verses (twice in v14). This word is a translation of the Hebrew yir ’eh-, a form of raah (H7200), meaning to see. It’s the same root used in Genesis 1 to describe God’s actions when He saw that [each item He created] was good, and it connected my thoughts to Hagar’s statement, You are a God of seeing [or who sees me]. That made me think of our current expression to see to it, meaning to provide for or make sure something happens. I have definitely seen this aspect of God’s character in my life, especially since I was saved thirty years ago this month!
I also noticed Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question (v8) refers to God as ’Ĕ·lō·hîm (H430). This is a different designation than the acronym YHWH used in v14 and in our previous studies of God’s names (LORD, my Shepherd, and LORD of Hosts). According to biblehub.com, it’s a plural noun but appears with singular conjugation verbs, conveying God’s superlative majesty with a nod to His identity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in One.
In contrast, Abraham’s name for the sacrifice site and the axiom mentioning it (v14) refer to God as LORD or Yah-weh [YHWH] (H3068). This name is used in covenant context and was featured in both our previous studies in this series: YHWH Tsaba (Lord of Hosts) and YHWH Ra’ah (Lord, my Shepherd), where I quoted from biblehub.com’s information page describing YHWH as denoting the personal, faithful, sovereign God who creates, redeems, judges, and dwells with His people. To me, this reflects the relationship Abraham had with God and what we can also have with him. Isn’t it awesome that the most high God (Elohim) is also our personal and faithful God (YHWH) who keeps His promises?!
Dig-In Challenges
Here’s my study plan for the coming week if you want to work along with me:
- PRAY, of course.
- REFINE: Consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool [I’ll be going here and here] to find and read through the available cross-references for your focus verse(s) and log what the Spirit shows you.
NOTE: For your study, follow one of the above links, then use the Prev or Next buttons below the verse text to go to your focus verse(s).
- REFINE: Next, compare at least a few other translations of your focus verse(s) and write about what you find in your study journal. I’m planning to compare the ESV, AMP, NIV, NLT, and GNT versions starting with this biblehub.com page. After following this link, you can navigate to your verse(s) by entering the reference in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.
- REFINE: Last, I plan to check a few commentaries on my focus verses, Genesis 22:8 and 14. If you already have a favorite study Bible or commentary, feel free to review it, too. If you don’t, I recommend bibleref.com if you’re new to the Bible or Bible study: it’s easy to follow and you can find information about the whole book and certain passages.
If you’re looking for something with more detail, try checking the commentary section of StudyLight.org. There, you can access multiple verse-by-verse commentaries on Genesis 22:1-19 by clicking the box for your focus verse, then clicking the name of the commentary listed immediately under the text of the verse you chose. I recommend you review more than one commentary and listen to the Spirit’s guidance on them
I encourage you to do what you can this week to dig deeper into God’s Word. I know you’ll find immense treasure there. And I hope you’ll check in with me again next week!
by Jen | Jun 16, 2026 | 1-19, DISO studies, Genesis 22
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Wow! I have so much to share with you this week—let’s get right to it.
Last Week’s Work
COMPARISONS
I found just one instance of a literal comparison in this text: in v17, as the second blessing, the angel said the LORD declared for Abraham that He would surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.
As I’ve been studying this passage, though, I’ve felt the Spirit draw me to another comparison connected with my previous knowledge of God’s Word: how Abraham’s willing sacrifice of his only son, Isaac, is similar to God’s willing sacrifice of His only begotten son, Jesus. In fact, Abraham’s statement God will provide the lamb seems prophetic when considered that at Calvary, Jesus became the Lamb who took the place of all Christians to die on the wood of a Roman cross (as the ram took Isaac’s place and died on the wood of the altar on Mount Moriah).
CAUSES/MOTIVATION
Reason: [God] said to [Abraham], Take your son…, Isaac… and go to… Moriah and offer him there…
Connector: So [therefore]
Action: Abraham rose and took his son… Isaac… to the place.
Action: the angel told Abraham, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him…”
Connector: for [because]
Reason: now I know… you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son… from me.
Reason: Abraham… offered [the ram] as a burnt offering instead of his son
Connector: So [therefore]
Action: Abraham called… that place, “The LORD will provide.”
The next two causes in the ESV translation stood out to me: I can’t remember ever seeing another instance where two reasons are attached to a single action like this. It certainly made me pause and reflect on what the angel was telling Abraham!
Action: [the angel said,] “I will surely bless Abraham, and … multiply his offspring, and he shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in him, all the nations… shall be blessed.”
Connector: because
Reason 1: Abraham had [offered Isaac as a burnt offering] and had not withheld his son…,
Connector: [and] because
Reason 2: [Abraham had] obeyed [the LORD’s] voice.
CONDITIONS/METHODS
The Spirit brought my attention to the steps Abraham took in obedience to God’s command: he quickly embarked on the three-day journey to the place of the sacrifice, taking what he needed with him, including Isaac. There, Abraham restrained Isaac and physically put him on the altar to kill him, stopping only when the angel intervened.
I cannot imagine being in that position, especially when Isaac asked about the lamb. I think Abraham’s answer explains how he was able to do what he did: his faith in God was so strong, he had no doubt the LORD would provide either a substitute or another Isaac. How I wish I had that kind of faith!
Dig-In Challenges
This coming week, I’m planning to:
- PRAY. Of course!
- REFINE my understanding of this text by making a note of all the types of writing (instruction, law, letter, narrative, poetry, and/or prophecy) I discover in Genesis 22:1-19, then skimming the text before and after these verses to ensure I haven’t taken this story out of its literal context and to see if the author provides other details related to my personal treasure.
- REFINE: Next, I’ll research the book’s historical context by referencing an Introduction to the book of Genesis, starting here. If you’re working along with me, note any relevant or interesting facts you uncover in your review of these materials. Based on the writing type (from step 2, above) and what you discover in the introduction, should Genesis 22:1-19 be interpreted literally?
- REFINE: Last, I’ll be looking up the meaning of a few words and phrases from my focus verses using an interlinear Bible tool. I like Biblehub.com’s Hebrew tool for this research. To use it, follow the link above. You can quickly access a verse by selecting it from the dropdown box showing 22:1 at the top of your screen, or you can scroll to it by clicking the right-pointing arrow (to the right of the verse citation, Genesis 22:1) for higher numbered verses. Once you locate the verse, click the number in the Strong’s column that corresponds to the English word or phrase you’re researching. Note anything the Spirit highlights for you in the information provided.
I encourage you to use these tools and dig as much as you can this week. I pray the Spirit will bless your efforts, my friend!
by Jen | Jun 9, 2026 | 1-19, DISO studies, Genesis 22
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello again! Did the Spirit show you anything exciting in your review of the text this week? Here’s what I discovered.
Last Week’s Work
REPETITION
This time the Spirit called my attention to four items:
- Offer/offering occurs seven times in six verses. Two things stood out to me as I reviewed this:
(A) God commanded Isaac be offered, not sacrificed as a burnt offering. There’s a difference between offering something (as in making it available) and sacrificing it (as in permanently giving it up), but I didn’t really catch that until the Spirit showed me this repeated concept!
(B) Abraham didn’t use either word to describe what he and Isaac would be doing while the young men accompanying them stayed with the donkey. Instead, he called it worship!
- The statement Here I am, which was Abraham’s response to God, to Isaac, and to the angel on the mountain. Abraham answered everyone who called upon him the same way, making himself available to all of them.
- Your only son, the statement by which God and the angel (here and here) described Isaac to Abraham.
Technically, I know that Isaac was not Abraham’s only son when they traveled to Moriah in Genesis 20. In Genesis 16, Sarai (Abra[ha]m’s aged wife who’d clearly given up on God’s plan to produce a child through her womb) told him to procreate with her slave Hagar. He did, and she produced a son named Ishmael, Isaac’s older step-brother. While God honored Abraham’s request and indicated Ishmael would also father a nation, He made it clear that Isaac was the son through whom the covenant promises would be fulfilled.
- The phrases will provide / shall be provided appear three times: once describing what Abraham expected God to do about a sacrificial lamb rather than requiring Abraham to murder his own child and twice designating the site on which this act of salvation occurred.
SPECIAL STATEMENTS
I noted:
LISTS
I noticed four elements of the burnt offering described in this study passage:
- wood, brought from home, laid on Isaac, mentioned in Isaac’s question about the sacrifice, and formed the base on which Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac;
- a fire,
- a knife, and
- the lamb.
The four-part blessing Abraham received for offering Isaac—God would
- surely bless Abraham,
- multiply Abraham’s offspring,
- ensure Abraham’s offspring would possess the gate of his enemies, and
- bless all nations in Abraham’s offspring.
Dig-In Challenges
This week, let’s wrap up Step 3 by:
- PRAYING the prayer we wrote for Step 1.
- MINING comparisons by reading through the passage again, looking for statements of difference or similarity in or related to your focus verses. These may be statements featuring key words such as [not] like, as, is, are, or of; qualitative comparisons indicating how one item is more or less than another; and/or contrasts that highlight or discuss how one concept differs from another.
- MINING: Next, look for causes or motives by focusing on key words or phrases I call cause connectors. In the ESV translation of this study text, look for the connectors because, for (where it means because), and so (where it means therefore) in your focus verses, then check the text surrounding the connector for an action and the reason or explanation for that action. For example: in the sentence, I went to the store, for I was out of milk,
the action = I went to the store
for [because]
the reason = I was out of milk.
NOTE: the words for and so don’t always connect actions and reasons. To determine if they do in your verses, read the sentences containing them while substituting the word because in place of for, and therefore in place of so. If the sentence(s) created from this exercise make(s) sense and mean(s) the same as the original, look for the action statement before the for and the stated reason after the for; but with so/therefore, the reason will appear first, and the action statement will come after: I was out of milk, so [therefore], I went to the store.
- MINING: Finally, see if you can find any conditions for action in this narrative and/or descriptions of how action happens or should happen.
– For example, does the text say if or when a certain condition exists, some action takes place?
And/or
– Does the author describe a method or process (for example, specific steps) taken to achieve something?
Or
– Does he indicate how action is accomplished more generally by or through attributes or actions? For example, … saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Finally,
– Does the text include any adverbs (typically words ending in ly) that describe how action happens?
These exercises are a bit more involved, but I’m confident you can do this with the Holy Spirit! Don’t forget to check your How to Dig Into Scripture Ourselves guide, and you can always reach out to me at [email protected] if you have questions.
