Exegesis of Genesis – 2128175

Tradition credits Moses as the author of Genesis, however, a deadly theory denies that Moses had anything to do with Genesis, and so the author of Genesis is said to be God, working through Moses. Genesis 22:9-14 describes the covenant between God and the Jewish people where God asks Abraham to do certain things, in return for which he will take care of them. In the beginning, God promised Abraham that, “I am El Shaddai, walk with me and be trustworthy, I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants” (Gen. 17:1-2). However, the fulfillments of these promises were conditional upon Abraham’s Obedience (Graham, 2014). First, God promised Abraham a great posterity and this is the reason why Abram’s name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17:5; while in Genesis 15:5, Abraham is promised a great nation and a great name.

This covenant is the basis for the ideas to show that the Jews are the chosen people. Moses outlines the significance of this covenant by showing how God love his people after Abraham had shown that in deed he had a strong faith in God and therefore he obeyed God and offered his only son Isaac on the alter not to earn the favor of God, but because he was so confident in God’s promise to give him posterity through his son Isaac such as making Abraham the father of a great people. To be sure, covenant plays a significant role particularly in understanding God because the reality of God is not properly understood unless it is viewed within a covenantal frame, because God himself had revealed himself to us through love and unity.

In obedience to God’s command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah so as to sacrifice him to Lord. Since Abraham was willing to slay his son, God restrained him from killing his son Isaac and at the end, he is promised to be blessed further for his obedience. Abraham therefore memorialized the place as “the Lord will provide.” Seeing this, God called on Abraham where he made five more great sacrifices: that is, his native country, his extended family, his nephew Lot, as well as, his son Isaac. All these sacrifices involved something which was naturally dear to Abraham, despite the fact that each resulted in greater blessings from God. Truly, this incident was significant because it demonstrated a strong confidence that Abraham had in God at this time, since he believed that God had power over death and was able to raise his son Isaac from the dead, just the way he raised Lazarus daughter from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

From the incident, it is also evident that Isaac also had faith in God just like his father Abraham. It is true that Isaac must have known what actually his father intended to do to him, yet he did not submitted willingly (Genesis 22:9). On the contrary, if Abraham is said to have displayed faith that obeys, then Isaac on the other hand, displayed faith that cooperates. This is because, if Isaac was strong enough to carry the wood for a sacrifice, he was also strong enough in resisting his father.

Because Abraham had strong faith in God, he gained a greater appreciation of God as the One who will provide him for everything as a result of this incident (Genesis 22:14). The story reaches its climax in (Genesis 22:15-18) when Abraham confirmed his loyalty by obeying God’s command by being ready of sacrificing Isaac. Abraham’s sacrifice of the ram (Genesis 22:13), just like Noah’s sacrifice after he had left the ark (Genesis 8:18 to Genesis 9:17), expressed both thanks and devotion to God. This actually anticipated God’s benevolence or kindness toward the future generations. In (Genesis 22:15), it is evident that God again appeared to Abraham at the end of His test. This was to show that God fulfills his promises, and so God swore himself to confirm His promises to Abraham (Genesis 22:16). However, Moses referred to this oath later in Israel’s history (Genesis 24:7). The main point of Genesis 22:9-14 is not only about the doctrine of the Atonement, instead it portrays an obedient, respectful and subservient servant worshipping God in faith at great cost, and in the end getting God’s provision just like Abraham did (Graham, 2014).

Moses emphasizes that Genesis 22:15-18 majorly describes the establishment of Gods covenant in regards to circumcision. However, the lack of reference to circumcision in the immediate context tends to make this interpretation somehow tenuous. In Genesis 22:17-18), God also promised Abraham that he and his descendants would become the recipient of the covenant blessings. The covenant was not based on obedience, but rather the reception of covenant blessings was conditioned on obedience.

Conclusion

We therefore conclude that, Moses was the author of the Book of Genesis since the Scripture attributes the writing to him. Genesis 22:9-14 describes the covenant between God and the Jews people by portraying an obedient servant worshipping God in faith at great cost, and in the end receiving God’s blessings or provision. Conversely, God’s order to sacrifice Isaac produced a miraculous setback so that through Isaac’s offspring, many things would be accomplished such as; Mary giving birth to Jesus who in return blesses the world.

References

Graham, W. (2014). Why God Commanded Abraham to Kill Isaac. the Cripplegate. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://thecripplegate.com/why-god-commanded-abraham-to-kill-isaac/

Grigg, R. (2014). Did Moses really write Genesis?. Did Moses really write Genesis?. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://creation.com/did-moses-really-write-genesis