Hebrews 11:17 Study Bible: By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son;

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By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

Study Bible

By faith
The phrase "By faith" is a recurring theme in Hebrews 11, often referred to as the "Faith Chapter." The Greek word for faith, "pistis," implies a deep trust and confidence in God. This faith is not merely intellectual assent but a profound reliance on God's promises, character, and power. In the context of Hebrews, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is the foundation upon which the patriarchs acted, demonstrating that true faith results in obedience and action.

Abraham
Abraham is a central figure in the narrative of faith. Known as the "father of faith," his life exemplifies trust in God's promises despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Historically, Abraham lived around 2000 BC, and his account is foundational to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths. His journey from Ur to Canaan, his covenant with God, and his willingness to sacrifice Isaac are pivotal moments that illustrate his unwavering faith.

when he was tested
The testing of Abraham refers to the event recorded in Genesis 22, where God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Greek word for "tested," "peirazō," can mean to test, try, or prove. This test was not for God to learn something new about Abraham, but for Abraham to demonstrate the depth of his faith. It highlights the biblical principle that faith is often proven through trials and challenges, refining and strengthening the believer's trust in God.

offered up Isaac
The act of offering up Isaac is one of the most profound demonstrations of faith in the Bible. The phrase "offered up" in Greek is "prosphero," meaning to bring to or present. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his promised son is a foreshadowing of God's own sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This act of obedience underscores the belief that true faith holds nothing back from God, trusting Him even with the most precious aspects of life.

He who had received the promises
Abraham had received promises from God, including the promise that through Isaac, his offspring would be reckoned (Genesis 21:12). The Greek word for "received," "anadechomai," implies a welcoming or accepting of something offered. Abraham's faith was rooted in the promises of God, which he had embraced wholeheartedly. This highlights the nature of biblical faith as being anchored in the surety of God's word and His faithfulness to fulfill His promises.

was ready to offer his one and only son
The phrase "one and only son" emphasizes the uniqueness and preciousness of Isaac to Abraham. The Greek term "monogenēs" is used, which means unique or only begotten. This term is also used in the New Testament to describe Jesus as the "only begotten Son" of God (John 3:16). Abraham's readiness to offer Isaac is a profound act of faith, demonstrating his belief that God could even raise the dead (Hebrews 11:19). It serves as a powerful testament to the depth of Abraham's trust in God's ability to fulfill His promises, even when circumstances seem impossible.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Abraham
The patriarch of the Israelites, known for his faith and obedience to God. He is a central figure in the account of Genesis and is often referred to as the "father of faith."

2. Isaac
The son of Abraham and Sarah, considered the child of promise through whom God's covenant with Abraham would be fulfilled.

3. The Test
Refers to the event where God tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac, as recorded in Genesis 22.

4. The Altar
The place where Abraham was prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, demonstrating his obedience and trust in God.

5. The Promises
Refers to the covenant promises God made to Abraham, including the promise of numerous descendants and a great nation through Isaac.

Teaching Points

Faith Tested and Proven
Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac demonstrates that true faith often involves testing. Believers should be prepared for their faith to be tested and proven through trials.

Obedience to God
Abraham's immediate response to God's command shows the importance of obedience in the life of a believer. Obedience is a natural outflow of genuine faith.

Trust in God's Promises
Despite the seemingly contradictory nature of God's command, Abraham trusted that God would fulfill His promises. Believers are called to trust in God's promises, even when circumstances are challenging.

Foreshadowing of Christ
The event foreshadows God's sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ, for the salvation of humanity. It serves as a reminder of God's ultimate provision and love.

Faith and Works
Abraham's actions illustrate the harmony between faith and works. Genuine faith is demonstrated through actions that align with God's will.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac challenge your understanding of faith and obedience in your own life?

2. In what ways can you relate to Abraham's experience of having faith tested? How can you apply his example to your current circumstances?

3. How does the account of Abraham and Isaac foreshadow the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? What does this teach you about God's plan for salvation?

4. Reflect on a time when you had to trust in God's promises despite difficult circumstances. How did that experience strengthen your faith?

5. How can you demonstrate your faith through actions in your daily life, following the example of Abraham? What specific steps can you take to align your actions with your faith?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Genesis 22
The original account of Abraham's test, where God commands him to sacrifice Isaac, and Abraham's subsequent obedience.

James 2:21-23
Discusses how Abraham's faith was made complete by his actions, emphasizing the relationship between faith and works.

Romans 4:18-22
Highlights Abraham's unwavering faith in God's promises, even when circumstances seemed impossible.

Galatians 3:6-9
Connects Abraham's faith to the faith of believers, showing that those who have faith are children of Abraham.

Sermons

Abraham Offering Isaac	D. Davies.	Hebrews 11:17-19
Abraham's Faith	James Kidd, D. D.	Hebrews 11:17-19
Abraham's Faith	J. Trapp.	Hebrews 11:17-19
Abraham's Faith in Offering Isaac	D. Young	Hebrews 11:17-19
Character Tested	Jonathan Edwards.	Hebrews 11:17-19
Faith Sorely Tried and Sublimely Triumphant	W. Jones	Hebrews 11:17-19
The Excellency of Abraham's Faith and Obedience	Abp. TiIlotson.	Hebrews 11:17-19
The Sacrifice of Isaac	D. Katterns.	Hebrews 11:17-19
The Supreme Test of Faith	John Owen, D. D.	Hebrews 11:17-19

People

Abel, Barak, Cain, David, Egyptians, Enoch, Esau, Gedeon, Gideon, Hebrews, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephthae, Jephthah, Joseph, Noah, Pharaoh, Rahab, Samson, Samuel, Sara, Sarah

Places

Egypt, Jericho, Jerusalem, Red Sea

Topics

Agreement, Begotten, Body, Faith, Gladly, Isaac, Joyfully, Offer, Offered, Offering, Only-begotten, Point, Promises, Ready, Receive, Received, Sacrifice, Sacrificing, Test, Tested, Tried, Welcomed, Yea, Yes

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Hebrews 11:17

     1651   numbers, 1-2
     7332   child sacrifice
     8021   faith, nature of

Hebrews 11:1-39

5763 attitudes, positive to God
8412 decisions

Hebrews 11:1-40

Hebrews 11:4-28

Hebrews 11:4-38

     1348   covenant, with Abraham
     4019   life, believers' experience
     5050   reason
     5076   Abraham, life of
     5077   Abraham, character
     5467   promises, divine
     8027   faith, testing of
     8221   courage, strength from God
     9130   future, the

Library

October 15. "Faith is the Evidence of Things not Seen" (Heb. xi. 1).
"Faith is the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. xi. 1). True faith drops its letter in the post-office box, and lets it go. Distrust holds on to a corner of it, and wonders that the answer never comes. I have some letters in my desk that have been written for weeks, but there was some slight uncertainty about the address or the contents, so they are yet unmailed. They have not done either me or anybody else any good yet. They will never accomplish anything until I let them go out of my hands and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 26. "Strangers and Pilgrims" (Heb. xi. 13).
"Strangers and pilgrims" (Heb. xi. 13). If you have ever tried to plough a straight furrow in the country--we are sorry for the man that does not know how to plough and more sorry for the man that is too proud to want to know--you have found it necessary to have two stakes in a line and to drive your horses by these stakes. If you have only one stake before you, you will have no steadying point for your vision, but you can wiggle about without knowing it and make your furrows as crooked as a serpent's …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

February 3. "He Went Out, not Knowing Whither He Went" (Heb. xi. 8).
"He went out, not knowing whither He went" (Heb. xi. 8). It is faith without sight. When we can see, it is not faith but reasoning. In crossing the Atlantic we observed this very principle of faith. We saw no path upon the sea nor sign of the shore. And yet day by day we were marking our path upon the chart as exactly as if there had followed us a great chalk line upon the sea; and when we came within twenty miles of land we knew where we were as exactly as if we had seen it all three thousand miles …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January the First the Unknown Journey
"He went out not knowing whither he went." --HEBREWS xi. 6-10. Abram began his journey without any knowledge of his ultimate destination. He obeyed a noble impulse without any discernment of its consequences. He took "one step," and he did not "ask to see the distant scene." And that is faith, to do God's will here and now, quietly leaving the results to Him. Faith is not concerned with the entire chain; its devoted attention is fixed upon the immediate link. Faith is not knowledge of a moral …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Illusiveness of Life.
Preached June 9, 1850. THE ILLUSIVENESS OF LIFE. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."--Hebrews xi. 8-10. Last Sunday we touched upon …
Frederick W. Robertson—Sermons Preached at Brighton

The Pilgrim's Longings
Now, our position is very similar to theirs. As many of us as have believed in Christ have been called out. The very meaning of a church is, "called out by Christ." We have been separated. I trust we know what it is to have gone without the camp, bearing Christ's reproach. Henceforth, in this world we have no home, no true home for our spirits; our home is beyond the flood; we are looking for it amongst the unseen things; we are strangers and sojourners as all our fathers were, dwellers in this wilderness, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

Rahab's Faith
I do think this triumph of faith over sin is not the least here recorded, but that if there be any superiority ascribable to any one of faith's exploits, this is, in some sense, the greatest of all. What! faith, didst thou fight with hideous lust? What! wouldst thou struggle with the fiery passion which sendeth forth flame from human breasts? What! wouldst thou touch with thy hallowed fingers foul and bestial debauchery? "Yea," says faith, "I did encounter this abomination of iniquity; I delivered …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Faith
This is an old law; it is as old as the first man. No sooner were Cain and Abel born into this world, and no sooner had they attained to manhood, than God gave a practical proclamation of this law, that "without faith it is impossible to please him." Cain and Abel, one bright day, erected an altar side by side with each other. Cain fetched of the fruits of the trees and of the abundance of the soil, and placed them upon his altar; Abel brought of the firstlings of the flock, and laid it upon his …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Noah's Faith, Fear, Obedience, and Salvation
We may take pleasure in thinking of Noah as a kind of contrast to Enoch. Enoch was taken away from the evil to come: he saw not the flood, nor heard the wailing of those who were swept away by the waterfloods. His was a delightful deliverance from the harvest of wrath which followed the universal godlessness of the race. It was not his to fight the battle of righteousness to the bitter end; but by a secret rapture he avoided death, and escaped those evil days in which his grandson's lot was cast. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 36: 1890

The Best Strengthening Medicine
THOSE WHO OUT OF WEAKNESS were made strong are written among the heroes of faith, and are by no means the least of them. Believers "quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong." Who shall tell which of the three grand deeds of faith is the greatest? Many of us may never have to brave the fiery stake, nor to bow our necks upon the block, to die as Paul did; but if we have grace enough to be out of weakness made strong, we shall not be left out of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Obedience of Faith
"Is there a heart that will not bend To thy divine control? Descend, O sovereign love, descend, And melt that stubborn soul! " Surely, though we have had to mourn our disobedience with many tears and sighs, we now find joy in yielding ourselves as servants of the Lord: our deepest desire is to do the Lord's will in all things. Oh, for obedience! It has been supposed by many ill-instructed people that the doctrine of justification by faith is opposed to the teaching of good works, or obedience. There …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Call of Abraham
I. First, let us LOOK AT ABRAHAM. Abraham's family was originally an idolatrous one; afterwards some beams of light shone in upon the household, and they became worshippers of the true God; but there was much ignorance mingled with their worship, and at least occasionally their old idolatrous habits returned. The Lord who had always fixed on Abraham to be his chosen servant and the father of his chosen people upon earth, made Abraham leave the society of his friends and relatives, and go out of Ur …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Go Back? Never!
"And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is an heavenly...city."--Hebrews 11:15, 16. ABRAHAM left his country at God's command, and he never went back again. The proof of faith lies in perseverance. There is a sort of faith which doth run well for a while, but it is soon ended, and it doth not obey the truth. The Apostle tells us, however, that the people of God were …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915

The Gaze of the Soul
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.--Heb. 12:2 Let us think of our intelligent plain man mentioned in chapter six coming for the first time to the reading of the Scriptures. He approaches the Bible without any previous knowledge of what it contains. He is wholly without prejudice; he has nothing to prove and nothing to defend. Such a man will not have read long until his mind begins to observe certain truths standing out from the page. They are the spiritual principles behind …
A. W. Tozer—The Pursuit of God

The Christian Faith
Scripture references: Hebrews 11; Matthew 9:29; 17:20; Mark 10:52; 11:22; Acts 2:38; 3:16; 10:43; 16:30,31; Romans 1:17; 5:1; 10:17; Galatians 2:20. FAITH AND PRACTICE Belief Controls Action.--"As the man is, so is his strength" (Judges 8:21), "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:28,29). "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The Scriptures place stress upon the fact that …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Voices of the Dead
"And by it he being dead yet speaketh." Hebrews xi. 4. Much of the communion of this earth is not by speech or actual contact, and the holiest influences fall upon us in silence. A monument or symbol shall convey a meaning which cannot be expressed; and a token of some departed one is more eloquent than words. The mere presence of a good and holy personage will move us to reverence and admiration, though he may say and do but little. So is there an impersonal presence of such an one; and, though …
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

The Practice of Piety; Directing a Christian How to Walk that He May Please God.
Whoever thou art that lookest into this book, never undertake to read it, unless thou first resolvest to become from thine heart an unfeigned Practitioner of Piety. Yet read it, and that speedily, lest, before thou hast read it over, God, by some unexpected death, cut thee off for thine inveterate impiety. The Practice of Piety consists-- First, In knowing the essence of God, and that in respect of, (I.) The diverse manner of being therein, which are three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (II.) …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Testimonies.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."--Heb. xi. 6. In order to prevent the possibility of being led into paths of error, faith is directed, not to a Christ of the imagination, but to "the Christ in the garments of the Sacred Scripture," as Calvin expresses it. And therefore we must discriminate between (1) faith as a faculty implanted in the soul without our knowledge; (2) faith as a power whereby this implanted faculty begins to act; and (3) faith as a result,--since with this faith (1) …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Being of God
Q-III: WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES PRINCIPALLY TEACH? A: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Q-IV: WHAT IS GOD? A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Here is, 1: Something implied. That there is a God. 2: Expressed. That he is a Spirit. 3: What kind of Spirit? I. Implied. That there is a God. The question, What is God? takes for granted that there …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Abraham and Isaac. Genesis xxii.
1.--"After these things." What things? See verse 33 in preceding chapter. After Abraham had given himself to prayer. It often happens that grace is given for grace. God prepares his own for trial and suffering by revealing Himself. "GOD DID TEMPT."--Like a workman who is conscious the work is well done, fears not the scrutiny which waits his labour. When the smith has put good work into the iron cable, he does not then fear the strain of the test put upon it, and God knew what He had done to …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Enoch, the Deathless
BY REV. W. J. TOWNSEND, D.D. Enoch was the bright particular star of the patriarchal epoch. His record is short, but eloquent. It is crowded into a few words, but every word, when placed under examination, expands indefinitely. Every virtue may be read into them; every eulogium possible to a human character shines from them. He was a devout man, a fearless preacher of righteousness, an intimate friend of God, and the only man of his dispensation who did not see death. He sheds a lustre on the …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Faith an Assurance and a Proof.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proving of things not seen. For therein the elders had witness borne to them. By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which do appear."--HEB. xi. 1-3 (R.V.). It is often said that one of the greatest difficulties in the Epistle to the Hebrews is to discover any real connection of ideas between the author's general purpose in the previous discussion and the …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Faith of Moses.
"By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a goodly child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to be evil entreated with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward. By faith he forsook …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

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