Week 6: Trial and Trust
Week 6 Overview
The covenant promise reaches its peak this week — and is immediately threatened by its greatest test. Isaac is born, the long-delayed fulfillment at last. Then God asks Abraham to give him back. The binding of Isaac is one of the most arresting passages in Scripture: a test of faith so extreme that it can only be understood in light of what God himself will one day do on a different hill. The week closes with Isaac’s marriage and the passing of the torch.
Weekly Memory Verse
“Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The LORD will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.’” — Genesis 22:14 (ESV)
Daily Readings
| Day | Title | Passage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sodom and Gomorrah | Genesis 19:1–29 |
| 2 | Isaac Is Born | Genesis 21:1–21 |
| 3 | The Binding of Isaac | Genesis 22:1–19 |
| 4 | A Wife for Isaac | Genesis 24:1–67 |
| 5 | Jacob and Esau | Genesis 25:19–34 |
Discussion
Background
Genesis 22 — the binding of Isaac — is one of the most studied and debated passages in all of religious literature. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions all engage with it deeply. The Christian reading, informed by the New Testament, sees it as a deliberate prefiguring of the Father offering his Son on a mountain, with one crucial difference: Abraham’s hand was stopped; God’s was not.