Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 22:16

"and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son," — Genesis 22:16 (ASV)

By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord (Jehovah).—This solemn interposition of an oath (Hebrews 6:17), of which the present is the sole instance in Holy Scripture, plainly indicates that this trial of Abraham’s faith was of no common kind, and that its typical teaching is of no ordinary value. Abraham might have appealed to God’s own attributes and said, "Far be it from you, Lord, to command a human sacrifice and tell a father to slay his son."

He might have pleaded the promises bound up with Isaac’s life. But no, as soon as he is convinced that the command comes from God, he obeys and, against hope, still believes that the promises will all be fulfilled in the sacrificed Isaac. He is thus the highest and most perfect example of faith, and by his offering of his son, the Church received the assurance that the Son of God, incarnate in the flesh, would upon that very mountain offer the sacrifice Divinely necessary for the pardon of human sins.

The blessing now given to Abraham differs from those that precede it in three particulars:

1. It is no longer a promise, but a solemn compact ratified by an oath.
2. It assures Abraham’s seed of victory, by which the spiritual Israel is assured of the ultimate triumph of the Gospel.
3. It transfers to Abraham’s offspring the promise of being the means of blessedness to all mankind.