“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Genesis 22:8a
Movies, books, and other stories often contain the element of foreshadowing, providing hints and details of what is to come later in the narrative. This is true of the story of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in Genesis 22:1–19.
What God asked of Abraham might seem bizarre and even inhumane on the surface if you don’t understand that God was testing the faith of Abraham. And Abraham responded well through obedience. He took his one and only son to be sacrificed instead of a lamb, as was normally required by God.
God asked the father and son to go to a mountainous place called Moriah, so off they went. What they didn’t take with them was the lamb to be sacrificed. Isaac only carried the wood for the fire on his back. Abraham gave his confused son the assurance, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Abraham acted in obedience all the way to the point of raising the knife above his now tied-up son before the Lord intervened with an alternative. Isaac was spared as God provided a ram for the sacrifice, and Abraham named this place “The LORD will provide.”
The similarities between Isaac and Jesus are simply amazing and probably go deeper than you might be aware. There are at least 30 parallels, but we’ll just look at some main ones. For example, both males were the result of supernatural births—Isaac to an old woman and Jesus to a virgin. Both were described as the “only son” (Genesis 22:2; John 3:16).
The place of the sacrifice was Moriah. This would later be the location where King David purchased land to make a permanent place for the Lord. It is where Solomon built the First Temple and where the Second Temple was built as well. For many years, lambs would be sacrificed for the sins of the people in this place. On a future day, among these same hills of Moriah, God’s Precious Lamb would be crucified.
Just as Isaac carried the wood up to the place of sacrifice, so too would Jesus lug His wooden cross on the way up to the hill of Golgotha. Abraham and Isaac’s journey to Moriah took three days. Likewise, Jesus’ journey of sacrifice would be complete on the third day with His resurrection.
Both sons amazingly submitted to the will of their fathers. And God provided a substitute for Isaac’s sacrifice—a ram whose head was caught in a thicket. Two thousand years later, He would provide once and for all through His Incarnate Son, whose head would also be adorned with thorns.
Let’s apply this story to our lives today. What is God asking you to lay on the altar this Easter season? What is it that you hold dearer than Him? What habitual sin, relationship, or possession is keeping you from total devotion to the Lord? Will you, like Abraham, be willing to give to God what you hold most precious? Or will you be like the rich young ruler who was unable to give up what he loved to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:16–30)? The choice is yours.
The Lord promised Abraham blessings for generations to come in response to obedience. He promises you an eternity of glory and unbridled joy if you do the same.