The Sacrifice of the Son

Genesis 22

1 After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori'ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So 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." 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

Perhaps no other story in the Bible helps us to understand the sacrifice that God the Father made when Jesus came into this world to die for our sins. Did God wonder if there was anyone in the world who would be willing to do for him what he was going to do for us? Galations 3:6 puts it this way:

Thus Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

Many a parent would gladly trade their life for that of their child. But, how many of us would offer a child up to the Lord like Abraham was asked to do? Yet, God does ask that we offer our children up as "living sacrifices". A lamb was needed. God provided his son who became the Lamb of God. The place where God directed Abraham to journey is believed by some to be the temple mount. However, I wonder if the place where this event occured might not have been Golgotha itself? The Messianic message of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son was that "On the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided". This coming Sunday many in Christendom celebrate Easter Sunday in memory of the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But, the only way we can approach this event is in faith. Seeing the story of the sacrifice of the Son played out thousands of years before the coming of the Messiah confirms my faith that God was, and is, still in control.