The Road to Bethlehem: The Lamb of God

As we continue on the road the Bethlehem, today we look at another story from the life of Abraham that foretells of Jesus. In this passage in Genesis 22, we see how God is testing Abraham.

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. ² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Genesis 22:1-2

God has told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering God. Normally, one would sacrifice a lamb or a goat or some other animal, but God is telling Abraham to sacrifice his son. A burnt offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God (i.e., it cannot be used after it is burnt) (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/qorbanot.html#Olah). Of course, we know that ultimately God is the one who sacrifices His son Jesus. But in Abraham's time that hadn't happened yet. Abraham immediately obeys God and takes Isaac off to the place where the sacrifice will be made.

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" ⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

Genesis 22:6-8

Abraham and Isaac show up at the spot for the sacrifice and Isaac notices that something is missing (God didn't tell Isaac that he was to be sacrificed). Abraham knew that God would provide the lamb because Abraham knew that God had provided Isaac. Although Abraham may have been struggling trying to understand why God told him to sacrifice the son that God had given him when he was old - the son that was his first descendent in the line that would ultimately lead to Jesus, the son that God's promise would come through - he still obeyed God without hesitation!

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. ¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 22:9-13

God here provides the physical substitute for Isaac in the offering. In this case it is a ram (mountain goat). In the eternal scheme of things, the lamb He provides is His own son, Jesus. Though Jesus wasn't offered as a burnt offering and God didn't need to show complete submission to Himself, God knew that we needed to be cleansed of our sin and sacrificed Jesus for us.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

Here we can see that Jesus is the Lamb provided to take away our sin. Turning back to Genesis 22, as the story ends, we can see the same promise we saw yesterday repeated.

and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Genesis 22:18

All nations will be blessed through Abraham's offspring, his descendent. He will be a Lamb that God offers to take away the sin of the world. What greater blessing could we want?