+DEV+ Jesus: Sacrifice Provided

Date: August 9, 2012 2:06 AM
Topic: +DEV+  Jesus: Sacrifice Provided

Jesus: Sacrifice Provided

"'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.'"  (Genesis 22:7-8)
Scripture Focus: Genesis 22:1-14

Imagine the thoughts racing through Abraham's mind when he and Isaac set out for Mt. Moriah. How could he have told Sarah about God's command to sacrifice her only son, born in her old age? He must have been terribly confused. How could God ask him to sacrifice the child of promise? But he arose early in the morning and went. In doing so, Abraham demonstrated that his trust in God's promise was real (James 2:24).

God did provide the sacrifice. Abraham had raised his knife over Isaac when the Angel of the Lord - the preincarnate Christ Himself - cried out from heaven and told him to stop. A ram, caught by its horns in a thicket, was sacrificed instead. Abraham called the mountain there, "The LORD will provide." In Genesis 22:14, the exact mountain is called, "The mountain of the LORD..." Zechariah 8:3 says that this mountain is in Zion - that is, Jerusalem. Could it be Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified? Many scholars think so. It is the mountain on which the ultimate sacrifice for sin was provided.

Insight: Abraham Believed Everything Was Possible With God. He Figured That Even If He Sacrificed His Son, God Would Raise Isaac From The Dead (Hebrews 11:19).