The Lamb

October 18, 2021

This week we read Genesis 19-26. We will focus most of the discussion on Genesis 22. Before that, let’s review. Abraham was from the linage of Shem, one of Noah’s sons. God promised Abraham that he would have as many offspring as the stars (Genesis 15:5) and make nations and kings from him (Genesis 17:9). When Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah 90 years old they had a miracle and she bore a son whom they named Isaac. On the 8^th day Isaac was circumcised, as the covenant between God and Abraham required. Abraham had faith. God was going to bless Abraham with as many offspring as the stars through Isaac.

When Isaac was a teenager, God tested Abraham in Genesis chapter 22.

Verse 1: “Sometime later God tested Abraham.” The word tested means to prove faithfulness. God was going to see if Abraham was really faithful.  

He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Notice the word “only son” in verse 2. This is similar to John 3:16, “⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Verse 3-5 say: “Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

When you look at verse 3 you can see that Abraham did not wait to follow God’s command. He immediately took his servants and Isaac to the place God called him. Then he told the servants to “Stay here…we will come back to you.” This shows that Abraham had faith that even though God asked Abraham to sacrifice his child, God would somehow provide the sacrifice, or bring Isaac back from the dead. After all, God promised Abraham that he would make a great nation through Isaac.

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.”

When Abraham told Isaac God would provide the lamb, this was a prophecy that Jesus would be “the Lamb of God.” More about this later.

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^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring^[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[c] because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.”

In Romans 11:17, Paul says ^“17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned,”

Because of Abraham’s faithfulness, God blessed him and his descendants. God also said that all nations on earth would be blessed because of his faithfulness. This is a reference to the blessing we have through Abraham’s descendant Jesus Christ.

Abraham had faith in God and the Lord provided the sacrificial lamb in place of Isaac. The Lord also provides the sacrificial Lamb for you and me and all of mankind if we have faith.

John 1:29 says, “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 is talking about Jesus, who died on the cross and rose three days later to take away our sins, for all who have faith in him, and live eternally with the perfect God who created us.

1 John 4:9 says, “⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

Do you have faith in God and Christ? Have you accepted Christ as your sacrificial Lamb that has taken your sin away? The Bible says in Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you would like prayer or want to discuss this, please email me through the blog.

Next week we will read Genesis 27-33. Blessings while you read.