The Bittersweet Paradox

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

On Sacrifice

CHAPTER 22

The Offering of Isaac

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
5 Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you."
6 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 the two of them walked on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out 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 I am."
12 He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to
this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."

15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

When I worked at a church in Louisville, the worship minister there had studied this chapter in depth, and gave me some incredible insight into it. I'm going to try to remember what he told me, and hopefully it will be accurate too:) They're some amazing tidbits.

At the beginning of the chapter, it talks about the land of Moriah. The land of Moriah is where Jerusalem was built, and the mountain, Mount Moriah, where Abraham was directed to by God to sacrifice Isaac is the very mountain where the temple was eventually built. Calvary, which Abraham propheticallyeferences when he says "God Himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice", wasn't far away from this very location.

The passage later indicates that Abraham tells his servants that he and the boy are going to the mountain to worship. This illustrates the principle that part of worship is indeed sacrifice, and obedience. Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.

The end of the passage references "the angel of the LORD". When "the angel of the LORD" is referenced in the Old Testament, it is actually referring to Jesus, before he came to earth as a human. When the Old Testament refers an angel of God in the Old Testament, it's just an angel, but the capitol "the angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament, it indeed refers to Jesus. Thus, it is Jesus who tells Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac, all the while being extremely close to the physical place where He would eventually lay down His life for the sins of the human race.

Awesome stuff.

Alex, 11:32 AM