Chapter 15: God Provides The Lamb
Q1 - What similarities can you think of between Isaac and Jesus? More importantly, what differences can you think of?
A1 - Several similarities exist between Isaac and Jesus. You may think of more.
Their fathers did not withhold their sons from being offered as a sacrifice. Both their fathers knew that upon this one son of theirs hinged great promises. All of God’s promises to Abraham depended upon Isaac being able to create a lineage to the Messiah. All of God’s promises to the world depended upon His Son being able to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice. So even though their fathers loved them very much, they both were willing to surrender them. Abraham did so because God commanded him to do so, while God offered His Son in order to make eternal salvation possible for mankind.
They trusted their fathers completely. Isaac questioned his father concerning what was to be sacrificed but trusted his father’s words that God would provide the lamb. Concerning Jesus, 1 Peter 2:23 (NLT) says this: “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”
They went willingly to the place of the sacrifice. Isaac allowed his father to bind him and place him upon the altar to sacrifice him. Concerning Jesus’s death, the prophet Isaiah said this: “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7, NLT). Jesus Himself stated this in John 10:17–18 (NIV): “‘The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’”
They carried the wood. Abraham placed the wood for the sacrifice upon Isaac, thereby causing him to carry the wood for his own sacrifice. Jesus, according to John’s account, was forced to carry His own cross (John 19:17). The other three gospels state that the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). Commentators who have studied the wording of these accounts suggest that Jesus had been compelled to initially carry His own cross but because of His utter physical exhaustion they compelled Simon to finish carrying it to the site of the crucifixion. In fact, Luke’s account (Luke 23:26) says the soldiers made Simon carry the cross “behind” or “after” Jesus, depending on the Bible version. The wording from Mark’s account suggests the possibility that the soldiers may have had to carry or at least support Jesus the rest of the way (see Mark 15:22).
They were more willing, compliant, and unaggressive by nature. Isaac would later agree to a marriage arranged by his father and the wife chosen by Abraham’s servant (see Genesis 24). In contrast, Isaac sent his son, Jacob, to go find his own wife (see Genesis 28:1–5). Isaac also avoided confrontation on several occasions. When living in Gerar due to the famine, he told King Abimelech that his wife was his sister. Like his father Abraham, he feared being killed because of his beautiful wife. When the Philistines became envious of him because of his prosperity (God had blessed him with bountiful yields in his crops), they stopped up his water wells and then quarreled with him over his newly dug wells. Isaac avoided conflict by simply moving on and digging new wells until finally no one challenged him (see Genesis 26:12–22).
Most of the time Jesus was unaggressive and even declared to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, that if it were his servants would fight (John 18:36). However, He did drive out the moneychangers and those who bought and sold things in the temple and turned over their tables (Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–18). He also cursed a fig tree for not having fruit so that it withered (Mark 11:12–14, 20–21).
The following passage in Isaiah 53:4–7 (NIV) prophesied as to what the character of Jesus would be like and how He would serve as the sacrificial lamb. Note in verse 7 how parts of this description could apply to Isaac as well.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
Concerning the differences between Isaac and Jesus, there are several important ones that come to mind, and again, you may think of more.
Isaac was not actually killed, but Jesus was. God spared Isaac once He saw Abraham’s great faith. Offering human sacrifices went against His precepts, and because Isaac was not a perfect sacrifice, his death would have no lasting impact. God did allow His Son to be killed, however, because He knew that a perfect sacrifice would be the only way to redeem mankind and make eternal salvation available.
God commanded Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering, even though God never desired or condoned human sacrifice. Isaac willingly went along with his father’s actions, but the sacrifice was not his idea. Thankfully, God spared Abraham from having to actually go through with offering his son. On the other hand, Jesus came to earth to do His Father’s will. He gave Himself willingly, but as a different type of sacrifice. The blood He shed upon the cross atoned for the sins of all mankind. He had legions of angels at His command, and if He had not wanted to go through with His death, He would not have had to (Matthew 26:51–56). Jesus’s body was not burned and neither were any of his bones broken. When the soldiers came to break His legs in order to hasten his death, they saw that He was already dead and as a result did not break them (John 19:31–37). (This fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 34:20, that not one of his bones would be broken.) Rather, Jesus willingly surrendered His spirit (John 19:30).
Even if Isaac had been killed, he could never have been a perfect sacrifice. Additional sacrifices would have had to be continually offered. However, Jesus lived a life without sin, and as such, He became the perfect sacrifice for sin, once and for all time. After His sacrifice, no future sacrifice will ever have to be made.
Q2 - King David would later tell his son, Solomon, “The LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chronicles 28:9, NIV). If this is true, why did God set about to test Abraham, someone who was so close to Him, if He already knew his heart?
A2 - God tests people in order that their faith may be strengthened and refined. James 1:2–4, (NIV) tells us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Then, possibly to give us insight as to how to handle testing, James goes on to add this in verses 5–8: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Also consider that if God already knows the hearts and minds of people and His testing works to refine our faith, perhaps He’s not testing us solely for His benefit—but also for ours. When we withstand the testing of our faith, we gain greater confidence in our faith. The testing of our faith also reminds us how much we need to depend totally upon God rather than upon our own strength and understanding.
Abraham himself may not have known the depth and strength of his faith until God put him to the test. As Abraham walked back home, it’s likely he did so with an even greater faith than he had when he first departed on his journey. With his willingness to surrender Isaac, he truly proved himself to be the “father of all those who believe” that the Apostle Paul would later declare him to be (Romans 4:11, NKJV; the whole 4th chapter of Romans discusses the faith of Abraham).
Bear in mind there is a difference between God testing people and Satan tempting them. James goes on to tell us: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:13–15, NIV). [A good discussion on this topic entitled, “What does James 1:13 mean?” is presented at https://www.bibleref.com/James/1/James-1-13.html. Look for the article and click “Expand” to see whole thing.]
We will all face both testing and temptations while we live on this earth. The book of Job is an excellent study of God allowing someone to be tempted by Satan. Even Jesus was tempted (see Matthew 4:1–11). And because Jesus was tempted, He understands what it’s like for us to endure temptations. Hebrews 4:15, (NIV) states: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
Concerning the temptations of life, always remember the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul in this passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV): “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
Q3 - Why do you think God commanded Abraham to travel on a three day journey to the land of Moriah to offer Isaac as a sacrifice? Why did He not want him to make the offering right now, where he currently lived?
A3 - Having to travel for three days meant Abraham had to make deliberate preparations. Not only did he need the wood, the fire, and the knife for the sacrifice, but he also needed to take servants and a donkey and prepare food for all their meals and bedding for sleeping. This sacrifice could not be done quickly or easily, but would require planning and thought.
All during the time Abraham was making preparations and then traveling, he must have been doing a lot of praying to God and a lot of thinking about what God’s command meant and how it would impact all their lives. His preparation time also gave him the chance to back out if he felt he must do so. At least the location was far enough away from Sarah and where he was currently living so that his wife and household would not be nearby during the sacrifice. The fact that he left his servants some distance from Moriah indicates that he didn’t want anybody else to witness the terrible deed he had been commanded to do.
In having Abraham and Isaac travel to the land of Moriah, it’s possible God placed the location of Abraham’s sacrifice in the area, and some claim the same spot, as where the threshing floor of Araunah (or Ornan) the Jebusite would later be located. (This was near Jerusalem and was the spot where God stopped the angel from the destruction He had ordered as the result of one of David’s sins. See 2 Samuel 24 for the entire account.) In 2 Chronicles 3:1, this spot is identified as Mount Moriah, and it became site of the temple which Solomon built. And, if this was the same location near Jerusalem, recall that Melchizedek lived near there (Genesis 14:18), the same Melchizedek whom Christ’s priesthood would connect back to rather than to the Levitical priesthood established by the Law of Moses (see Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1, 10–21 for more on Jesus becoming High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek).
In the whole Bible, Moriah is mentioned only twice: in Genesis 22:2 when God commanded Abraham to go to the “land of Moriah” for the sacrifice of Isaac, and in 2 Chronicles 3:1 which specifically states Solomon’s temple was built at Jerusalem on “Mount Moriah” where the Lord appeared to David at the threshing floor of Ornan (or Araunah) the Jebusite. As you might suppose, Bible commentators disagree as to whether these two references are to the same exact location, the general mountainous area around Jerusalem, or are not related at all.