A Substitutionary Ram for One Son, Another Son...the Sacrificial Lamb...

I have been walking through the life of Abraham and his family recently. As I was praying about what I should share with my teens last week, the life event of Abraham and his promised son, Isaac came to mind. Like many, I have read this event many times, and many of you have probably already thought about this. But for some reason it just really stuck out to me. And so I thought I would share it with you as well. Genesis 22(ESV) The Sacrifice of Isaac 22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And 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 they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter 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 lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” Now just stop with me for a moment. God asked Abraham to do What? That in and of itself is a hard thing to swallow. But let's look at Abraham's response- "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him." 1st- It is not recorded what was going on in Abraham's mind...one can only surmise his extreme pain and fear...yet he went... He had plenty of time to change his mind. It says he arose early. He could have chosen to sleep in...he could have gone out and done his chores for the day, fed his family. He could have even gone to consult some God fearing friends of his, asked their opinion on what he ought to do. Prayed about it for a few days...but no...what was his immediate response? "He went." Do we have that close of a relationship with God that when He speaks, we know Him that well and do not question it...and respond as obediently as Abraham did? It's a question I have to ask myself. 2nd- Let us imagine for a moment, going and cutting the wood for the offering...which would be his son...his precious, promised son. Let's really think about that...let it sink in a bit. Don't rush over it...with every strike of the ax, he knew what is was for. He knew that after that ax was lain down, he would have to pick up a dagger to pierce his son upon God's request. Really? Could you be that obedient? I too must ask myself that question. For those of you who are parents, we could only imagine how excruciating that must have been. The extreme psychological anguish that must have caused him. Emotional agony. Even physical pain he may have endured knowing what was coming. Yet...he obeyed. 3rd- O', his precious son, "My father!...Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” You see Isaac was very much old enough to understand what was going on here. And O', Abraham's amazing response, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” I do not believe this is a man who does not know His God. Yes, as human as he was with all that I described above, he still held out hope that His God would come through and save his son from this horrific sacrifice from his very own hands. 4th- "So they went, both of them together... Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood." Again, let's stop here for a moment. Where is Abrahams faith now, again...it is now only moments until he must do as God has asked him to do...Imagine with me, could he look at his son Isaac? Was his son looking at him? Were they both weeping? Let us not forget once again that Isaac is fully aware of what is going to happen. He was old enough to run, to fight, yet he too submitted to his father's will...and was obedient to what they both believed was the very end. His death by his father's hands. 5th- Abraham raises his hands...what most likely felt like an eternity, broken and desperate, maybe just waiting one more second for God to call it all off...and then..."what was that?" "the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” (Oh in that very moment what would have he been feeling? Think, feel, put yourself in his place. Imagine his tear-filled eyes, his aching body, the extreme intensity of that very moment crying out) “Here I am.” (and the angels response,) “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Have you ever been relieved about something in your life? I am not sure if anything could come as close as to Abraham's relief. His shaking body, going from one extreme emotion to the next- Agony to Joy! Weeping to...well probably still more weeping but for another reason...untying his son as fast as he could...as they stared deeply into eachother's eyes!! "THE LORD IS FAITHFUL! Praise God Almighty, HE has saved my son!!!" Oh dear one's enjoy that moment...take a deep breath, Isaac was saved from the hand of his father. God removed the sacrifice upon him and placed it on a ram. (which should have been a lamb) But, let's not leave this the sacrificial altar entirely, just yet. You see, there was another life event that happened some years later between a Son and Father, with the same request. The Father was to sacrifice His Precious Son. His One and only Son- Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So, how do these two stories differ? (in many ways yes) but this is what I want to point out to you) This time, there was no ram to be a substitute...this time the Father had to crush and pierce His son... Like Abraham, God the Father, loved His Son...even more than Abraham, because GOD is Love...it is the fullness of who He is. It is the very fiber of His character and nature...Love is God and God is love. So when God chose to send His Son, to take upon the world's sin by crucifying Him, like Abraham and Isaac, both were fully aware of what all was to come. Yet the Father did not change His mind and His Son -Jesus Christ- the fulfillment of the Lamb Of God- the perfect sacrifice, not a ram, did not fight Him...He willingly submitted to His Father's will...and died for all mankind... Have you ever thought about how excruciating that was for God the Father? The agony of watching your creation destroy Your Son, because you called it to be? Yet scripture says it "Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him" Now then, why do we wait to respond to His great love? Why then do we turn our backs on Him? Why do we keep putting things of this world over Him, wealth, status, ourselves over and before Him! Look at what HE did for us! He knows and understands every pain you have...This is a good and loving God...