COPYRIGHT WARNING

365 Prophecies: Prophecy 12

The illustration of Abraham offering his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah, as a prequel for God’s offering of His only Son, the Messiah, for the sins of the world on Mount Moriah.

Old Testament Prediction:

Genesis 22:1-2 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”  And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now 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.

New Testament Fulfillment:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 19:17 And Jesus, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.

Luke 22:42 saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Application:

In this twelfth Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus, we see the entire plan of salvation demonstrated in the story of Abraham offering his son Isaac.

After waiting for the promise of God for nearly 25 years, Abraham finally has the son that he has dreamed of. Isaac is perhaps in his early thirties and Abraham is a very old man of about 130 years of age.

Isaac has become everything that Abraham dreamed of. He is the apple of his father’s eye and the delight of his life. Abraham loves Isaac so much that he has become a danger to his father.

In order for anyone to truly Love God, He must be first and foremost in everything. There is no room on the throne of our heart for anyone except God. To place a son, a daughter, mother, or father, or any other person above the Lord is to commit the gravest error.

Matthew 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

It is only right that the Lord demand that He is the first love of our life. By His very nature as the Creator of Sustainer of all life, God has the right to be worshipped exclusively by all of His creation.

To give him an opportunity for growth, the Lord desires that Abraham be able to understand by practical experience, who is truly first in his life. This test is not for the Lord so that He can find out where Abraham’s heart is. The test is for Abraham. One of the attributes of God is that He knows everything. There is nothing that He must learn, or discover. What makes the Lord, God, is that He knows all things from eternity. The Lord understands Abraham so well, that He is keenly aware of his love for Isaac. The problem is that Abraham does not know that his love for his son has surpassed his love for God.

It is very easy for us to fall so much in love with a person that they become the focus of our heart, our time, and our affections. Our entire life can easily be directed at a person, above everything else. In order to have a correct relationship with God, and experience a truly blessed life, we must keep the Lord first in everything.

Often when we begin to feel empty, or sense that something is missing in our life, this void can be explained by the absence of God. We were created to worship the Lord and when He is missing, we feel our estrangement from Him.

Remember that the phrase: God tested Abraham does not mean that the Lord needs to find out if Abraham truly loves him. It is Abraham that needs to discover whether the Lord is truly first in his life.

The difference between taking Jesus as our Savior and allowing Him to be Lord:

We can progress no further in our life with the Lord until we have settled the issue of Lordship. Many people take Jesus as their Savior because they don’t want to go to hell, and they hope to spend eternity in heaven. Few there are, who understand the importance of keeping Jesus first as Lord over every aspect of their life. Without Jesus being the one in control of our life, He is little more than a Genie in a bottle, who waits for us to command Him.

Can a person be saved if they take Jesus as their Savior only without allowing Him to also be Lord? I don’t really know, and I am not sure that the case can be made that believing in Jesus as Savior only, is all that is required. Jesus said this:

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

God desires that Abraham have the issue of Lordship settled in his heart, before He can take him to the next level of his spiritual growth. In our life, the importance of making and keeping Jesus as the Lord of our life, is equally significant. Without allowing the Lord to be the decision maker in all of our dreams, goals, and hopes, we become Lord over Him, instead of He being Lord over us.

Genesis 22:3 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 the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Genesis 22:4-5 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

Abraham understands that he is taking Isaac up the hill to offer him as a sacrifice. Even so, he tells the young men who came along on the journey to serve him, that he and Isaac will both be returning soon.

This is a subtle hint of Abraham’s faith. In order to carry out the Lord’s command to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord, Abraham must believe that when he kills his son, God will raise him back to life again. Otherwise how would God be able to fulfill His promise to make one of Abraham’s descendants, a great nation?

In other words, Abraham believes in the resurrection of an only son in order to obtain the promises of God.

This sounds very much like the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Another similarity between the sacrifice that Jesus made, and the offering of Abraham’s son, is that the wood for the burnt offering is laid on the shoulders of Isaac.

Genesis 22:6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.

John 19:17 And Jesus, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.

While we stand in amazement at Abraham’s faith in being able to offer up his only son, we should not miss the equally stunning detail that Isaac is allowing his father to tie him to the altar for the sacrifice. Isaac is not a young boy, he is a man of about 30 years of age. Isaac could easily overpower his aging father, if he was not willing to be the sacrifice. Notice that Isaac the son, was willing to give his life. Much in the same way that Jesus was willing to lay down His life for all of us.

Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Finally, as Abraham and Isaac reach the top of the mountain where the sacrifice will be offered, the question is asked “Where is the Lamb for the sacrifice”

Genesis 22:7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:8  And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the Lamb for the sacrifice.

Another translation of this verse is “God will provide Himself as the lamb….”

No matter how these verses are translated or interpreted, the clear message that is being given to us is that Abraham’s offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah, was a visual illustration of the future sacrifice that God’s only Son would make of Himself on Mount Moriah.

This 12th prophecy of the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled, is found here in Genesis 22:8 where Abraham prophesies that it will be the lamb of God that will take away the sins of the world in the future, that Abraham, Isaac, and the events of Genesis chapter 22 are illustrating:

“…My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”