Remember Abraham? Just in case you don’t, let’s look at what Paul said in Romans:
Romans 4:18-21
18 In hope against
hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to
that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." (God had promised Abraham, in Genesis
12:1-3, that he would have more descendants than he could count)
19 Without becoming
weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was
about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; (How many 100 year olds do you know? The word here for dead is not just for dead,
but for impotency)
20 yet, with respect
to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith,
giving glory to God,
21 and being fully
assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
Abraham did not waver, but trusted God to deliver on His promise. Then, of course, God did deliver, and Isaac was born. We pick up this story 25 years later, so Isaac was 25, and Abraham was 125.
Genesis 22:1-2
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
(An interesting side
note: This mountain in Moriah is where
the temple was later built, (2 Chronicles 3:1), and was later called
No wonder Abraham is called the father of our faith. He’s 125 years old; he can’t possibly think that he can have another child! But he does not waver in his faith.
Genesis 22:6-8
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.
God provides the lamb for Himself. The sacrifice was for God, and God provided what was needed to be sacrificed. The same thing holds true with the lamb of God.
God demanded a sacrifice for sin, and He provided His Son as the perfect substitute.
God delivers you, forgives you, and blesses you for HIS SAKE:
Psalms 23:3
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Psalms 25:11
11 For Your name's sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Isaiah 43:25
25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.
Genesis 22:9-14
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."
God has certainly provided. God provided the perfect sacrifice for sin.
John 1:29
29 The next day he
saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world!