We have the record of an unusual and challenging event in the book of Genesis when God called Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Gen. 22:1-2). We know from the New Testament that this was a lesson about Christ.
1. Relationship. When God told Abraham to offer his “only son” it was a picture of God’s giving of His only Son to be the Savior of the world (John 3:16). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10). The writer of Hebrews speaks of the offering of Isaac in this way: “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Heb. 11:17). In the offering of his only begotten son, he pre-pictured the Father of heaven giving His only begotten Son for us (John 3:16).
2. Redemption. “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” (Gen. 22:6-8). There is so much imagery here that we could scarcely discuss it all in one article. When Abraham said, “God will provide himself a lamb” he could not have fully understood the future significance of his words. When John the Baptist saw Christ, he spoke of Him in this way: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). God provided the ultimate lamb by sending His Son into the world.