The Sacrifice of Isaac

Last Sunday we started a new series called an Old Testament Easter, looking at Old Testament pictures of the cross. We started with the sacrifice of Isaac from Genesis 22:1-14. I must confess that this is not my favourite passage. Before I was a parent I found it bizarre, as a parent I find it deeply disturbing. It is not a passage I enjoy. One problem. It is in the Bible. It is there and it must be dealt with. One of the important aspects of it is that it is a picture of the cross. Isaac is called Abraham's only son even though there is another son because he is the unique son of the promise. God has many adopted children but only one begotten Son and that is Jesus. Both Isaac and Jesus are called the beloved. I believe that God gave his friend Abraham a peek into His heart as to what He would go through two thousand years later. We see Isaac carrying the wood of the sacrifice as Jesus carried the wood of the cross. Isaac is to be sacrificed at Moriah. Jewish tradition says that Moriah was the place of the Temple. Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice replaced the Temple sacrifices. Here is where things change. Isaac does not die but a ram becomes his substitute. At this point we become Isaac and Jesus becomes the goat. Jesus is our substitute so that we do not have to die spiritually. This story is also important in that it teaches us that obedience is not easy, all that we have is God's and obedience does not go unrewarded. We may never enjoy this story, but continues to have important principles that speak to the Christian faith.