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One of the most deeply moving stories in the Bible is found in Genesis 22.  There God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  It seems almost unreal that God, who is a loving God, would require such a thing.  If we did not know the end of the story it would be a puzzling mystery.

There are two main lessons to learn from it.  First, it is about the testing of a man’s faith and obedience and secondly, it is a picture of the cross.

The Bible records, “Now it came to pass after these things God tested Abraham.”  To test means to discover the genuineness and strength of his faith. Over the years Abraham was tested many times as he waited for the promised son.  Some of the tests he passed and some he failed.

He is now 115 years old and he faces his greatest test.  Sometimes as we grow older, we think we will not be tested anymore, but that is not the case.  As long as we live we will be tested.

Abraham had three responses.  First, he obeyed.  He did not waver or hesitate.  The record says, “So Abraham rose early in the morning.”  Rather than run from the trial, he embraced it.  He surrenders his will to the will of God.

Secondly, he worshipped.  He told the servants, “I and the lad will go yonder and worship.”  When Job faced his trial “he fell to the ground and worshipped.”  If, as you read this, you are in a time of deep testing, focus your thoughts on God and worship Him.

Thirdly, he declared his faith in God’s promise.  He told the servant, “We will come back to you.”  He was going to do God’s will but both he and Isaac would be returning.  The Book of Hebrews explains by recording, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.”

When you are tested, find a promise in the Bible, and place your feet of faith on it and it will carry you through.

This is also a prophetic picture of the cross.  Abraham, the father, was a picture of God.  Isaac, the son, was a picture of Jesus.Isaac was the beloved son.  God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.”  God spoke from heaven, on three occasions concerning Jesus and said, “This is My beloved Son.”  John records, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Abraham and Isaac journey together toward the place of sacrifice. No one else was present. What happened at the cross of Calvary was a transaction between the Father and the Son.  The wood that Isaac carried was a picture of the cross. The fire and knife that Abraham bore were pictures of judgement.

On the way, Isaac notes the provisions for the sacrifice – the wood, the knife and the fire, but questions his father, “Where is the lamb?”  Abraham replies that God will provide.

Arriving at the mountain Abraham builds the altar. Isaac willingly offers himself, as Jesus later said, “I lay down My life…no one takes it from Me.” Isaac was a strong young man and could have resisted his aging father, but he did not.

Just as Abraham was raising the knife to deliver the fatal blow, God called from heaven and showed Abraham that He had prepared a substitute – “So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.”

Jesus has become our substitute.  He died in our place.  He bore our sins on the cross.  As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.”  He bore the wrath of God for us and now offers us forgiveness.