The High Ground

"And it came to pass that God did test Abraham; and He said … 'Take thine only son Isaac 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.'

And Abraham rose up early in the morning and took Isaac his son, the wood for the burnt offering, and went unto the place which God had told him. Then sometime on the third day of the journey Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." (Genesis 22:1-4 … edited)

This is the grand crisis, the crowning event in the history of Abraham, and it is now taking place. He has been called to a high and singular destiny that no other man will be asked to fulfill. He is called upon to do what no one other than God the Father would be willing to do, and that is … to offer his only Son as a sacrifice.

Isaac as a sacrifice needs to be thought of as what is called a shadow and type of the coming Messiah … Jesus, the Lamb of God who was also the only begotten Son of God.

Abraham has obeyed the call. From the years of delay that Abraham experienced in seeing God fulfill the promise of his son Isaac being born, he has been taught to simply believe in the word of God. If God said it, that was good enough for him; he knew it would come to pass.

Abraham didn't question. When God called his name he said … here I am … ready to once again obey His commands, be what they may. God had promised him that he would be the father of many nations, and yet God was now going to require him to kill his only son, and offer him as a sacrifice … for what?

The issue was not that God desired the sacrifice of Isaac by killing and burning him upon the altar; but rather Abraham's complete surrender, and a willingness to offer him up to God even by death.

It didn't matter … he would obey knowing God's promise was still good. If it was necessary, God would just have to raise Isaac from the dead.

The place where God wanted it done … in the land of Moriah … was a three day journey. But why there? I believe there were two reasons.

1.) A three day journey would give Abraham time to consider what he was about to do … kill his son. That would give him time to change his mind, time to turn around and go home. And if he went on and did it, he must do it deliberately, kill him as a sacrifice; he was to cut the throat of his son, cut up his quarters, and then lay every piece in order upon the wood and then burn all to ashes. This he was to do with religious deliberation, seriousness, and with devotion to God.

2.) The land of Moriah … nothing was there yet, it was just a valley with some small mountains around it. God told Abraham … "offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." What's so special about this one mountain that God picks out as the spot where Isaac will be offered? This was the hill country of the land of Canaan; in fact it was the exact location where Jerusalem would later be built. The mountain that God chose is just west of where Solomon's temple was to be built. It is the highest ground around Moriah. This spot today is called … Mount Calvary … which is known to be the same mount on which Jesus was crucified.

So, if Isaac was a shadow and type of the coming Messiah; God had a reason to choose the highest ground in the area for this sacrifice to be offered … Jesus later would be lifted up for all to see on this same mountain … higher even than the pinnacle of the temple.

The scripture goes on …

"Abraham took the wood 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 spoke unto Abraham his father, and 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." (Genesis 22:6-8 … edited)

There are two interesting comparisons to be pointed out here … Isaac was bound and Jesus was also bound before they were to be sacrificed; Isaac carried the wood to the top of this mountain; Jesus also carried the wood in the form of the cross up to the very same place.

Abraham's only son Isaac, (the heir of God's promise) now lies ready to bleed and die by his own father's hand, who never shrinks back from the doing of it. Now this obedience of Abraham in offering up Isaac is a representation, a shadow and type of what God also did for us. God the Father also delivered up His only begotten Son Jesus, (who was God's promise of a Saviour) to bleed and die for us as the Lamb of God; nor did His Father shrink back from the doing of it either.

When Abraham told Isaac that … "God would provide Himself a lamb" … that is exactly what He did. Isaiah 7:14 states … "a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" … which being interpreted is, God with us.

John said it this way … "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father … the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:1, 14 & 29 … edited)

The "Word" in Heaven was just as much God as the Father or Holy Spirit was. It was that part of the Godhead … the spoken Word of God that became … the Lamb of God on earth, the man Jesus. This is how "God would provide Himself a lamb."

God Himself became the Lamb.

The story continues …

"Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son; but God said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him.' Abraham looked up and behind him a ram was caught in a thicket by his horns; so Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in place of his son."
(Genesis 22:10, 12 & 13 … edited)

There are some who believe and teach that God allowed Abraham to actually kill his son and then raised him from the dead. I personally don't believe so. The first reason is just what the Word says; God said … stop, wait, don't do it. (My translation.)

Then He provided the ram (or Lamb) instead. That's the whole point of all this … providing a way out from the judgment of sin … so man would not have to die.

I believe God never intended for Abraham to kill Isaac. God tests, but never tempts man to sin, which is the second reason … it would have been sin for Abraham to kill another human being, let alone his own son. The Bible is silent on why God had Abraham go through the motions. This is one of the unrevealed secret things that belong unto God.

"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us ..." (Deuteronomy 29:29)

To finish the story …

And God said, "By myself have I sworn, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore … and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed … because thou hast obeyed my voice."
(Genesis 22:16-18 … edited)

The promise came many years before. The blessing came after Abraham was obedient.

God gave man a free will even knowing that would allow man to choose sin anytime he wanted; and God still did it. So, in one sense … man's sin became God's problem.

God chose … "to take on the responsibility of man's sin Himself."

And He took it on. God, all by Himself. Without help from angels or men; without help from anyone, God redeemed fallen man all by Himself … because no one else could. God had to die. Nothing less would do. God had to pay the price. God bore the full weight of the cost of salvation alone, by Himself.

If man was willing to kill his son … God would have to be willing to kill His Son.

Behold the Lamb of God … lifted up on … the high ground.


Comments welcome.