In Gen 15:9-21, God made a covenant with Abram while he
slept, signifying that He alone would do everything to bring the covenant to
pass. God alone passed between the slain animals, signifying the cost of the
covenant. It would cost the life of His Son to ensure that our salvation was
sealed. Just as the pitch (black tar-like substance) that God
instructed Noah to paint the Ark with
prevented the vessel from sinking, so it would be Christ’s blood which would
seal our atonement (Gen 6:14). All Abram and his descendants had to do was to
bear the sign of the Covenant i.e. circumcision (Gen 17:1, 10-11).
In Gen 15:6, we read that Abram believed God and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. His righteousness was by faith, and good
works naturally followed. In fact, Abraham’s faith was so strong that not
enough his love for his only son, Isaac, could surpass it! Did you know that
Abraham believed God could raise the dead long before the Lord had raised
anyone from the dead?
In Gen 22, we read the story of how God commanded Abraham
(previously “Abram” until God changed his name) to sacrifice his only son,
Isaac, on Mt Moriah. Isaac was the son given to Abraham and Sarah in their old
age through the promise of God that Sarah, previously barren, would bear a
child. God had promised that through Isaac, he would bless Abraham and make him
the father of many nations yet now He asked him to sacrifice his only son!
Abraham may have lied and doubted God on many occasions, but this time his
faith did not waver. He clung to the Promise God had made to him, even as he
walked with his young son to the foot of Mt Moriah. He told his servants in Gen
22: 5 to wait for them, that they would return after worshiping God. Abraham
had faith that both he and his son would return home. God would provide the
lamb for the sacrifice, and even if He didn’t and Isaac had to die, that God,
by His Grace would raise him from the dead just to fufil the Promise that was
made and confirmed so many times to Abraham.
We know the rest of the story. God did provide a lamb
for Abraham’s sacrifice and Isaac’s life was spared. We see a picture of
salvation in this story, salvation by God’s grace alone. Isaac was the son of
promise, but he was not the promised Messiah (“seed of the woman”) of whom God
spoke of in Gen 3:15. Through Isaac, Abraham would be a father of many nations,
but through Jesus Christ would come the provision for every one of those
nations to be saved from their sins.
In John 1:29-36, the Baptist upon seeing Christ cried:
“Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!” On Mount Calvary,
a Father and a Son fulfilled what was only a picture at Moriah. Jesus carried
the wood of the cross up Calvary as Isaac did at Moriah. He was and is the Lamb
whom God provided through His Grace, the
Saviour of those who trust in Him. He died the death we deserve, so we could
live a life honouring God for His marvelous Grace. (Jn 3:16)
