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And offer him there for a
burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of (Gen.
22:2). The rabbis teach that this was the final exam of ten tests, and
it was no easy trial, but went to the very core of Abraham’s being. This
test demanded heart rending commitment and trust on Abraham’s part.
Isaac was a gift from God to Abraham and Sarah. So like Abraham, we must
ask ourselves: Do I love the gift more that the Giver? Do I trust God
for His plan?
This was Abraham’s dilemma: Isaac was the child of promise through whom
all the nations of the world would be blessed. If he sacrifices Isaac,
what happens to God’s plan? Rather than attempting to figure out how God
was going to accomplish His will, Abraham simply trusted and obeyed, and
with confidence stated, I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and
come again to you. (Gen 22:5). “I and the child will return!” Really?
Abraham knew there was no “plan B” with God. Thus Hebrews reveals to us
“By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac…concluding that God
is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also
did receive him back from the dead” (11:17-19). If God can bring forth
life from Sarah’s dead womb, He can raise the dead back to life.
Regarding Isaac carrying the wood for the burnt offering up the
mountain, the rabbis teach that Isaac was “like a man carrying His
cross” (Genesis Rabbah 56:3). Though Isaac was submitted to his father’s
will, he wasn’t stupid. In verse 7-8 Isaac asks, “My father…Behold the
fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Where’s
the lamb? Isaac, you are the lamb. Could Isaac trust his father? Yes he
could! As parents, our children should be able to have the same
confidence in us: “If my father follows God, I will follow my father.”
In response to Isaac’s question Abraham said, “My son, God will provide
himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together
(Gen. 22:8). Both Abraham and Isaac went willingly to the place of
sacrifice, confident that God would work out the details: and He did! At
just the right time, God halted Abraham, and provided a sacrifice “in
the place of his son Isaac” (Gen. 22:10-13).
Why did Isaac need a sacrifice? He was a good, obedient son. Because
even the best of people need the Lamb. We often think of Messiah’s
sacrifice as sufficient for ‘the worst of people,’ but “all have sinned
and have fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:32). That is why
Messiah came to Israel. Messiah came to the only people who had the
truth of Scripture, the Torah, thus they were the most moral of all
people in the world. But even with the Torah, we see that the best of
people need the Lamb. All are accountable before God; all have sinned.
So we see at the first reference of a lamb for sacrifice, there is a
lamb for the person.
A Lamb for the Family
At Israel’s exodus from Egypt God told
Moses, “And the blood (of the lamb) shall be to you for a sign upon the
houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and
the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land
of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13). This lamb would insure the safety of each of
the families of Israel: “they shall take to them every man a lamb,
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. And if the
household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto
his house take it according to the number of the souls…” (Ex. 12:3,4).
Please note that it says “if the household is too little for the
lamb”--the household may be too little for the lamb, but the lamb is
always more than enough for the household. The Lamb is God’s sufficiency
for the family. and the Lamb is desperately needed! The family is under
spiritual assault like never before. What will secure our family and
children? One of the ‘seeking’ families I have been sharing with told me
how their teenage daughter ran away from home. Saddest of all was the
note she left: “Dad, I feel so guilty for all you’ve done for me. I feel
so ashamed for my mistakes even after all you’ve done for me and the
family.” It was true; he had worked night and day that they might have a
roof over their heads and food on the table, but he hadn’t given them
the most important thing they needed: the Lamb of God. He is sufficient
and more than enough for any household. It isn’t your hard work, your
income, or your sacrifice that will secure your family--it is His
sacrifice. Your family needs the Lamb of God, and thankfully there is
more than enough for your family. Mom and Dad, the best service you can
provide for your family is to share the Lamb of God with them. There is
a Lamb for the family.
A Lamb for Israel
Later in Israel’s history, the Chosen
People are no longer just tribes of families, but are now in the days of
the prophets a nation. What would meet the needs of this people? Isaiah
wrote that Messiah would be the Prince of Peace (9:6,7), and the prophet
recognized that even he, and his people, need the Lamb: All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he
was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to
the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth… He was cut off from the land of living for the
transgression of my people was he stricken (Isaiah 53:6-8). Yeshua went
willingly, “as a lamb led to the slaughter” to the place of sacrifice
“for the transgressions of my people.” There is not only a lamb for the
person, and a lamb for the family, there is a lamb for the people.
In Luke 19:41-42, we see Yeshua on the Mount of Olives approaching
Jerusalem amid thousands hailing Him as the Messiah of Israel. Yet
strangely Yeshua is weeping. Why? Fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, Israel’s
King presents Himself for who He really is, but He knows that He will be
rejected by the people He loves. Thus He wept, “If you had known, even
you, at least in this your day, the things which belong unto your peace!
but now they are hidden from your eyes.” Today Israel longs for peace,
makes deals for peace, gives land for peace, yet peace will not come
until the Prince of Peace is honored. Even so, in the midst of the
world’s troubles, Israeli and Palestinian, Jew and Gentile, are finding
peace in Messiah, and with one another! It is such a joy to see this.
But there are so many that need to hear, and Messiah weeps still. You
can bless Israel, and the best way is to share the Lamb.
A Lamb for the World
Amongst governments and in the media
‘world peace’ is a frequent topic. In our world’s efforts to bring about
peace, one factor is often overlooked: sin. The world has not the power
nor the wisdom to deal with sin. In the New Covenant we read “Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). There
is no wisdom for attaining peace without purity from sin. We need
“wisdom from above [which] is first pure then peaceable” (James 3:17).
God has provided what the whole world needs: forgiveness of sins by
faith in Messiah--and one size fits all! The best fit for the world’s
need is the Lamb of God, and the best news we can share with the world
is the Good News.
A Lamb for Eternity
In the book of Revelation, John describes
how he saw a “strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy
to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” John then tells us
how he wept because no one was found worthy to open the book. Then “…one
of the elders said to me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose
the seven seals thereof” (v. 5). John turned and saw not a lion, but a
lamb standing as though slain, and then tells how he saw and heard all
creation “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory, and blessing…unto Him that sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb
for ever and ever.” There is a Lamb for eternity!
What will secure your life forever? Is it that house, car, or career
that you’ve invested you life in? I often tell the story of the
Microsoft investor who was asked, “If you knew at the beginning what you
know now, what would you have done differently then?” His answer, “I
would have invested more; I would have invested everything!” If you were
to ask that same question to a resident of Heaven, they’d also say, “I
would have invested more of my time, talent and treasure in service for
the Lamb!” Yes, those who are growing into maturity live out the eternal
values of Heaven as they live their lives on earth.
God is committed to growing us into His love and life through concern
for the individual, the family, the nation, the world and living with
eternity in view. There every tribe and nation will praise Him. All
believers from all ages, Jew and Gentile, will be there. Will you be
there? The Lord wants you there, for there He has provided a Lamb for
eternity. Trust in the Lamb, and Happy Passover!
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