Let's take a look the event itself and insert some of the prophetic parallels. God promised Abraham a son but his wife was barren. Abraham and Sarah waited many years in anticipation. God miraculously enabled Sarah to conceive and bear Isaac long after the normal age of childbearing. The name Isaac is actually the anglicized version of the Hebrew "Yitzhak"  which means laughter. They were overjoyed with laughter at the thought of Sarah giving birth at such a late age.

A prophetic parallel is that the Messiah was also a promised Son. A messianic prophecy from Isaiah sheds further light on this. "For a child is born unto us, A son is given unto us; And the government is upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:5 The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text, The Jewish Publication Society of America). The Jews waited many centuries until Messiah Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Messiah, who is to rule the nations, came first to die for the sins of the people.

In Genesis 22 we read of how God spoke to Abraham and commanded him to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering (sacrifice) on one of the mountains there. It is interesting to note that Jerusalem was later built on Mount Moriah. Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem at a place called Calvary which is an outcropping of Mount Moriah. So it seems that Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac at the very place that Jesus would later die for the sins of the world.

Genesis 22:4 says that "on the third day" Abraham saw the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac. This means that Abraham had borne the grief of the impending loss of Isaac for three days. It was a prophetic foreshadowing of the fact that Jesus would be in the grave until the third day and therefore his disciples would endure grief for three days.

Genesis 22:6 says that Abraham took the wood of the sacrifice and laid it on Isaac. This too is a prophetic picture of Jesus the Messiah who, centuries later, would bear His wooden cross to Calvary to be sacrificed on it. The purpose of a sacrifice is substitutionary atonement. The lamb or bull offered in sacrifice under the Old Testament sacrificial system bore the death that the people deserved. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus, as the ultimate lamb of God, bore the sins of all people and died for all people and thus fulfilled and ended the animal sacrificial system.

As they approached the place of sacrifice, Isaac, who hadn't been told that he was to be the sacrifice, asked Abraham "'where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' and Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son'" (Genesis 22:7-8 from the same Jewish Bible quoted above). The wording "God will provide Himself the lamb" as rendered in English by a Jewish Bible is striking in that it implies that God Himself will be the sacrificial lamb. This too was fulfilled in the promised Messiah, who as the only begotten Son of God asserted that He Himself is divine and He is one with the Father. The Old and New Testaments contain many passages that teach the divinity of Messiah. It is beyond the scope of this article to quote and discuss them now.

Isaac was not sacrificed because God stopped Abraham from killing him. Finally and interestingly Isaac is not mentioned again in the book of Genesis until two chapters later when he receives his bride Rebecca. This is a prophetic picture of the second coming of Messiah. Jesus has been in heaven for nearly two millennia. He will soon come to receive His church which is His bride.   

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

DEFENDING THE FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world. The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel. All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given. To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)