*Introduction*
For our meditation, I would like to chose the text from Genesis 22:1-19. This is a familiar story for all of us. A barren man received a son in his extreme old age through the promise and grace of God. Yet, the same God required him to sacrifice this son. Why did God require such a devotion from Abraham, and what was the message of God through this event in Abraham's life? Let us examine three significant 'types' of events in this text that relate to our salvation.
1st Point: *Abraham's Devotion, a Type of God the Father's Unconditional Love (v.1-6)*
Abraham was tested by God and received a command to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham loved his son dearly, but this test became a measurement of his love. The question was whether Abraham loved his only son more than God. Verses 1-6 reveal that Abraham loved God more than anything else. Years earlier, when he was a young man, he demonstrated his love for God by leaving his clan and journeying to the promised land, despite not knowing where it was. Throughout his life, he loved God more than anything else. The son he had in his old age was a gift from God, and when God demanded his son as a sacrifice, Abraham did not complain. He could have said to God, "Oh God, if you plan to kill this child, why did you give him to me in my old age? Why are you testing me like this?" But his deep and unconditional love did not ask such questions. Instead, he remained silent and obeyed God's word, because for him, God was the ultimate priority, not his loving son.
Dear friends, Abraham's love is a type of God's Fatherly love towards us. We can see similarities between Abraham's love for God and God's love for us, the children of Abraham by faith. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Abraham's love for God was a type of this love of God the Father. We can rephrase this verse in Abraham's context: "For Abraham so loved God that he gave his only Son." This is why we are known as the children of Abraham, because our Father loved God more than anything else. Abraham's life was a shadow of the upcoming love of God for our salvation. Let us love our God with a true heart, true spirit, and true will, because our heavenly Father is a loving Father who gave His Son for us sinners.
2nd Point: *Issac’s Submission, a Type of Christ’s Submission (v. 7-12)*
Abraham went to the mountain where God had commanded him to sacrifice his son. When they arrived near the place, his son asked him about the lamb for the burnt offering to God. His father replied that God would provide. However, the young boy soon faced a shocking moment from his father. Abraham built the altar, arranged the wood upon it, and suddenly bound his son and laid him on the altar. This was a shocking experience for the young innocent boy. He realized that his father was going to sacrifice him to God as a burnt offering. Thoughts of pain and death may have flashed through his mind: "Soon my father will slaughter me, and I will be in great pain. My body will become a burnt offering in the fire. Surely I will die, and I will not see my mother again." However, the scripture does not record any such response from the young boy. Instead, he showed a brave heart of submission towards God and his father. The boy did not cry or try to escape, although he must have felt great pain in his heart. At first, he may have prayed to God to save him, but later, he realized that his loving father was doing it for a great purpose - obedience to God. The boy may have felt nervous and prayed to God to save him from this trouble, but the next moment, he realized God's will and submitted himself to it. And God was pleased with both Abraham and Isaac and saved him from suffering and painful death.
Look at the night before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord knew that the next day He would be crucified on the cross instead of Isaac. He said to Peter, Jacob, and John, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death" (Matthew 26:38). Yes, our Lord was very sorrowful because He was going to receive brutal suffering and death for our sin. At the Garden of Gethsemane, with a sorrowful heart, He prayed to His Father, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). Again, after a while, He prayed a second time, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done" (Matthew 26:42). Finally, a third time, He went to His previous place of worship and prayed the same as before. Christ shows a great submission and faith to his heavenly Father. Because of this submission, it is written, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:7-9). God saved Issac through sending an angel but he forsaken his only begotten Son on the cross for our sake.
Beloved brothers in Christ, Isaac's submission was a type of our Lord's submission in receiving the sacrifice on the cross. It revealed to Abraham and through him to his descendants that they should be more faithful to the Chosen one of God the Father. Let us be more submissive and faithful to our Lord and Savior in all of our lives.
3rd Point: *The Sacrifice of a Lamb, a Type of Christ's Sacrifice on The Cross (v. 13-19)*
Abraham retrieved his son, but the requirement for a burnt offering remained unfulfilled. He searched for a substitute, which God miraculously provided. When Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horn. Recognizing it as the substitute, Abraham named the place "The LORD will provide" and offered the ram as a burnt offering to God. Over two thousand years later, another young man approached the River Jordan and received baptism from a baptizer, who was also a prophet and priest. The next day, the baptizer declared to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:35). The two disciples who heard this understood that the substitute lamb offered by Abraham symbolized the 'Lamb of God' and followed Him. Abraham's prophecy and naming of the mountain remained as a reminder of God's providence for generations. Although they didn't realize the upcoming sacrifice of the Lamb of God, they awaited the chosen one of Israel. Righteous individuals like John the Baptist, who meditated on God's word, were confident that the true ram of Abraham would appear in due time.
As an Aaronic priest, John baptized Jesus of Nazareth, preparing Him as the Lamb of God for slaughter, as described in Leviticus 16 regarding the Day of Atonement. This fulfilled the promise made to Abraham by an angel: "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son...in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice" (v. 16-18). Apostle Paul emphasized, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many, but referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). When Abraham received a substitute animal for the burnt offering instead of Isaac, he received the promise of blessing through his offspring. This established the sacrifice of the Lamb as a type of our Lord's sacrifice on the cross. Through Christ's sacrifice alone, all nations are blessed.
Dear beloved, what should we do? We should follow the example of John's disciples, who recognized the real Lamb of God symbolized by Abraham's lamb and renounced everything to follow our Lord. Through this scripture, we realize that Jesus, the substitute for our sin, blesses us. Therefore, let us follow Him and live as His disciples.
,*Conclusion*
It is written, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). This promise was given in early times through the patriarchs and prophets. In the fullness of time, the true Lamb of God shed His blood for us and redeemed us from the bondage of sin. The Gospel was proclaimed to us by the apostles and later by the preachers of the Word. We have a Lamb of God who was slaughtered in eternity, symbolized through Abraham's burnt offering, and fulfilled His sacrifice on the Cross. Therefore, let us follow Him and live in Him, for He is our salvation.
അഭിപ്രായങ്ങള്
ഒരു അഭിപ്രായം പോസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്യൂ