OVER THE YEARS, I have heard many, sermons, articles, and papers, written by professing Christians, lambasting God for how He taught Abraham and Isaac about the coming sacrifice of Christ. In each case, God was charged with cruelty, dishonestly, and child abuse. But I have long noted, first from scripture (Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:4), and secondly from experience, that if God ever appears to be in error or sin, the error and sin belongs not to God, but to the man or woman who has ignorantly accused God in thought or word.

God has, throughout the history of men, provided living pictures to illustrate His divine lessons. By drawing us into the lesson, and placing us in a position to care about its outcome, God moves beyond the academic instruction of the scriptures and into our very lives. Because all the lectures in the world cannot equal one lesson learned from experience. Consider this as we examine the living lesson of Abraham and Isaac.

JOURNEY TO CALVARY

“And [God] said, Take now thy son, thine only son [of promise,] Isaac, whom thou lovest, 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.” (Genesis 22:2, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

Note how God touched upon Abraham’s parental affections by speaking of Isaac as Abraham’s only son, whom he loved dearly. Any parent knows the emotions this elicits. This sentiment is only deepened by the call to deliver him over to death. Here we learn, in type, the emotions God would experience when He “spared not His own Son” (Rom. 8:32).

For God had sent Abraham to “one of the mountains” of Moriah, which by no coincidence, was home to the mountain called “Calvary,” which is no doubt the “place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3).

It is significant that “Moriah” means, “the Lord will provide.” For it would be here on Calvary that the promises made to Abraham would be fulfilled. And by God’s design, it would be on Calvary that Abraham learned the message of the cross intimately, and experienced the heart of The Father as a father himself.

THE FAITH:

But before all this was known to Abraham, what might he have thought of God’s command?   Before we put words in Abraham’s mouth that serve our assumptions, let us turn to scripture. For we need not speculate because both the apostle Paul and the author of Hebrews tell us, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that:

“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all {17} (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; {18} Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” {19} And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. {20} He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, {21} And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. {22} And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:16-22, NKJV)

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, {18} Of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” {19} Concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” (Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV)

Abraham knew his God. He knew that if God could raise a son out of a dead womb, He could easily raise him from the dead after Isaac had been slain as a sin offering to God. For Abraham knew that Isaac was the promised seed through which nations would be born. Therefore, Abraham rested in the promise of God, which gave him the strength to obey God. In this faith is the essence of the gospel message encapsulated.

THE LAMB:

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. {4} Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. {5} And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. {6} And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, 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.” (Genesis 22:3-6, KJV)

Here we see in type the Father setting apart the Son for sacrifice. Just as we find the Passover lamb was separated from the flock several days before it was to be killed (Ex. 12:3), so do we find Isaac separated via a three day journey to the base of a mountain upon which the offering is to take place.

THE CROSS:

Once at the base of the mountain, Abraham and Isaac left the mules and servants behind and traveled alone up the side of the mountain. They had brought the wood needed for the sacrifice from home, and having left the mules behind, the burden of carrying the wood now fell upon Isaac.

It is here that we must correct some common misconceptions about Isaac. Most story book accounts portray Isaac as a small child. This has led some critics to charge God with child abuse. Because what kind of God would subject a child to the threat of certain death, especially a death that he cannot understand? And what kind of father forces a small child to haul a heavy load of wood up a mountainside? But all such objections are silenced when it is learned that Isaac was not a child by our modern standards. He was an adult child of Abraham, capable of bearing his own burdens, both physical and emotional.

THE WITNESSES:

With that understood, we can turn our attention to the parallels found between Isaac and Christ, as the type and anti-type of God’s sacrificial solution to mankind’s sin problem. Immediately we see that Isaac’s bearing of his own sacrificial wood up the mountainside clearly foreshadowed Christ’s own trek up Calvary while bearing the wood of His cross. And what of the two men who journeyed with Abraham and Isaac? Why was Abraham inclined to bring them with him but not directly involve them in the sacrifice? God placed this upon Abraham’s heart that these men might serve as witnesses, but not participants in the sacrifice. These two men witnessed Isaac carrying the wood on his shoulder up the mountain, but were not allowed to witness what took place personally between Isaac and his father at the altar. Looking to the cross, we find “two men,” the two thieves, who followed Abraham’s greater Son of promise (Jesus Christ), but whose vision of Jesus was also obscured for the space of three hours:

“And [the repentant thief] said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. {43} And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise. {44} And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” (Luke 23:42-44, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

I GIVE MY LIFE, NO MAN TAKES IT FROM ME:

Now consider Abraham’s answer to Isaac when he inquired as to where the sacrificial lamb they would be offering would be found.

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? {8} And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” (Genesis 22:7-8, KJV)

Some would count this as a lie, reckoning that Abraham knew only that Isaac was to be the lamb of sacrifice. Yet this presumption forgets the presence of God in this matter. For the Holy Spirit of God was with these two men, and inspired Abraham to prophecy to Isaac a true answer apart from his own understanding. For we will shortly discover that God prevents Abraham from going through with the sacrifice of Isaac and provides a lamb for them to sacrifice instead. Thus, every word of Abraham’s reply was true. This is called a word of knowledge, and is supplied by God wholly separate from our own perceptions of God’s intentions.

“And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.” (Genesis 22:9, KJV)

The conversation between Abraham and Isaac is not recorded, but it’s outcome is clearly understood. Isaac, as an adult son, could easily have overpowered the ninety-nine year old patriarch had he objected to God’s command. But instead of resisting, Isaac quietly allowed himself to be bound and positioned on the very wood he had carried up the mountainside. Isaac offered no protests, but obediently humbled himself, setting aside the strength he could have used to free himself, and thus submitted to the will of God. This would picture the disposition and attitude of Christ.

“And being found in fashion as a man, [Jesus] humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

“Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. {18} No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, KJV)

Isaac, as an illustrative type of Christ, also had this power. He was not a scared little boy who was overcome by the strength of his father. He was not a confused youth who had no understanding of what was happening to him. On the contrary, Isaac was a man of strength who foreshadowed the strength of Christ, and who knew full well what God had asked of him and willingly submitted himself to the will of God no matter what the cost.

“And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. {11} And the Angel of the LORD [Jesus incarnate] called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. {12} And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. {13} And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. {14} And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.’” (Genesis 22:10-14, KJV, italicized content added)

THE CROSS MADE PERSONAL:

Jesus, pre-incarnate, which is to say, before He took on the flesh of men, came as a messenger (which is the definition of the word “angel”) and stopped Abraham from killing Isaac, but not from offering a sacrifice. Here the type passes from Isaac to the ram “offered up in his stead” which is a beautiful foreshadow of Christ dying in the stead of sinners. Similarly in other scriptures we find this double type (both Isaac and the ram) wherein two goats are offered on the Day of Atonement, and two birds at the cleansing of the leper. This is how the Gospel was “preached unto Abraham” by the living lessons of divine instruction (Gal. 3:8).

Thus Abraham stood on Calvary as The Father, with Isaac portraying the surrender of Jesus Christ His Son. Both Abraham and Isaac learned, first hand, what God was willing to suffer in order to satisfy justice and free mankind from the bondage of sin. Jesus would be offered up in the very place Abraham offered up Isaac, with Christ raised again from the dead on the third day, just as Abraham received Isaac back again on “the third day.” For from the day Abraham received command from God to offer Isaac up as a burnt offering, to the day he reached Calvary three days later, his son was as good as dead to him.

Death is something in which we, as men, want no part. It is natural to seek after life, and so are we called to live in God. But there is something that we must die to if we are to be acceptable in His sight. We must die to ourselves and no longer serve the sins of the flesh. It is this dying to self that God requires of all His children.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: {6} Knowing this, that our old man [our old life of sin] is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. {7} For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:5-7, KJV)

Isaac was planted “in the likeness of Christ’s death,” when he did not seek to save his life, but gave it willingly to God.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35, KJV) (See also: Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24, 17:33)

For he knew that he belonged to God and would forever be with Him no matter what happened to his body.

“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8, KJV)

Therefore he offered himself as a living sacrifice to God as a natural act of faith.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2, NKJV)

For just as Jesus willingly gave up His temporal life for the sake of the eternal, so are we counted as sheep for the slaughter, in that we overcome sin even at the cost of our lives. And this we do with the mind of Christ who went before us.

“As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:36-39, KJV)

We are killed all day long as sin strives against the will of God in our hearts, and yet in this we are conquerors, overcoming sin through righteousness though it means the death of our fallen desires and will. It’s not our intellect, our talents, our money, but our heart, which God asks for first. “Son, give Me thine heart (Prov. 23:26). When we have responded to God’s requirement, He lays His hand on something especially near and dear to us, to test the genuineness of our response, for God desires that we serve him from our hearts, not just our lips.

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: {8} Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: {9} Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:7-9, KJV)

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16, KJV)

God is not lacking in knowledge, and thus need not test our faith for His own instruction. Rather, He tests us to reveal to us where we stand with Him. As we successfully pass each test, we become stronger in our faith, and more confident in God’s provision for all that He asks of us.

THE OBJECTIONS:

Though all this is true, objections are still raised. Here then are two common objections.

1) “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13, KJV)

This commandment was given to men to restrict them from taking a man’s life apart from the authority of God. When a man kills another apart from Divinely granted governmental authority and the law of God by which all government is bound to obey, that is called murder.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, KJV)

God alone is worthy to judge men with death for their crimes.

“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. {40} For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. {41} If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me. {42} I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenge upon the enemy.” (Deuteronomy 32:39-42, KJV)

This authority has been delegated to the governments of the world.

“For [law abiding] rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: {4} For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” (Romans 13:3-4, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

Abraham, as the Father and patriarch of the nation of Israel, was delegated such authority by God Himself. God had in fact delegated to Abraham His authority over life. Who can say to God, “you have no right over this life to do with it as you alone know best!” Therefore, God in no way caused Abraham to transgress the law that forbad men from taking life at the command of their own will. For Abraham was at all times in submission to will of God and not his own which would, no doubt, have spared his own son from death if we were in control.

2) God lied.

This argument claims that if God didn’t mean what He said, He is a liar.  Yet God cannot lie.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?  (Numbers 23:19, NIV)

…which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; (Titus 1:2, KJV)

A burnt offering involves more than fire and charred flesh. While it always includes a kind of death, physical death is not always what is meant by the phrase. Consider the story of Jephthah who gave his daughter as a burnt offering.

“And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, {31} Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. {32} So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. {33} And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. {34} And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. {35} And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. {36} And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. {37} And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. {38} And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. {39} And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, {40} That the daughters of Israel went yearly to [the temple so as to] lament the [perpetual virginity of the] daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.” (Judges 11:30-40 KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

When Jephthah made his vow to God, he had no intention of killing anything or anyone in order to offer God a burnt offering. If he had intended to offer an animal, he would never have vowed to offer the first thing that came forth from the front door of his house, for his house is not where he kept his flocks or livestock.

No, he had intended to offer one of his servants to serve the Lord as a eunuch in the temple for the rest of his or her days. This was not outside his authority, for all in his household belonged to him in one way or another. Imagine Jephthah’s surprise and dismay when his own daughter pressed passed his servants and was the first to rush out the front door!

Upon learning of her father’s vow, what was her response? She said, “Let this thing be done for me.” Note that she did not say “to me.” For nothing was to be done “to” her, but preparations were to be made “for” her departure to the temple. And what was her one request? Did she ask to mourn for the impending loss of her life? No, she asked to mourn for her virginity because it would now be perpetual as she served in the temple.

So Jephthah gave his daughter permission to go to the mountains for two months. When she came back, her father took her to the temple. There she followed the ceremonial custom observed by all women who entered the temple in life service. Her head was shaved at the door of the temple and she put on a long robe. She then remained in the temple for the rest of her life.

When word of Jephthah’s “burnt offering” spread throughout the land, it became a yearly custom for the daughter’s of Israel to visit his daughter at the temple and lament her virginity. For she had been dedicated to the Lord in the spirit of a burnt offering. For a burnt offering is one who has died to self and is wholly dedicated to the Lord. While the details can vary in application, the essence of this kind of offering is always the same.

3) God supports child sacrifice.

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  {7} Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  (Micah 6:6-7, NIV)

God has never desired child sacrifice.  In fact, He has repeatedly forbiddon it.

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, {^11} or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.  (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, NIV)

Severe judgment came against Israel when they engaged in child sacrifice.

And say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.  (Jeremiah 19:3-6, NIV)

“The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.  (Jeremiah 7:30-32, NIV)

God was not asking Abraham to kill his son.  God had no interest in child sacrifice.  He was asking Abraham, as a father, to give up Isaac, his only son, as a burnt offering.  Isaac was the same age as Jesus would be when he arrived at Calvary.  And like Jesus, no one could take his life from him, he would have to submit to the will of his father and give his life freely.  That is what God was asking for, and that is what He got.

So what God wanted from them both was the spiritual embrace of the future gospel message.  This was not unique to Abraham and Isaac.  Each and every chold of God is called to take up their cross and be a living sacrifice.

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  (Luke 9:23, KJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  (Romans 12:1, KJV)

CONCLUSION:

Isaac became a burnt offering when he willingly died to himself and submitted to the will of the Lord. In this way he became a living sacrifice, just as Jephthah’s daughter did. Therefore, when God asked Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering, He meant exactly what He said. Isaac was to die that day. The last thing he had to let go of was his will to live at the cost of obedience. Once he let go of that, he died just as God had commanded. At that point the picture of Christ’s sacrifice was complete. Like Christ, Isaac offered himself willingly without protest even when it meant the loss of his life. Likewise, every believer is called to offer themselves as a living sacrifice, not with the burning of flesh, but with the death of the will of their flesh. In this way we all dedicate our lives for the lifelong service before God. This is our reasonable service of love, and is in no way an imposition of terror by God, as some would interpret it.