Abraham and Isaac
Swanson, John August. Abraham and Isaac, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56537 [retrieved June 30, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
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God Will Provide a Lamb by Michael Card
Mt. Moriah by Derek Floyd
Exploring the Text: Acted out prophecy
There are several things in this story that are troubling. Did God really want Abraham to sacrifice his own son, the son of promise? Was this just a test of Abraham's faith and trust in God? If so, it seems like a cruel test. Was Abraham really willing to kill Isaac? What was Isaac thinking this whole time? Was he willing to lay down his life just because his father said so? Why didn't he try to get away?
These are just some of the many questions that get raised by this passage. The biggest one is, why is God even doing this? The key to this is in verse 14 where Abraham says, "On the mount of the Lord it will be provided." Everything in Scripture points to Jesus, and this passage is no different. Abraham is acting out a prophecy of Jesus. Just as God provided a substitute sacrifice in Isaac's place, years later God would provide Jesus as a substitute sacrifice for all of us. God never intended for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Instead, he intended for Abraham and Isaac to illustrate how he would provide in their place; he intended them to act out a prophecy of Jesus in our place. This acted out prophecy illustrates the central point of the sacrfice of Jesus' crucifixion; Jesus in my place.
There are several things in this story that are troubling. Did God really want Abraham to sacrifice his own son, the son of promise? Was this just a test of Abraham's faith and trust in God? If so, it seems like a cruel test. Was Abraham really willing to kill Isaac? What was Isaac thinking this whole time? Was he willing to lay down his life just because his father said so? Why didn't he try to get away?
These are just some of the many questions that get raised by this passage. The biggest one is, why is God even doing this? The key to this is in verse 14 where Abraham says, "On the mount of the Lord it will be provided." Everything in Scripture points to Jesus, and this passage is no different. Abraham is acting out a prophecy of Jesus. Just as God provided a substitute sacrifice in Isaac's place, years later God would provide Jesus as a substitute sacrifice for all of us. God never intended for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Instead, he intended for Abraham and Isaac to illustrate how he would provide in their place; he intended them to act out a prophecy of Jesus in our place. This acted out prophecy illustrates the central point of the sacrfice of Jesus' crucifixion; Jesus in my place.