The Ageless Promise to an Unnoticed Man
Abraham lived about 4000 years ago and traveled to what is now called Israel. God made him a promise: that he would have a son , and that his family would grow into a great nation. Abraham had to believe this promise and wait a very long time — until he was old — for it to happen. Today, both Jews and Arabs come from Abraham’s family, which shows that God’s promise came true. Abraham is an important person in history and in the Bible.
The Test: The binding of Isaac
Abraham was happy watching his son Isaac grow up. But then God tested Abraham with something very hard. God told him to take Isaac, his only son, to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him on a mountain.
“Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.”
Genesis 22:2
This is a difficult thing to understand. Why would God ask this? But Abraham had learned to trust God, even when he didn’t understand. So the next morning, Abraham got up early and left with Isaac and two servants.
… got up early the next morning … and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.
Genesis 22:3
After traveling for three days, they reached the place.
Abraham built an altar, tied up Isaac, and put him on it. He took a knife and got ready to kill his son.
…when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son.
Genesis 22: 9-10
But just then, something amazing happened. An angel of the Lord shouted from heaven to stop him. The angel told Abraham not to hurt Isaac because now it was clear that Abraham obeyed God. Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram (a male sheep) caught in the bushes. He took it and sacrificed the ram instead of his son. God had provided the ram to take Isaac’s place.
But the Lord’s angel shouted from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.
“Don’t hurt the boy or harm him in any way!” the angel said. “Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.”
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.
Genesis 22: 11-13
Another question: Is the name that Abraham gave to that place (“The Lord Will Provide”) in the past?
Looking to the future, not the past
Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Genesis 22:14
Now here’s something interesting. Abraham gave a special name to that place: “The Lord Will Provide.” And even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Look at the name: “The Lord Will Provide.” This is in the future tense, not the past. If Abraham was only thinking about the ram he just sacrificed, he would have said “The Lord has provided.” But instead, he looks to the future. This means Abraham believed God would do something more in that same place later.
Where is that place?
Remember where this sacrifice occurred, told at the beginning of the story:
“Go get Isaac, …. Take him to the land of Moriah”
Genesis 22:2
God had told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah. At that time, Moriah was just a wilderness. But many years later, King David built the city of Jerusalem there. His son Solomon then built the First Jewish Temple on that same mountain.
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah…
2 Chronicles 3:1
So, Mount Moriah became Jerusalem, a holy place for the Jewish people. Today, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
The sacrifice of Abraham and Jesus
Now let’s look at the names of Jesus. His most well-known title is ‘Christ’, but he also had another title: the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29
Jesus was called the Lamb of God. Now think about where Jesus was arrested and killed — it was in Jerusalem, the same place as Mount Moriah. Jesus was sent to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time. So Jesus died in the same place where Abraham had almost sacrificed Isaac.
He [Pilate] learned that Jesus was under Herod’s authority. Herod was in Jerusalem at that time, so Pilate sent Jesus to him.
Luke 23:7
The Bible shows that these two events — Abraham’s test and Jesus’ death — happened on the same mountain.
Isaac was saved when Abraham sacrificed the ram instead. That happened in 2000 BCE. Then, about 2000 years later, Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed in the same place. Abraham used the words “The Lord Will Provide” to point to the future because something even bigger than the ram was going to happen. He was pointing to Jesus.
A Divine Plan
These two events — Abraham’s sacrifice and Jesus’ death — are connected. They happened 2000 years apart, but in the same place. How could Abraham know what would happen so far in the future? No person can know the future like that — but God can. This shows us that there is a plan from God, not just from people. It is like a sign, with Abraham’s story pointing to Jesus’ sacrifice.
Good News for all nations
This story ends with a promise from God to Abraham:
“…and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me”
Genesis 22:18
This includes you — if you are part of the nations on earth.
What is the blessing? Just as the ram saved Isaac, Jesus, the Lamb of God, saves us from the power of death through his sacrifice. That is very good news for the whole world.
Abraham’s sacrifice on Mount Moriah is not just an old story. It is also a living story for you today. And the message continues with Moses, which we will learn more about next.