On a hill far away...

Part of today's reading was about Abraham's test in the sacrificing of his son.

 

Here is the part I'd like to concentrate on which is from

Genesis 6-14:

 

 

⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

God had tested Abraham by asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son...

 

This was the son who would receive what God had promised Abraham...

 

Even Isaac did not understand...

 

He noticed something was missing...

 

the lamb for the sacrifice.

 

But Abraham loved the Lord and obeyed what he had asked...

 

The New Testament gives insight to why he could do so...

 

Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.

[Hebrews 11:19]

 

He also new that God is a faithful and gracious God and by faith he knew that God would provide what was needed...

 

God was gracious and did provide that lamb....

 

This was a type and shadow of God sending a lamb for us....

 

To be our sacrifice...

 

On the mountain, Golgotha's Hill, God provided Jesus..

 

the sacrificial lamb who took away our sins.

 

I want to share my grandmother's favorite hymn which speaks so beautifully of

God's gracious provision.