One of my favorite parallels between the Old and New Testaments is the narrative of Abraham and Isaac.
In Genesis 22:2, God says to Abraham: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Then, in the next verse, we see Abraham’s immediate obedience: “Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.”
It’s hard to comprehend Abraham’s obedience and trust, but it’s also easy to overlook how this account puts God’s love for us into perspective. Our flesh tends to question why a loving God would even ask this of Abraham, and we miss what the story ultimately reveals.
We know how it ends. In the final moment, God says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.” Then, a ram appears in the thicket to be used in Isaac’s place. After Abraham provides the obedience, God provides the ram. He spares Abraham’s son, and He spares Abraham’s heart.
But God did not spare His own Son, nor did He spare His own heart when He provided our lamb. Jesus walked up the mountain with the cross on His back the same way Isaac walked up the mountain with wood on his back. But this time, there would be no replacement sacrifice.
God told Abraham, “I know you love Me because you did not withhold your son from Me.”
When we look at the cross, we can confidently say, “Lord, I know you love me because You did not withhold Your Son from me.”
As I tell my children, there is a time in your life when you did not love God, but there has never been a single second when He did not love you. How great the love of God!
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. – Romans 8:32
Grace Waves 