Genesis 22:1-8

This is the story of the patriarch Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac up on a mountain. This is one of the most dramatic and most theologically significant stories in Genesis. They make it up to the mountain but Isaac questions Abraham why there is no Lamb to sacrifice. Abraham says that God Himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. Just as Abraham is about to kill his one and only son, God does provide an adult male sheep, a lamb for the sacrifice. We too often get caught up in the impossible command that Abraham was given by God, rather than the important theological truth that Abraham holds onto: God Himself will provide the sacrifice we all need. This first adult male sheep sacrificed in place of Isaac, points to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world with his sacrifice on the cross.