By Katy Curry©

 

We all know of those old old stories from the Bible and our reaction is often one of boredom and “so”?  That is until we connect the dots.  It can be something we heard about over and over again and then suddenly, our eyes open.  Has that ever happened to you?  You didn’t get maybe a math concept and then one morning the light bulb went on, and you got it!  I had that problem with accounting debits and credits.  It took me four years to understand what the difference was?  I mean!  Yes, yes, shake your head at me but to this day, I am horrid with money.

Let’s get back to that old old story.  Do you remember the story of Abraham and Isaac?  God had told Abraham to sacrifice his first-born son as a sign of his love and commitment.  Abraham struggled with this.  Just think if you were told to take your first born and sacrifice him–I bet your response would be: “No way!”

In Isaac, we have a child who is innocent of wrongdoing, the beloved and only son of his father, Abraham.  As he was about to plunge the dagger into his precious son, God stopped him and provided a ram which is a male sheep.

Isaac is an illustration of Jesus.  You see, even though Adam and Eve began the cycle of sin that every generation has expanded, Jesus intended to make the only acceptable sacrifice for the sin of all mankind.  God is perfect and requires a perfect sacrifice as atonement for our wrongs.  Without  Jesus’s sacrifice, we would continue to live under the law and judgement.

Can you begin to imagine the pain, the depth of sorrow that God the Father felt as He saw His Son scourged, nailed to a cross and suffer so cruelty?  Remember too; Jesus could have stopped it all.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to be released from the coming torture; He was so affected He sweat droplets of blood!  So great was not only His obedience to His Father’s Will but His Love for each one of us, you and me, that He permitted …let me say that again allowed the torture.

The story of the Abraham and Isaac is a perfect example of another love letter from Jesus to you.  Yes, YOU!  It doesn’t matter what you have done or not done; there is no sin bigger than Jesus.    In Jesus, you have freedom, blessings, and love.  Without Jesus, you have guilt, sin, and the law.

Jesus laid the foundation for His message, for His saving grace from, believe it or not, the Garden of Eden.    Think about these things as you read the scriptures just discussed.

John 1:24-29

²⁴ Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ “I baptize with^[b] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.

 Genesis 22:6-12

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Dear Father God, I offer praise and thanksgiving for the love and provision You have shown to me.  You sacrificed your own Son, Jesus Christ, so that a sinner like me could be with You in heaven.  Help me to understand better the love You must have for me.  Guide me that I may remain in Your Will.  Thank you, Father for your love and provision for me, in Jesus Holy name; Amen.