Abraham was seventy five years old when the Lord called him to leave his Babylonian homeland and travel to the land of Canaan, where he promised to bless him and make him a great nation, Gen 12:1-2. Through the years, the Lord appeared to him again and again with more details concerning this promise. His seed would one day possess the land where he sojourned, Gen 12:7, it would be theirs forever and ever, his descendants would be as the dust of the earth in number, Gen 13:15-16. Indeed, Abraham was exceedingly blessed by the Lord, Gen 13:2, but he and his wife, Sarah, had been unable to conceive a child. In Gen 15:2, Abraham asked "...what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless...?" The Lord assured him that his descendants would one day be as numerous as the stars of heaven, Gen 15:5. "And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness", Gen 15:6. Later the Lord expounded on the promise by revealing that Abraham would be the father of many nations, and he (he Lord) would establish his covenant with him, Gen 17:5-7.
Years passed by, and Sarah had not conceived according to the Lord's promise. Indeed, she was long past the childbearing years. She decided to take matters into her own hands and give her handmaid to Abraham, whereby she might conceive a child through her. Abraham was eighty six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. The Lord later appeared to Abraham and again told him that his wife, Sarah, would yet bear him a son the following year. She would be the mother of nations and kings would come forth through her, Gen 17:15-16, 19. He also gave Abraham the actual name of the child, Isaac, and confirmed that the covenant would be established through this child of promise and not through Ishmael. Gen 17:21.
Abraham was one hundred years old when his wife, Sarah, bore him their child of promise. She was ninety years old, long past the age of childbearing. They named him Isaac, Gen 21:1-3. Paul writes in Romans 4:19-21, "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform".
When Isaac was a young boy, the Lord gave Abraham the ultimate test of his faith. He spoke to Abraham and said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of". The account is recorded in Gen 22:1-13. There is no indication that Abraham argued or pleaded. Verse 3 says that Abraham rose up early in the morning and began his journey. This is one of the most moving stories in the bible. The symbolism regarding the crucifixion of Christ is unmistakable. Every step of the way we see the picture of our Lord's sacrifice for us. The Lord spoke of Isaac as Abraham's only son, although Ishmael was also born unto him. That's because Isaac was the child of promise, conceived by the hand of God. Jesus' birth was also a miraculous event, in that he was born unto a virgin and not by natural means. Abraham and Isaac took a three day journey into the mountains, accompanied by two of Abraham's servants. When they drew near, Abraham instructed the servants to abide in that place explaining that he and the lad would make the rest of the journey alone. The final night of Jesus' life, he spent his last hours alone with his father in prayer, while the disciples slept.
As Christ carried his own cross, Isaac carried the wood for the offering upon his back. Isaac knew that a lamb was the appropriate offering to God, so he asked his father, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" His father replied that the Lord would provide. Indeed, he has! Jesus is the Lamb of God.
When they arrived at the place for the sacrifice, Abraham prepared the altar and bound his son, Isaac, upon the wood. There is no indication of a struggle. This, too, is symbolic of Christ, who was a willing sacrifice for our sins.
When Abraham raised the knife to slay his son, an angel of the Lord called out to him not to lay a hand on the lad. Abraham had passed the test. Verse 12 records, "For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me". God gave his only Son for mankind. Abraham's test was the picture of that sacrifice.
In the end, the Lord did provide the offering. Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket. Christ wore a crown of thorns at his crucifixion. Abraham offered the ram as a substitute for his son. Christ was the substitute for us, dying in our place, taking the penalty for sin upon his own body.
The apostle Paul wrote in Rom 11:17-19, "By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall they seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. Three days and nights following his crucifixion, Christ was resurrected from the dead.
Abraham was justified by faith, as are we if we remain faithful to God. Gal 3:6-9, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham".
God chose Abraham to witness, in type, the sacrifice of our Lord and savior. In order to become the father of the faithful, his faith had to be proven pure and absolute no matter the cost. He, therefore, experienced the reality of God's ultimate love for mankind, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". John 3:16.
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