As you think about the events of Easter, perhaps you consider happenings such as the Last Supper, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, Judas’ betrayal, and Christ’s death and resurrection. And rightfully so!
But if you turn, not in the Gospels, but to the very first book of the Bible, you can find an unusual text about Easter.
In Genesis 22, we read about the journey that Abraham took to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. When Isaac asked his father where was the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham replied that God himself would provide the lamb (Gen. 22:7-8).
You know how the story ends, but what if you didn’t?
What if you were Abraham, desparately wondering how this would end?
Abraham moved in obedience, ready to slay his own son because God had commanded him to. It made no earthly sense. It was not just. Isaac was not rebellious or deserving of death. In fact, he submitted to his father’s commands and typified Christ by carrying the wood for the sacrifice as Christ carried His cross (John 19:17).
Before the knife touched his son, the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham.
Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Gen. 22:12-14)
God provided the sacrifice of a ram for Abraham. Imagine his relief! The joy! The laughter and tears!
Today we can experience that relief, that joy, those tears and that laughter. Because God provided his very own son to be the lamb of God who takes away the sins of mankind.
What a Father! What a Savior!
