1. The Command of God to Abraham
After these things, God tested Abraham. He said, "Abraham!" Abraham answered, "Here I am." God said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." The test was severe. Isaac was the son of promise, the one through whom God had said Abraham's descendants would be named. To offer Isaac seemed to contradict God's own promise. But Abraham obeyed, not knowing how God would fulfill His word.
2. Abraham's Immediate Obedience
Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place. He said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." Abraham told the young men that both he and Isaac would return. He believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead.
3. Isaac Carries the Wood for His Own Sacrifice
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He took the fire in his hand and a knife. The two walked together. Isaac spoke to Abraham, "My father!" Abraham said, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." The two walked together. Isaac carrying the wood for his own sacrifice is a striking type of Jesus Christ carrying His cross to Golgotha.
4. The Binding of Isaac on the Altar
They came to the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. He bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. The binding of Isaac (the Akedah) was complete. Isaac did not resist. He submitted to his father. This points to Christ, who willingly laid down His life, who was bound, and who submitted to the Father's will.
5. The Angel of the Lord Intervenes
The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He answered, "Here I am." The Angel said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Abraham did not withhold his son. God the Father did not withhold His only Son. The command to Abraham was a test; the sacrifice of Christ was the reality. The Angel's intervention spared Isaac; no one spared Jesus.
6. The Ram Caught in the Thicket
Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. The ram was a substitute. It died in Isaac's place. This is a clear type of Christ, who died as a substitute for sinners. God provided the substitute. Abraham called the name of the place "The-Lord-Will-Provide" (Jehovah Jireh). God provided the ram; God would provide His own Son.
7. The Promise Renewed and Enlarged
The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time, saying, "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." The promise was renewed and enlarged because of Abraham's obedience. The ultimate fulfillment is in Christ, the Seed.
8. The Sacrifice of Isaac as a Type of the Resurrection
The writer of Hebrews explains, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,' concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." Abraham received Isaac back as a type of resurrection. The sacrifice of Isaac was a shadow; the sacrifice of Christ was the reality. Isaac was bound but not slain; Christ was bound and slain. Isaac was delivered from death; Christ conquered death by rising.
9. Mount Moriah: The Place of Sacrifice
God told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah. On one of the mountains of Moriah, the temple of Solomon would later be built. And on that same mountain range, on Golgotha, Jesus Christ was crucified. The location is significant. The place where Abraham offered Isaac is the place where God offered His Son. The same mount where the ram was provided is where the Lamb of God was slain. Mount Moriah connects the sacrifice of Isaac to the sacrifice of Christ.
10. The Application for Believers Today
The sacrifice of Isaac teaches several lessons. First, God tests the faith of His people. Abraham's faith was tested, and he passed. Second, God's commands may seem to contradict His promises, but God is faithful. Third, God provides the substitute. The ram was provided; Christ is the provision. Fourth, believers are to offer themselves as living sacrifices to God. Fifth, the sacrifice of Isaac points to the greater sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let every believer trust in the Lamb that God provided, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion
The sacrifice of Isaac, the Akedah, is one of the most profound events in Scripture. God commanded Abraham to offer his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham obeyed. As he raised the knife, the Angel of the Lord stopped him and provided a ram caught in the thicket. Isaac was a type of Christ, the beloved son who carried the wood and was laid on the altar. The ram was a type of Christ, the substitute. Abraham received Isaac back as a type of the resurrection. Let every believer see in this event the love of God who did not spare His own Son.