A Ram in the Thicket – Advent Day 4

“Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’  Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’  So the two of them walked on together” (Genesis 22:7-8).

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18-19).

Abraham climbed Mount Moriah by faith.  As he and Isaac climbed together, Abraham believed that God would provide the sacrifice.  And God did!

“Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son” (Genesis 22:13).

Jesus was the ram caught in the thicket, a crown of thorns as it were upon His head.  The ram, the burnt offering for Abraham, is a preview of the Christ who became a sin offering for us.  “But Jesus, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

God provided a sacrifice for Abraham and God provided a sacrifice for us.  Jesus Christ is the lamb who was slain.

Jesus was present on the mountain with Abraham and Isaac, because Jesus was there from the beginning!