Genesis 22:10-11 reads, “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”
It’s so precious that God understands everything we go through very well. He knows what happened and when it happened. And He cares. When the Lord was on the cross, there was no voice from heaven like what Abraham heard , Nor was there a ram. The Lord was the Lamb of God.
Genesis 22:12-14 read, “He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’”
Of course we know now that this provision of God was very special. The Lord cried out “It’s finished!” Yet, He first needed to experience the cry of, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Genesis 22:15-16 reads, “And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,.’”
This chapter mentions the words, “your only son.” at least three times. This would remind us of our unique Lord and what the beloved Son of God had gone through for us. If you were Isaac, how would you have felt? You can ask Isaac in the future. He trusted in the love of his father. He knew he was the beloved son of his father. This is why he didn’t struggle. He was released at the end and Abraham put the ram on the altar. Do you think Isaac would treasure the ram prepared by God? He might have embraced the ram and been unable to bear that it would be killed and its blood would be shed in his place. I don’t know how the conversation went between them, and how much Abraham knew about the Lord coming to die for us. This would come to pass when the most precious and only Son of God came to die for us, just like how the ram was killed instead of Isaac! But now, we know very clearly. We ought to treasure His blood, the most precious blood. He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. He desires us to be the closest to Him and live with Him. This deepest love relationship and union in life is the most precious.
The latter part of chapter 22 writes about the genealogy. You might ask, why mention the family history after such an amazing event. Well, note that this passage mentions Rebekah. The Bible is indeed amazing!
Genesis 22:20-22 read, “Now after these things it was told to Abraham, ‘Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.’ (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.)”
Genesis chapter 23 records the death of Sarah; chapter 24 tells how Abraham’s servant brought Rebekah to Isaac. All of us know this foretold how the Holy Spirit brought us to our true Beloved of manifold love. Therefore, chapter 23 comes before chapter 24—the Lord had to die for us before the church could come into existence. The Lord had to be wounded before the church could appear. Similarly, God had to put Adam to sleep and take out a rib in order to create his darling Eve. Isn’t this passage very precious? The church has appeared, and we have a part. The Bible is God’s word. Chapter 24 is lengthy. It tells how Rebekah was brought to Isaac, who was Abraham’s only beloved son. Today, the Holy Spirit has also brought us to the only Beloved Son of the Father, and made us His bride and compatible darling.
Paul knew this very well. In Romans 8:32, Paul wrote , “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Now, we have gained the Lord. He does not need to die for man’s sins a second time. He already cried out “It’s finished!” God gave us His own beloved Son. God did not simply send Jesus to become a man. What was Paul saying in this passage? I like the English translation: “He loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) It’s a personal love; the Lord personally gave Himself for me. Of course, I think of this every day. The chapter we read today specifically talks about the Father. It’s very precious! The prior chapters talk about the Lord, and what the Father and the Lord went through together.
You should have already noticed that God prepared a ram. Genesis 22:14 reads, “So Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’” It’s so precious that one day, the Father would provide His beloved Son on the mount of Golgotha for us. He personally struck, punished, crushed and forsook His beloved Son. The Lord despised the shame and endured the pain on the cross. He drank the bitter cup. God’s provision on the mount was very precious. Without this provision at Golgotha, we wouldn’t be able to discuss other provisions of God. Through the Lord’s sacrifice , the Lord Himself, the Father, and everything else all belong to us! The Bible says all things are ours!