Unexpected Savior
From Genesis to Jesus: Exploring the Sacrificial Lamb
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
—Revelation 5:12b NKJV
Who chooses a slain lamb to be the symbol of power and victory?
Have you ever heard of a lamb as a sports mascot?
“Go, lambs, go! Bah Bah Bah!”
Would you feel safe if you relied on a lamb to save you?
There’s no superhero with a backstory of being bitten by a radioactive lamb and gaining the powers of being meek and mild.
So why a lamb? Why Sacrifice?
Allow me to clarify this by turning to a Bible story that is hotly debated among Christians.
Genesis 22
One of the most debated passages in Scripture is Genesis 22. In Jewish circles, this story is referred to as the Akedah. Akedah is a reference to the binding of Isaac, a term that is not used anywhere else in the Bible.
Akedah (ʿAqedah; Heb. עֲקֵדָה, lit. binding (of Isaac)) refers to the Pentateuchal narrative (Gen. 22:1–19) describing God’s command to Abraham to offer Isaac, the son of his old age, as a sacrifice. Obedient to the command, Abraham takes Isaac to the place of sacrifice and binds him (va-ya’akod, Gen. 22:9, a word found nowhere else in the Bible in the active, conjugative form) on the altar. The angel of the Lord then bids Abraham to stay his hand, and a ram is offered in Isaac’s stead. The Akedah became in Jewish thought the supreme example of self-sacrifice in obedience to God’s will and the symbol of Jewish martyrdom throughout the ages.
— Jewish Virtual Library
Your only son, whom you love
Then He 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.”
— Genesis 22:2 NKJV
Genesis 22 tells the story of God testing Abraham. Understandably, many people have a hard time with this story. I have heard people say
“How dare God test someone by asking him to offer his son as a sacrifice!?” or
“The loving God of the Bible would never do this.” or
“But the Bible condemns human sacrifices!” or
“It is unfair of God to ask that of anyone.”
You get the idea. This story is really out of character for God, as the Bible describes Him. It is no wonder there is so much debate over this narrative. We worship and love God because He is good, loving, wise, and powerful, and because He does not require of us things that are not for our own good and for the good of those around us. If God were inconsistent, evil, or mean, this story would not spark such intense debate. So, in a weird way, it is good that we struggle with this story.
God will provide for Himself
5 And Abraham 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.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
— Genesis 22:5-8 NKJV
I wonder how Isaac felt. We do not know how old Isaac was, but the narrative indicates he was old enough to carry the wood up the mountain. This indicates that Isaac was strong enough to oppose his father, or to flee if necessary. Isaac is not a helpless child at this point in his life. As Abraham gets everything ready, Isaac realizes his father must have forgotten something really important: the lamb for the burnt offering!
When Isaac questions Abraham, Abraham reveals his great faith in God and His understanding of the character of God. It is also worth noting that though Abraham leaves his servants behind, he tells them that he will return with his son. Abraham knew that ultimately God would provide for Himself the lamb for the offering.
At the end of the story, we discover that though Abraham was ready to offer his only son, the one he loved, as a sacrifice, God stops Abraham, and Abraham offers a ram that was caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham offered the ram as a substitute for his son. (Genesis 22:13)
Interesting details
I will not delve further into this passage at this time, but I have an entire post dedicated to it, titled Akedah. However, I would like to point out a few additional details.
When I read about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved, it reminds me of a couple of passages in the New Testament.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
— Matthew 3:17 NKJVFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 NIV
Noticing this, it becomes evident that God provided Abraham with an opportunity to experience a tiny fraction of what the plan of salvation cost God. One of the many challenges in theology is reconciling the fact that God is vastly different from us in every way, yet we can still have some understanding of what He experiences.
Also, though Abraham told Isaac that God would provide for Himself a lamb for the offering, the story ends with the sacrifice of a ram. This could be nothing, but it could be something intentional.
Passover
When we read about the Passover regulations in Exodus 12, we learn that
The lamb should be without blemish (Exodus 12:5),
Be killed at twilight (verse 6),
Some of the blood should be taken and smeared on the sides and top of the doorframes of the house. (verse 7).
The blood of the lamb would be a sign, and it would cause God to pass over them, and they would be spared when God struck the land of Egypt (verse 13).
Interestingly, God also stipulated that none of the lamb's bones should be broken (verse 46).
When we read John 19:31-37, we find out that none of Jesus’ bones were broken.
Reflecting on how the passover lamb had to be without blemish, Jesus lived a perfect life. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:22)
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
— 1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV
When I read about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved, it reminds me of a couple of passages in the New Testament.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
— Matthew 3:17 NKJVFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 NIV
Noticing this, it becomes evident that God provided Abraham with an opportunity to experience a tiny fraction of what the plan of salvation cost God. One of the many challenges in theology is reconciling the fact that God is vastly different from us in every way, yet we can still have some understanding of what He experiences.
Substitutionary Atonement
In the story of Abraham's test (Genesis 22), we read about how a ram was sacrificed instead of Isaac. In the story of the Passover (Exodus 12), we read how a lamb was killed and its blood smeared on the doorframe, and it was a sign, and those in the house were spared. In the story of the Fall of Humanity (Genesis 3), we read about Adam and Eve noticing they were naked after they sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. They try to make coverings for themselves out of fig leaves, but it does not work, and they still feel shame and hide from God. (Genesis 3:7) Eventually, God made them tunics of skin and clothed them (verse 21). We assume an animal was sacrificed so that the shame of Adam and Eve could be covered. Since God made the tunics, I believe this indicates that the first death took place at the hands of God in order to cover the shame of Adam and Eve. God does not ask us to do something that He is not willing to do.
(Side quest opportunity: explore the use of the Hebrew word used here (Genesis 3:21) for tunics of skin)
God sacrificed an innocent animal to cover Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:21) The children of Israel sacrificed a perfect lamb, and the blood of the lamb on the doorframe was a sign, and the members of the house were covered, protected, and God passed over that house when He was executing judgment against all the gods of Egypt. (Exodus 12:12-13)
Genesis 4 tells us the story of Cain and Abel. Cain makes an offering to God of the fruit of the ground. Cain was a tiller of the ground after all. (Genesis 4:1-3) Cain’s offering came from what he did. His effort, his gifts, he worked with the ground and offered to God from what he had. But there was no blood. I wonder if this is the equivalent of Adam and Eve’s garment of fig leaves. A nice gesture, but our works are not enough to earn us forgiveness, to cover our sins, shortcomings, and rebellion.
Hebrews 9:22 states that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 10:4 adds that animal sacrifices are not enough.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
— Hebrews 10:4 NKJV
Behold the Lamb of God
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
— John 1:29 NKJV
I see John the Baptist’s words as a fulfillment of Abraham’s words to his son Isaac.
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
— Genesis 22:8 NKJV
In Exodus 29:38-42 (see also Numbers 28:1-8), God establishes the daily Sacrifices. These were to take place every morning and evening. Although the Bible does not specify the times of the morning and evening sacrifices, according to Roman-Jewish historian Josephus (Antiquities 14.4.3), the morning offering took place at 9:00 a.m., while the evening offering took place at 3:00 p.m. Jesus died at 3 PM (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:44-46;) This indicates that Jesus died at the time that traditionally, the evening sacrifice would have been offered.
When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Luke 27:51), signifying, among other things, that we no longer needed to offer sacrifices. Because Jesus died for our sins, we can now come directly to God through Jesus. We no longer need priests and animal sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled that aspect of God’s law that was meant to teach us exactly what Jesus’ mission was.
God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his only son, whom he loved. But God provided for Himself a lamb for the sacrifice, His own Son, whom He loved more than we can ever hope to grasp. We may think that a life dedicated to God is difficult to live, because we have to set aside pride and selfishness and our carnal desires. We only give up that which is harmful to us and those around us. God gave up His only Son, who was perfect and innocent. Can we really complain to God about how difficult it is to seek His will for our lives?
Go ahead, explain to God how it is difficult to forgive your enemy, in light of Him giving His Son for us, His enemies.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
— Romans 5:8 NKJV
We all need and seek a reason to live. A cause worth dedicating our lives to. I can think of nothing better and more worthwhile than a life dedicated to the God who has loved us all along, who desires to save us, and to equip us to accomplish great things for His honor and glory and to the benefit of those around us.
Jesus paid it all.
How then shall we live?
