The Truth About Sacrifices

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’” Genesis 22:2  NIV

In this verse, God is telling Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac to Him. This is the only time in the Bible we see God tell someone to sacrifice their son for Him. Abraham was obedient and ready to listen to God’s command even though it hurt him to even think about sacrificing his son. In the end, God came through and provided a sacrifice in Isaac’s place.

      Why did He make this command if He did not intend for Abraham to kill his son?

      God’s command was not only a test of Abraham’s obedience, it was meant to be a lesson later down the (genealogical) line.

      There are parallels between this piece of Scripture and that of the Gospels (concerning Jesus and His crucifixion). Like Jesus, Isaac was a son given to his parents (Abraham and Sarah) by God. There was no way the elderly couple could have had children, but God made it possible. Unlike, Isaac, however, Jesus was a total divine birth because Mary was a virgin. God wanted to make sure there was no confusion about whose son was being sacrificed. Jesus was totally His (conceived by the Holy Spirit- Matthew 1:18).

      Like Isaac, Jesus was loved by His Father (Matt 3:17). Jesus’ sacrifice was not a mindless or emotionless sacrifice for God.

      Unlike Isaac, Jesus and God chose to go through with the sacrifice. Like Abraham, Jesus chose to be obedient and go through with the sacrifice, however, this one was different. Abraham was making the sacrifice for God. Jesus was being sacrificed for us. Abraham is credited as being righteous because he trusted God and therefore had faith in Him (Romans 4:17-22). If we trust in God’s promises (that we are saved by Jesus’ sacrifice and not by our works) and truly live according to His command to love Him above all else and to love others, then we will be credited with righteousness (Romans 4:23-24).

      Unlike the private mountain top in Moriah that Isaac was to be sacrificed on by his father, Jesus was sacrificed on a hill (Golgotha- Matt 27:33) where many could witness His sacrifice and attest to it. Interestingly, Moriah was the place where Solomon later built the temple of the Lord (2 Chronicles 3:1), but Golgotha was the place where Jesus rid the need for a temple to draw near to God (sin is so disgusting to God that sacrifices were necessary for purification in order to even be in His presence).

      Yes, churches are important because that is where we can meet up with a community of believers in order to worship God and establish relationships with each other (in order to build each other up and provide encouragement), but now our relationship with God can be intimate and non-legalistic.

      We still make sacrifices in obedience to Him, but the nature of our sacrifices is different. We make them out of love and dedication. They come from our desire to truly live lives set apart for Him. Yes, it’s difficult (well, it is called a sacrifice. You’re losing something), but this parallel between Abraham’s almost sacrifice and God’s (Jesus’) full one shows us something very important that we should always keep in mind:

      God never asks for more than He is willing to give (Son, life, relationships, etc.) and redeem.