Three Pictures of Christ in Genesis - Part 3

Our third picture is seen in a two-fold fashion by using the story of Abraham and Isaac. First, we see Isaac portrayed as, “the one and only son”, to be sacrificed. We also find a correlation in the three-day journey of Abraham and his son Isaac, as three days in the tomb. We must here understand that Isaac was “dead” in the eyes of his father from the moment God asked Abraham to sacrifice him. Therefore, the three day trip would symbolize the three days in the tomb and God sparing him from Abraham’s knife is equivalent to the resurrection of Christ in that Isaac was “resurrected” from the sacrifice his father had made earlier by obeying God. We find something else note-worthy in Genesis 22:3, “And Abraham rose up early in the morning…” (KJV) Here, we find no hesitation in Abraham in sacrificing his son, just as we find no hesitation in God to sacrifice His Son. God went ahead and created the earth and man, knowing from the beginning that the sacrifice of His son would have to be made. Adam Clarke points out two more parallels in that, “Isaac carried the wood for the burnt-offering, (Gen 22:6), so Christ carried the tree whereon he died, (John 19:17); the binding of Isaac, (Gen 22:9), was also typical, so Christ was bound, (Matt 27:2).”[1]

As I said that this was two-fold in this story, the second picture we find from Abraham and Isaac is in the ram. Abraham tells Isaac in Genesis 22:8, “God himself will provide the lamb…” (NIV) We see that indeed, God did provide the sacrifice that day and years later, we believe on that same mountain, in the form of His “One and Only Son”. Matthew Henry says, “Christ was sacrificed in our stead, as this ram instead of Isaac, and his death was our discharge. "Here am I (said he,) let these go their way."”[2] Although Isaac gives us a picture of Christ, we know that there was no way that Isaac could have atoned for our sins and therefore, we had to have the real and perfect sacrificial lamb, Jesus, our Savior.

Pablito

[1] Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft. (Genesis 22:4)
[2] Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. (Gen 22:11-14)