05A.06. Abraham And Isaac
06 -- ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
Another marked place on this river of blood is the offering of Isaac by his father Abraham. He was about 22 years of age, they tell us, when God said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee to the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
Without hesitating, Abraham took Isaac with all the necessary equipment for an offering and made his way to the mountain top. He erected an altar, and binding his son, he placed him upon it. But just as he was about to drive the knife into his son’s heart, God stayed his hand. And Abraham lifted his eyes and saw a ram caught by the horns in the bushes near by, and taking that he offered it up instead of his son. Isaac was spared, "but not without blood." There was a death that morning on the mountain, a life was sacrificed; blood was shed and the crimson spots could be seen upon the rocks round about the altar; and in that age-old story of the ram taking the place of Isaac upon the altar, dying that he might live, we see a type of the Lamb of God taking our place upon the cross and dying for us.
Two thousand years later Jesus said to the Jews, "Abraham saw my day and was glad." Mr. Moody said, "I think it must have been from the top of Mount Moriah that Abraham saw his day." He had just seen a substitute for his son, a death in his stead and looking down through the years, he saw the world guilty before God, every man about to die for his own sins, seemingly no eye to spare and no one to pity, when lo the windows of heaven were opened and a Lamb without spot or blemish came and took His place at the head of that company and marched to the cross of Calvary and was "there made to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." "There he bore our sins in his own body on the tree." There he tasted death for every man and shed his blood that you and I might live. O thank God for the blood! Thank God for the blood!
Someone has said, "One drop of blood could well atone for all my sins, one drop alone." But I do not think so, if one drop would have sufficed, surely those brought forth during His agony in the garden would have been sufficient. Why not one drop from that thorn pierced brow? Then He would have been spared the cross. But no! instead of one drop, it took the blood from His brow, the blood from His hands, the blood from His feet, the blood from His lacerated back, and his heart blood that poured forth from His spear-pierced side. The lamb that took the place of Isaac was placed on the altar without consulting it, but Jesus gladly gave His life for us, and said, "I lay it down of myself and no man taketh it from me." Thank God for redeeming blood. No wonder the man who was about to have an operation on his tongue, on being told by the surgeon he would never speak again asked him to wait until he could sing once more, "There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."
* * * * * * *