Seeking Jesus First - Sept. 28, 2023
Daily Worship, Spirit and Word
“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)
This is the first time the word love is mentioned in The Bible. The Hebrew transliteration for this word is ‘ahab’. It means to have affection for, but it is translated according to it’s context on a scale form how much you love another person, “dearly beloved”, to sexual desire, or even how much you enjoy a certain kind of food.
In this context, we see the great affection that Abraham had for Isaac. This love stems from several places. Abraham had to be grateful for his long awaited promise from God. Isaac was the son of his first love Sarah after her many years of agonizing regret for not being able to give Abraham a son. Isaac was the son of his old age and the result of a miracle of God. God declared Isaac to be the one who carried the blessed line of descendants all the way to Jesus. For all of these reasons, Abraham loved Isaac. And God asked Abraham to trust Him enough to go to a distant mountain and sacrifice Isaac on an altar. Abraham loved Isaac and trusted God to keep His promise through Isaac. Nevertheless. Abraham set off to perform the sacrifice. God stopped him and told him that YHVH YIREH would provide Himself a sacrifice. Then God substituted a ram caught in a thicket (crown of thorns) for Isaac, and almost two thousand years later, took another descendant of Abraham who was also the son of God and sacrificed Him on that same mountain. This both fulfilled and confirmed the Abrahamic covenant and initiated a new, better and living way for all who believe to participate in this better covenant with better promises. This is a “Grant Covenant”. We are beneficiaries without our own blood sacrifice. Christ Jesus became the blood sacrifice. Jesus became our atonement. Jesus is the mediator of this better covenant. We can’t purchase or earn our status as covenant beneficiaries and now sons of God. It is a gift of God’s grace. It was the sacrifice of God’s beloved son that made it all possible. All we can do is agree to it and receive it by faith. Even the ability to believe, just like the ability to breathe, is a gift of God.