May 5, 2025 - Genesis 22:8 - "God's Lamb"

Genesis 22:8

"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together."

Genesis 22 is one of the most significant and profound chapters in all of Scripture, in terms of its narrative, power, and place in redemptive history. It records God's command to Abraham to offer up his beloved son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. This account reveals the heart of the Gospel long before its full manifestation in Jesus Christ. It proclaims God's sovereign will, His gracious provision, and His redemptive purpose—even through trial and suffering.

God commands Abraham to take Isaac, His only son, the son of promise, and offer him as a burnt offering. Isaac is not merely any child; he is Abraham’s "only son" (Genesis 22:2), the one whom he loves, and the one through whom the covenant promises were to be fulfilled (Genesis 21:12). The command is staggering. Yet, we must understand that God is never arbitrary in His dealings. In His sovereignty, He ordains even the most painful trials for His glory and the good of His people. Despite the severity of the command, Abraham rises early, prepares for the journey, and begins the long trek to the land of Moriah. The narrative records that he took “two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son” (Genesis 22:3), showing Abraham’s prompt and unwavering obedience to the word of the Lord.

This reminds us that God never tests without purpose, and never without first preparing His servant. Abraham had walked with God for many years and had witnessed His faithfulness time and again. His trust in God's promise and character had been shaped through trial and God's particular revelation of Himself to Abraham. The journey to Moriah took three days—a detail that foreshadows the time between the death and resurrection of Christ. In Scripture, the number three often speaks of divine completeness and fulfillment. Moriah was also the mount on which Solomon would later build the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1), the mount where the LORD Jesus would lay down His life on the cross, outside the camp (Hebrews 13:13).

Abraham’s statement to his young servants is remarkable: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham fully believed that Isaac would return with him. Though commanded to offer his son, the LORD kept Abraham believing the promise that through Isaac his Seed would be called (Genesis 21:12). The inspired Word tells us: “Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” (Hebrews 11:19 )

As they ascend the mountain, Isaac notices something missing. He says, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). This question is central to the narrative and deeply important in what is vital to God the Father. It echoes through redemptive history and finds its ultimate answer in the words of John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Abraham’s response is both immediate and prophetic: “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). Abraham not only declares the sufficiency of God’s provision, but the sureness of Him providing for Himself what is satisfactory to His law and justice. This is not a vague hope, but a confident trust in Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord who sees and provides." God's provision is not dependent upon our understanding or effort—it is rooted in His sovereign grace.

In verses 9 and 10, we witness Abraham’s obedience come to full expression. He builds the altar, lays the wood in order, binds Isaac, and places him on the altar. This was a moment of unspeakable agony, yet Abraham proceeds in faith, trusting in God's promise and purpose. He believes that even if Isaac must die, God would raise him again (Hebrews 11:19).

Isaac’s role here must not be overlooked either. He is not a helpless child. He is old enough to carry the wood and question the absence of a lamb. His submission points us to Christ, Who “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Isaac is a type of Christ—the willing Son, obedient unto death—though ultimately spared. Christ, the true Son, was not spared but delivered up for us all (Romans 8:32).

At the critical moment, the Angel of the LORD calls out: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham’s God-given faith is affirmed, and God provides a ram caught in a thicket—a substitute in Isaac’s place. This substitution is not incidental; it is central. It points to the heart of the Gospel: the Lord Jesus Christ taking the place of guilty sinners, bearing their judgment, satisfying divine justice, and reconciling them to God (Colossians 1:22).

Abraham calls the name of the place Jehovah-jireh, meaning “The LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:14). The Lord’s provision was not only for Abraham, but for all His elect people throughout redemptive history. The Lamb was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19–20), and in the fullness of the time, He came to give His life as a Ransom for many (Galatians 4:4-6).

Finally, God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 22:15–18). As Abraham believed God and acted in faith, the Lord confirms His promise: that Abraham’s seed would be multiplied, and that through his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed. This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the true Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), through Whom salvation has come to the ends of the earth.

Genesis 22 is a glorious picture of sovereign grace. It teaches us that God is sovereign in His tests, faithful in His promises, and gracious in His provision. It foreshadows the cross of Christ, where the Father gave His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for sinners. In Christ, we behold the true fulfillment of Abraham’s words: “God will provide himself a lamb.” Let us, like Abraham, trust in God's provision, knowing that He Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).