The Lamb and Ram of God Takes Isaac’s Place as a Sacrifice – Genesis 22
by Sabrina Dawkins
God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to offer his only son, whom he loved, as a burnt sacrifice. But this wasn’t about Isaac, it was about Christ. Isaac is not Abraham’s only son. Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn son. However, three times in Genesis chapter 22, verses 2, 12, and 16, God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s only son. And Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God, the three in one in the Trinity. God the Son was sacrificed for the sins of man.
Abraham’s strong faith is shown by him telling the two young men he took with him to stay behind while he and his son went to worship God. He still saw it as an act of worship, even though God had told him to offer his son as a burnt sacrifice. He trusted God completely.
In verse 7, Isaac even asked where the lamb was for the offering, not realizing that he himself was the offering. This is prophetic because Christ would later come and be sacrificed as the Lamb of God: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28). Isaac unknowingly was awaiting Christ to take his place as the offering.
And Abraham spoke prophetically in answering his son, saying, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). It is said of Christ, “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). So God offered himself as a sacrifice instead of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abel, in the spirit, showed the immense sacrifice when he offered the firstborn of his flock of sheep to God (Genesis 4:4). And Christ “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15).
When God saw that Abraham would slay his son on his command, he knew that Abraham truly feared him. He stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and instead of Isaac, provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice. Christ is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). A lamb is a young sheep. And the ram which took the place of Isaac, Abraham’s son, is an adult male sheep. So it represented Christ sacrificed in place of Abraham’s son, in place of us.