“And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”
Genesis 22:5-8 (NASB)
This scripture brings a familiar picture to mind. Here is young Isaac, carrying wood and walking up Mount Moriah with His father, Abraham, in order to offer a sacrifice to God.
It is one of many prophetic images concealed in scripture. Jesus carried the wood of His own cross, in obedience to His father, and walked up the hill of Golgotha to offer Himself as a sacrifice.
In this story, we see Isaac’s complete trust in his father, as he didn’t know he was carrying the wood which was to be used in his own sacrifice. Abraham was being tested by God, but one thing is certain, Isaac had full confidence that his father loved him, and had his best interests at heart.
I’m fascinated by two facts that I overlooked in reading this story previously. The words of Abraham reveal two important truths:
Abraham told his two servants who accompanied him, “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.”
He told his servants that he and his boy would be back. Abraham knew that Isaac was the sacrifice, but he still trusted the goodness of God, believing that He would and could raise his boy from the dead, if necessary. God sent an angel in time to stop Abraham from going through with the sacrifice, it was all just a test, which Abraham passed.
The other fact revealed in Abraham’s words was in referring to sacrifice as worship. For Abraham, sacrificing something he loved was equivalent to worshipping God. He told his servants he was going up to the mountain to “worship” God, knowing all along that he was going to offer up His only son. In Abraham’s heart, this test of offering Isaac was a form of worship. Abraham totally trusted God that Isaac was in good hands.
Sometimes worship takes the form of sacrifice in our lives too. If worship only meant singing songs in church or saying words that bring honor and praise to God, we would forget the great cost of sacrifice and what it really means.
Sometimes we find ourselves walking an uphill stride, through a trial that no one else can walk along with us. In times like these, we walk up our own Mount Moriah, having to leave all our friends behind, like Abraham did. There will be sacrifices that we make, not always by choice, and some which we can only do alone, yet these sacrifices can be offered to God as our worship. As Isaac trusted that his father had only good will intended for him, Abraham also trusted in the goodness of God.
Whatever is being sacrificed in our lives, when we know that God is our loving father, who wants only the best for us, we can walk up our Mount Moriah with a heart filled with faith and worship, just like Abraham did.
Whatever type of suffering or sacrifice we go through, whether physical, emotional or some form of humiliation, we can identify with Jesus, and offer it to God in a spirit of worship.
Jesus had disciples and friends who loved Him and believed in Him, but when the time for sacrifice came, He left them all behind, and walked up the hill of Golgotha, alone. There are times in our life that we cannot take our friends with us. Some sacrifices must be offered alone as Jesus showed us, but He also told His friends and servants that He would be back again, on the third day. In every sacrifice, there is always a hope of resurrection.
Abraham carried the fire and the knife, trusting God would provide the lamb that day, and Isaac carried the wood, trusting completely in his father’s love. As they went up the mountain with the intent of sacrifice as worship, God provided a lamb for them, caught in a very dense shrub.
Abraham knew that God would come through, and that’s why he told his servants he and Isaac would be back. God shows us He loves us, when we trust and offer ourselves completely to Him. Isaac had the attitude that every believer needs during difficult times. In Isaac’s mind, he knew, “What can go wrong when my father loves me so much?”
Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him. As we imitate Him, carrying the wood up Mount Moriah alone, we are never truly alone. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much, and sent His own son to be with us always.
God was looking for the willingness of Abraham’s heart. Sacrifice, when offered to God as worship, is really about a willing heart in total surrender to Him. Jesus set the most perfect example of a willing heart surrendered to God.
At the top of Mount Moriah, God provided the lamb. In the final sacrifice, God provided the Lamb for us, in Jesus, and He meets us at the top of our Moriah.
Sacrifices take many different forms throughout our lifetime. Whatever we think of as a trial in the form of humiliation or sacrifice, becomes our offering of worship, as our living sacrifice to God.
Paul knew this truth when he wrote,
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1)
We don’t have to carry any wood up a mountain, because Jesus already completed a sacrifice for our atonement. Now we offer our whole selves to God as a “living” sacrifice, as our spiritual service of worship to Him. Our sacrifices are offered to God throughout our lives, and it is worship in the highest form.
When we stop looking at suffering as punishment, or a problem to be delivered from, but as our sacrifice of worship offered to God on our own Mount Moriah, we realize, through Jesus, that sacrifice has always been the highest form of worship.
Lord, we offer up to you, anything that feels like loss, every strained relationship, every difficult situation that weighs on us, all the personal offenses suffered, and in dying to our selves, we give it all to you as a sacrifice of worship because we know nothing can go wrong with a Father who loves us so much. Amen