In the stead of
Genesis 22: 1-13. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”
We will stop there for a while and see if we can put this in perspective as Abraham saw it. We have to remember that God had already promised him to be the father of many nations (Genesis 15: 1-6). So how is it possible for this promise to be fulfilled when God has now said unto him: take thy son, thine only son and offer him up for a burnt offering on the mount? Well, there is only one way for this to be, for Abraham to offer up Isaac and yet for his seed to carry out the promise. So let’s back up a little here and walk with Abraham and Isaac in this journey. From the early morning, the two of them began this journey along with the two young men that Abraham had also bidden to go. If you will remember, from the morning they started out it was three days till the time Abraham left the two young men with the ass and he and Isaac began the last part on foot together. In the eyes of Abraham, from the morning they left out, Isaac was already dead. Do not forget what God had asked him to do–that is, offer Isaac up. That was the death sentence, as far as Abraham was concerned. So now at the point where Abraham and Isaac left the ass with the young men and began the walk together to the mountain, with the wood on the back of his son (which by the way speaks of Calvary) and the fire in his hand (which speaks of judgment) and a knife (which speaks of death), they continue their journey to the place on the mountain alone. That is important, they went alone. One day on Calvary, the Father and the Son were alone. No one could help. Then there came the moment when the Son was alone. So it was with Abraham and Isaac as they arrived at the place on the mountain and Abraham made the altar and placed the wood on the altar. Having bound the sacrifice, Isaac, and laid him on the wood, he reached forth for the knife with the intention of going through with that which God had commanded him to do. Then the Angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him…And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked.” There was a ram with his horns caught in a thicket, and he offered the ram up in the stead of his son Isaac. You might say, well, why would Abraham go this far knowing that Isaac was the only hope of the promise being fulfilled? Well, Abraham believed God would raise his son, Isaac, his only begotten son from the dead. Remember, this is the third day from the beginning of their journey. “After three days, Jesus arose.” Hebrews 11:17-19. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Now let us go back in time to the garden where God placed Adam and Eve. You remember reading Genesis 2:15-16: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” And as you already know, they did eat. So now the death sentence was upon them and there was no way out. God could not change His word and remain just. There was no way they could undo their sin–simply no way they could redeem themselves, even though they tried covering their nakedness with the fig leaves. They were still lost and separated from the thrice-holy God now and for eternity. Well, God had already made a way, as we read in Revelation 13:8: ” …the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” That is typified in the coats of skins that He alone made for them. Notice, they had nothing whatsoever to do with what God did for them. It was God who made coats (plural) of skins (plural). And there was the blood that was shed from those animals. Also, here is a very interesting truth. “Skins” (plural) implies that at least two animals were slain. You only get one skin from one animal, not two. If this is the case, is it possible that those animals were the only male and female of their kind at that point in time, and if so, there remained no more of them? If so, that is a precious type of the Lord Jesus. They would have given their lives and then been taken out of this world, never to be any more like them. That would point to the same truth concerning Jesus. There was never a sacrifice like Him, and after Calvary, He was taken out of this world, never to be another like Him in all the earth. But there is more to this story. How can a thrice-holy God “…be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus?” (Romans 3:26) Well, there is only one way for that to be. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). We know from the book of Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.” And we know that God cannot lie. It boils down to the truth that the only way God can remain just, and the justifier, of us that believe, is that the One who gave that commandment, “thou shalt not,” is the only One who is able to die and fulfill the payment of death. God, who gave the law, is the only One who can satisfy that law. Adam could not do it, and you and I cannot do it. Someone had to die, and that someone was none other than God Himself, in the Person of His Son Jesus. He died in the stead of Adam, in the stead of Eve, in the stead of Isaac, in the stead of you, in the stead of me. Just like Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead, we too, believe that He died in our stead to pay that penalty of eternal separation, then arose from the dead. You remember what Abraham said to Isaac when his son asked his father, “Where is the lamb?” Then his father replied,” God will provide himself a lamb.” Also remember what Abraham said to the young men he left with the ass: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” He knew they both were coming back. Yes, they were both on the mountain of sacrifice, and yes, it was the place of death, but to God be the glory, they also were both on resurrection ground. One day, those who have died in the faith, having believed, will arise from the dead, and “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thessalonians 4:17). All because of, “in the stead of.” Bless His holy Name.
In conclusion to this message, we travel the Journey to the promise. The whole central theme of the Bible, the Word of God is this: the Kingdom that was promised but rejected by the nation of Israel and postponed (not replaced by), while taking out of the Gentiles, a people for His namesake (His Bride the Church) which resulted in Jesus going to the cross instead of the throne thereby we have, His death, the burial, the resurrection, (the Gospel) Apart from this truth, we have absolutely no hope. This is portrayed in Abraham and Isaac where Abraham is willing to offer up his son Isaac in faith, believing God would raise him from the dead, pointing to Calvary where the Father willingly gave His Son Jesus, knowing He had power to raise Himself up on the third day. Herein lies the Journey to the Promise that Abraham and Isaac had taken. Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” And where was that gospel message preached? On the mountain! Genesis 22:15-18. “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Herein lies the Journey to the Promise we must take. In the promise of eternal life we receive. When we willingly die to ourselves and our sin at the foot of the cross, and claim Him our righteousness. All hinges on the death, the burial, the resurrection, without which, we have no promise of eternal life. In Him we die. In Him we are buried. In Him we arise. All because, “In the stead of.”
In conclusion we want to mention one more important truth. If you remember back where the scripture said, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.” And also in another part later in the same passage scriptures it is said. “And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”
This is the third day in their journey. It is said he lifted up his eyes. But yet was afar off. This is important for you and I to remember. For with Abraham, he was walking towards the place with downcast eyes, due to Isaac being under the death sentence. While walking he first does see the place afar off. Then they both arrive at the place. Now it is no longer afar off. Reality is now at the door. His eyes are still downcast, because it is said, he lifted up his eyes and behold a ram. The substitute is there. Someone might say, well why would Abraham have been looking down, when believing that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead? Have you not read, Matthew 26:38-39, where Jesus said? “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Don’t you think maybe Abraham might have felt somewhat as this also? By the way, this was the same place. It was not possible for the cup to pass from Him and let us go free. It’s either Him or us. He chose the cup. In type, this is seen in Abraham and Isaac.
Much can be said about this place but what I want us as believers to see here is this.
I well remember the days before The Lord saved me. For a living, I was a logger in those days. We worked during the week and many times we went fishing on the weekends. Different lakes, but many times we went to Fontanna Lake, out a little further west from where we live. As we traveled, we had to pass by, on the side of the road, where someone had placed a structure, somewhat like the U.S. Forest Service does, made of wood with the words, Where Will You Be in Eternity? Also along the sides of the road I would see rocks painted with the words, Jesus Saves. I, being lost at the time, these literally destroyed the joy of my fishing trip. It came to the point, I would close my eyes as we went by, not that it did any good. That image was already burned into my conscience. The Lord was showing me the place afar off, but I did not want to look, at that point in my life. Then there came the day when the place was literately at my doorstep. I had run from the Lord for a long time, when He sent a friend of mine all the way from Virginia to witness to me. I was cornered on the back-steps of the house where I lived. Nowhere to run this time. The place I had seen afar off, is now reality, and I’m at the place. This time I did lift up my eyes and for the first time in my life I saw the place, and the Substitute, who died in my place. I had run( from) Him all these years, but this time, I ran (to)Him. He truly did cause my eyes to lift up, when I saw the place, and the substitute. where He died for me. In The Stead Of, Me.