God Calls us

“Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” 

Genesis 22:7-8

Like Jesus, Isaac carried the wood needed for the sacrifice on the mountain. It foreshadows Jesus carrying His own cross up Mt. Calvary. It seems that like Jesus, Isaac was also willing to give his life, in obedience to Abraham his father, because he was meek as a lamb when his father Abraham “built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.” 

Isaac did ask his father in curiosity as they trudged up the mountain, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” Surely he was strong enough to fight his father for his life, but he did not. And so we see this as a prophetic reenactment of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. There are other instances in the Old Testament where God asks prophets to act out things to emphasize a message. He asked the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute to show how He loved the people of Israel even if they were unfaithful to Him time and time again. 

There are many stories in the Bible that may be puzzling, but the Bible is like a library of love stories told over thousands of years. God continues to call us to Himself even now. We just need to read His Words, to listen and to have faith He has the very best in mind for us.