Genesis 22:14 (NRSV)
So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide,” as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Devotion
The written parallels between the experience of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, and that of Jesus’ crucifixion on Mount Calvary are too numerous to list in a short devotional. Religious scholars have listed more than thirty such parallels. A few of these parallels are:
(1) Both Isaac and Jesus carried and were bound to the wood upon which they were to be sacrificed.
(2) Both sacrifices take place on the same mountain (called Mt. Moriah in the Old Testament, called Mt. Calvary in the New Testament).
(3) In both situations the sacrificial “lamb” was provided by God.
In a theological sense, there exists an “antithesis pair” with these accounts of sacrifice. As a rhetorical device, antithesis pairs show opposite or contrasting ideas in a parallel grammatical structure. The story of Abraham and Isaac is that of man’s willingness to sacrifice his son to prove a greater love for God. The story of Jesus’ crucifixion is that of God sacrificing His son to prove a greater love for man. Both sons eventually survived the act of sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and His death and burial, lead us to the greatest survival story of all time – His resurrection after three days.
Isaac’s survival provided hope for Abraham and his belief in God’s promise to him that his “descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.”(Gen.12) Jesus’ resurrection provides the hope and promise to all generations that a tomb is not the final resting place for those whose faith is anchored to Jesus. These Mounts teach us that it is only when we are willing to let go of what we love most in this life, can we ever hope to receive it back in unimaginable ways.
Prayer
As a prayer for today, the words of this hymn by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt
are perfect:
My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.
Rev. Dr. Allen Wilson