God Will Provide for Himself a Lamb…
Sacrifice and bloodshed have been woven throughout the Bible since the beginning. We see this in the creation account in the garden of Eden. It begins where God sacrificed the animals He created, the animals Adam had named. He did this to clothe Adam and Eve who had sinned. God’s creation from dust, who were ashamed, naked and afraid.
We get a Levitical account of this idea of bloodshed and sacrifice in the OT in regards to the children of Israel. Where the Passover the lamb had to be raised in their home and sacrificed on an altar, then the blood was applied to the door post of their homes, and when it was, the death Angel would Passover.
The penalty of sin has always been death, and the gift of God has always been life. Sin has always been darkness and death, Salvation has always been light and life. That life is seen and given through and by God’s love. (Jn. 3:16)
However, Mankind continued throughout Biblical accounts to make penance with God. Nevertheless, God finally had to make the final sacrifice for all time, and He did so when He made an everlasting covenant, through Christ, for us! Paul tells us that the first Adam was made from dust, but the second Adam is the Lord from heaven. We now get a picture of what was to come in Genesis with Abraham and Isaac. When Abraham, through faith, offers his promised son as a sacrifice and tells Isaac, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the sacrifice.”
“And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.” Genesis 22:8 NKJV
Ultimately, Jesus would be that sacrifice, the final sacrifice, the everlasting covenant for all mankind, mankind that was created from the dust, but yet, could now become heavenly beings by receiving eternal life through Jesus!
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8 NKJV
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NKJV
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had “passed over” the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26 NKJV
Nonetheless, there is something that I noticed when I was reading Genesis 22, the account of Abraham offering Issac on the altar by faith. What I noticed was the word Moriah. The passage says, “take your son to the land, or to the hills of Moriah.” So, I looked up the word and found out that, Moriah means, “seen by Yahweh” and “chosen by Jehovah.” I knew Moriah is where Isaac was offered by Abraham, but, I found out it was also where Solomon built the temple of the Lord, and, it was also where Golgotha was. That’s right, the place of the skull, the place of the crucifixion of Christ, the place where Christ made an everlasting covenant, so we could have eternal life, peace, strength, joy, and healing. It was “a place chosen by Jehovah!”
It was the place of atonement! Abraham had offered Isaac there, but God provided Himself a lamb. Solomon built the temple there. The temple was a prototype of a place to get to God, it’s where the ark of the covenant was. It was a place of worship, incense, and sacrifice. A place where the glory of God could be experienced, but there was a veil, but God would provide a sacrifice through Christ that would tear the veil. A way for mankind to go behind the veil and experience God personally!
Moriah was a place that was, “seen by Yahweh”, that means God saw Abraham Offering Up Isaac, that means God saw Solomon building the temple where his father David has encountered God, a place to worship and encounter the glory of God. But, it also meant that God saw that His only begotten Son would hang on a cross and die for all mankind.
Jesus died on a cross on a hill in Moriah. He did what Abraham and Solomon couldn’t do. He brought us into the Holy of Holies and created an everlasting covenant. He shed His precious blood so that we might have life! God turned His back on Him so He would never turn His back on us! We are the righteousness of God in Christ. The blood is everlasting and all powerful! The blood will never lose its power, and it has the power of life, and of healing and of peace!
Christ is our hope and through His blood we have propitiation, peace and power! We have salvation, healing and life! Abundant Life, and Eternal Life that is by Gods Grace, and through His love. The shed blood of Christ is eternally enough for everyone and everything! It is everlasting and eternal and it will never lose its power! From the cross Jesus declared, “it is finished!” And it was.
Communion:
Jesus institutes the bread and wine as His blood and body. He reveals it is an everlasting covenant. He also reminds us that when we take the bread and drink the cup, we are to remember Him. The Passover meal had different elements, but there was always the bread, the wine, and the lamb. Jesus become that spotless lamb, that eternal sacrifice, and that eternal and final sacrifice is His shed blood and crucified body. The bread is His body and the cup is His blood. When we receive it, we receive Him. We receive hope, healing, provision and peace. Let’s remember, and let’s receive with grateful hearts and surrender souls.
“Now Then” is a phrase used for getting someone’s attention when you are starting to talk about something new. It’s a phrase used to interrupt or redirect what’s being discussed, so that you can discuss or consider what is more appropriate or important.
You have to learn to admit you were wrong and you will need to admit that you don’t have it all figured out. But, you also have to admit what you do know and what you do have figured out…
