Here you are, minding your own business, reading Genesis 21-22.
Abraham finally has a son. Sarah is laughing. Everything is finally working out for this family. "Good for them," you think to yourself while sipping your tea.
Then you turn the page, and God’s ordering Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
*spits out tea* "What?!"
The knee-jerk reaction might be: “Is God a monster?”
Yet, as with every puzzling Bible passage, there’s a deeper, breathtaking reality at work here.
Remember, Abraham and Sarah had waited decades for this promised child. The joy of Isaac’s birth was immeasurable—God had fulfilled His word!
Then suddenly, in Genesis 22:2, that same God says, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love… sacrifice him.”
What on earth is going on?
But the opening verse drops a crucial hint for us, the readers: this is a test.
God isn’t bloodthirsty. He’s exposing Abraham’s faith. Would Abraham cling to God, trusting His promise of countless descendants through Isaac, even when the situation looks beyond dire?
Fast-forward to the mountaintop moment, knife in hand, Isaac bound, tension building until you can almost hear hearts pounding.
And then the “Angel of the Lord” intervenes, halting Abraham’s hand.
In a flash, the test is over. God won’t make Abraham sacrifice his son. Instead, a ram caught in the thicket becomes the actual sacrifice.
Abraham names that place Jehovah-Jireh—“the Lord will provide.”
So where is Jesus in all this?
In short: everywhere.
There’s the motif of “your only son” reminiscent of John 3:16. There’s Isaac carrying the wood, much like Christ bore His cross. There’s the three-day journey, conjuring thoughts of Christ’s resurrection on the third day. Even the location—Mount Moriah—later became the Temple Mount, linking sacrifice and atonement across centuries.
Yet the biggest reveal is the identity of the “Angel of the Lord,” the one who stops Abraham’s hand and reconfirms God’s covenant.
This isn’t a random angel. It’s a Christophany—a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Jesus, distinctly God yet sent by the Father.
CONSIDER THIS:
Consider the weightiness of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Ask yourself, “What would my life look like if I truly put God above everything else?”
Pause and marvel: the One who would later lay down His own life stepped into Abraham’s test to ensure Isaac would live. In a parallel, the Father ultimately did what He asked of Abraham—except no angel stayed His hand at Calvary.
Jesus, the beloved Son, was willingly sacrificed for you and me. Genesis 22 showcases not a cruel deity but a God who highlights the costliness of faith while foreshadowing the immeasurable lengths He’d go to for our salvation.
When we see Jesus’ footprints etched into this dramatic Old Testament scene, we realize that humanity's rescue plan was in motion long before the manager cradled its holy child.
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