In the other devotion on Genesis 22, We reflected on how much Abraham's faith has grown, that he was able to prevail from all the doubts and tightly grab on God's faithfulness. He has learned to believe that since God has promised him Issac, and to bless all nations through him, God will fulfill the promise. He didn't have that kind of faith from the first day that God appeared to him. His faith gradually grew through failures. In this devotion, we will reflect on the other point of the story, which God's command for Abraham to sacrifice Issac was a foreshadow of how God is going to give His One and only Son as the sacrificial lamb.

Please direct your attention to verse 7. That's when Issac asked his father the whereabouts of the sacrificial lamb. I mentioned in the other reflection of this passage that "As a father, I understand how hard it was for Abraham to heard this question." If it is difficult for Abraham to give away his one and only son (although Abraham has several sons, Issac was the only one promised by God), who was given at an old age, think about how hard it was for God to give away His one and only Son! Putting ourselves in Abraham's shoe helps us to peek into God the Father's mind when He was going to give up Jesus Christ to redeem us from death, the price of sin. That's how much He loves us! Knowing this truth gives us a fresh new understanding of John 3:16 that we can no longer take this verse lightly: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

God did provide a scapegoat for Issac. The ram was a sacrifice in place for Issac, but it eventually became an offering to God. The action that Abraham was going to give up his one and only son was a foreshadowing of God's action to give up His one and only Son. The ram was also a foreshadow, for Jesus Christ is the ultimate sacrificial lamb turned into an offering that is pleasing to God. God's love for us is beyond imagination. I hope this devotion helps you recognize your value in His eye.

Have you, because of the daily busyness, forgot how much God loves you? Remind each other how much God loves you with your devotional partner. Pray for each other that we will always remember how much God loves us and how great of the price that the Father and the Son had pay so we will not waste the precious life which God has purchased with the ultimate price.