How does Genesis 22 foreshadow the work of Christ in the New Testament?
In the Bible, from the beginning, there has always been stories that have foreshadowed God coming down to earth and becoming man to save us from our sins. One story that foreshadows the work of Christ is in Genesis 22. This story is the story of when God asks Abraham to give his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. Although Abraham deeply loved his son and was saddened by this, he was ready to give anything to God. There are a few things, in particular, that foreshadow Christ’s work in the New Testament. These include God asking for Abraham’s only son and Isaac carrying his own wood on his back.
First, in this story God calls Abraham to him and asks him to take his only son to a mountain called Moriah. Then God told Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice him as a burnt offering to the Lord. As hard as this was for Abraham to do, he took his son the next morning and started for the long walk to the mountain Moriah. This part of the story foreshadows God taking it upon himself and sacrificing His only son who He loved and giving him to us as an offering to Himself. God the Father gave us God the Son to die as an offering to God in atonement for our sins.
The second part of the story that foreshadows the work of Christ shown in the New Testament is when Abraham asks Isaac to carry the wood for the offering. When Abraham and Isaac arrived at the foot of the mountain, Abraham and Isaac left the servants that came with them and continued on alone. Abraham asked Isaac to carry the wood for the rest of their journey. Starting at the foot of the mountain, Isaac carried the wood upon which he was to die. Similarly, when Jesus was going to be crucified, he also carried the wood on which he was crucified to the site where he was to die. Isaac foreshadows Christ’s carrying of the cross.
This story in Genesis shows us that although God asks a lot from us, He will never ask us to do something that He would not be willing to do Himself. This scripture has normally been hard for me to read because I would always wonder why God would ask Abraham to offer his only son to Him. However, looking at this story in context of the entire Bible, this story shows me that God loved us enough to give us his only son as a sacrifice and in atonement for the sins of the entire world. Foreshadowed by God asking for Abraham’s only son and Isaac’s carrying of the wood, we see that God cared so much for us that as soon as we fell from Him, He found a way to bring us back.
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