GOD PROVIDES THE SUBSTITUTE

The sacrifice of Abraham not only reflects his faith in God but also God’s love for us. We are familiar with the story of Abraham. We know how he was promised a son, and how he waited for a long time before God fulfilled His promise. We can imagine how heavy it must have been when God seemed to take back the very son he had waited for. For Abraham, Isaac was the son God promised from the very beginning (Gen. 12:1–2). On Isaac also rested the future generations that would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (15:5). For Abraham, to sacrifice Isaac meant throwing away years of waiting in the past and letting go of the hope of the future. We can feel the weight of Abraham’s decision when he still chose to obey. He passed the test! He responded in faith by offering Isaac, who himself was a gift from the Lord. And God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice in Isaac’s place on the altar (22:12–14).

Later, when the law of Moses was given, the concept of substitution became even clearer. Animals were offered in place of people, just like the ram on Abraham’s altar. Something had to die to pay for sins it did not commit. When God accepted the sacrifices, He granted forgiveness to the one who offered them. Of course, these animals did not really take away sins (Heb. 10:4), and they all belonged to God in the first place (Ps. 50:10). Yet in His goodness, God continued to accept them. The people responded in faith by presenting the sacrifices the Lord Himself had provided as substitutes.

When Christ came, the picture of substitution was fulfilled perfectly. We know the story. God made a promise long ago, and He fulfilled it. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, His dearly loved One (Jn 3:16; Matt. 3:17). We cannot comprehend the weight it was for the Father to give His Son! Yet upon Christ rested the salvation of humanity. Just as He had always done, God provided a substitute to pay for our sins. Abraham’s offering of his son points us to God’s own offering of His Son to die in our place, “the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Pet. 3:18). But unlike Abraham’s story, no one intervened to stop God from sacrificing His Son! There was no substitute for Christ. He was sacrificed fully. We cannot fully imagine the weight of what the Savior endured, yet He still chose to obey. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Father, thank You for providing the substitute. Stay Curious.