The Long Walk of Faith

So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
(Genesis 22:14 – ESV)

The journey to Moriah took three days, like Jesus spending three days in the tomb before the resurrection. Abraham walks three days to deliver his son as a sacrifice. Jesus walks three years to deliver Himself as a sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac are a type of the sacrifice of Christ, but their faith was no match for the Son of God. They were they type; He is the antitype, the fulfillment.

We can be in situations and we can realize that we are being tried, tested, and proven (1 Peter 1:7). If everything you have, everything you hold on to, everything that means anything is being taken away, you still have Jesus (Hebrews 13:5). He will not leave, He cannot be taken away, and we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Christ has made the journey. He has perfected the walk. He has made the sacrifice.

Jesus had to taste the torment of knowing He was going to be giving up His own life, but more than that, He tasted death for all men (Hebrews 2:9). This was not simply the physical pain of the cross but also having to drink the cup of the wrath of God against the sin of you and me, of all God’s children. Jesus suffered torment, not just of having done it his own way and then having to walk the long road, as Abraham had to do. Christ had never done it His own way, but He only ever did it His Father’s way, and yet He had to walk that long road, and taste death for all our sins.

By this type God’s people were to be trained to look for Christ. The Tabernacle and then the Temple were also pictures of the Ultimate Sacrifice seen in the death of Jesus. We can now look back and see God’s grand design and His masterful work in painting us pictures of redemption.

Now it is our chance to live as portraits of His grace, pictures of redemption, living sacrificial lives that point to our Master and the Maestro behind it all. Does you life point to the beauty of Christ? Does it glorify Him? Are you on that path? Are you keeping your eyes on Him even as the pressure may mount? Are you learning to trust Him and treasure Him above all else?

Look to Christ, learn of His greatness, His glory, of His love for you, and you will learn to love Him, and loving Him, you will learn to live like Him. The sound you will hear, the song that will move you, is the sweet sound of salvation, which is the Master Plan from the Maestros hand. We know that we will have tough and trying times in this life but our God is working it out according to His plan, and we can rest assured in Him (John 16:2-4, 2 Peter 3:14-18).

The introductory verse of Genesis 22:1 helps the reader understand that God never intended to allow the sacrifice of Isaac to come to full fruition. The test was not known to Abraham but God was known by Abraham – this is also what we see with Job 13:15, Daniel 3, Matthew 10:25, Luke 12:4-5. When you know the character of God you will trust Him, when you know the love of God you will treasure Him.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©