The story of Abraham and Isaac stands as one of the most iconic accounts in the Bible. It has been depicted in countless works of art over the centuries: Abraham, standing over a wooden altar, his young son Isaac bound on top, Abraham’s hand raised, gripping a knife, just as an angel intervenes at the last second.
It is a dramatic account, rich with symbolism and meaning, yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood stories in the Bible. As a result, perhaps no other account in the entire Old Testament has been so viciously criticised. Not merely because it relays a disturbing event, but because the actions taken by Abraham—actions that would seemingly be impossible for you and I, are carried out without objection or protest, and in accordance with the command of our loving and gracious God.
Even as Christians, we may wrestle with this narrative, imagining ourselves in Abraham’s place. What would we do if God asked us to prove our love and loyalty by making such an unimaginable sacrifice? This shocking account naturally attracts critics.
Some, like Richard Dawkins, called it an example of child abuse and blind obedience to authority, dismissing it as a “disgraceful story.” Christopher Hitchens, among other professional God-haters, has also echoed similar sentiments. Condemning the account as a moral outrage, Hitchens said, “The religions that say you should admire infanticide as proof of the love of God have no claim at all to be preaching ethics, let alone morality.”
Ironically, even those who claim we live in a godless, amoral universe express moral outrage over this story. Yet, their critiques often resonate with a quiet discomfort many feel about God’s command in verse 2: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and offer him as a burnt offering.”
Abraham’s striking response makes the whole account even harder to swallow. Unlike his intercession for Sodom in Genesis 18, where he pleaded with God multiple times to spare his nephew Lot from certain death, here Abraham silently obeys. He rises early, gathers supplies, and undertakes a three-day journey without protest.
Why such a different response between the prospect of his nephew’s death and the thought of his own son being slaughtered at his own hand?
The reason why Abraham raised no objections, rose early in the morning, undertook a three-day journey, and so readily complied without question is precisely because Abraham did not believe that this would result in Isaac’s end. And it was this very belief that God was here testing. This was a test, but not to see if Abraham loved God so much that he had no love left in his heart for his own son. This was a test, but not to demonstrate that Abraham believed Isaac would die. This was a test that proved Abraham believed that Isaac would live.
When Abraham tells his servants, “I and the boy will go over there and worship and then we will come back to you,” he reveals his confidence that Isaac will return with him. He believed God would fulfill His promises, even if it required raising Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:17).
As they journeyed, Isaac noticed something missing. “We have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself the lamb.” And God did. Just as Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, an angel intervened, and a ram was provided as a substitute.
This is not the last time a substitutionary sacrifice will be offered on Mount Moriah. In 1 Chronicles 21, King David’s sin brought God’s judgment upon Israel, resulting in 70,000 deaths. As the angel of the LORD prepared to destroy Jerusalem, God relented, declaring, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” David saw the angel with a drawn sword over Jerusalem like Abraham standing over Isaac, and, in fear, purchased Ornan the Jebusite’s threshing floor. There, he built an altar and offered sacrifices. The LORD accepted the offerings with fire from heaven and commanded the angel to sheath his sword. A substitute had been offered and accepted.
Centuries later, Solomon built the Temple on this same site, where countless sacrifices were made. Yet these offerings could never truly atone for the sins of the people. Hebrews 10:3-4 reminds us, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
But it was this insufficiency that remained a constant reminder in the minds of the Old Testament saints that something new was necessary, that God would provide for Himself a better substitute than a ram, bull, or goat. If the blood of an animal couldn’t take away sins, then the blood of a man was necessary. Not just any man, a man without spot or wrinkle or blemish – or sin.
God’s ultimate provision was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. This is why John the Baptist proclaimed upon seeing Him, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Our Father in heaven, sent His only son, His beloved son, to the land of Moriah, where He carried on his shoulders the wood upon which He would be sacrificed. Only there was no substitute for this Son of Abraham because He was the substitute, He was the Lamb that the Lord promised to provide.
The story of Abraham and Isaac is not about a cruel demand from a heartless God to a heartless father, because the request itself was made in light of the promises that were already given to Abraham. The story is about Abraham’s faith in God’s promise — that Isaac would, in fact, live, grow, marry, and father a multitude of people. Abraham believed that Isaac would live and that God would provide a lamb.
We are called to believe the same truth Abraham trusted in: death awaits us all. God has ordained the number of our heartbeats, each one bringing us closer to our final moment. Though death feels like something that happens only to others, it is a reality for every one of us.
Our only hope lies in this question: Do you, like Abraham, trust the grand promises of God for those who look to the Lamb? Do you approach death with the assurance that God has provided for Himself a Lamb? Do you believe, as Abraham did, that God has the power to raise the dead, offering life that never ends?
At the heart of our faith is this belief—that God has provided for Himself a Lamb. This Christmas and beyond, may we behold the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was born to die and raised to reign forever.
