Jesus in the OT - Part 3

Intro:
Right on time ....

Many movies build tension by putting the hero in an impossible place. The tension builds as we watch to see how this will be resolved. Usually, it is right on time.

Consider:
*Spiderman saving Mary Jane and a tram full of kids hanging from a bridge
*Han Solo rescuing Princess Leia from Darth Vader
*Will Smith figuring out how to destroy a space ship before it destroys earth
*An angel rescuing George from himself by reminding him that it's a wonderful life

All saved, right on time .....

Read:
Genesis 22:6-18

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Think:
Many of us know the story of Abraham and Isaac. The imagery is disturbing. The tension real.

Imagine the request: "Abraham, sacrifice your son, your one and only son, the son that you love." What would you do? Would you run for it?

Abraham knew his God. He had proven Himself time and again. Isaac was proof. He was God's promise to Abraham. So, when Abe got this difficult request he figured that God would provide a way out of this or that God would raise his son from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19).

Think how crazy that sounded? Abe did not have a "Magic 8" ball or a way to see the future. He definitely did not have a model of the resurrection to count on. Yet he knew his God. God would provide a way. God would provide a lamb.

Of course we know the rest of the story. We know that God provides a lamb that would take away the sins of the world. We know that God does not spare His own son, the son He loved, but gave Him up for us all.

Ok, we know all that, but did you know that the One that would ultimately take Isaac's place, the One that would pay for Abe's sins and the One that would die to make all the promises of God ours is the same One that coordinates Isaac's rescue here in Genesis 22?

This is Jesus in the OT.

The angel of the LORD calls himself God in verse 16. The angel of the LORD speaks to Abe. The angel of the LORD provides a substitute. The angel of the LORD saves the boy. The angel of the LORD, Jesus on earth, chooses to be our sacrifice here in this moment, on this mountain, right on time.

Do:
What are you working through right now? Where is the tension building in your life? Is it in your work? Marriage? With your children? With another person? Are you going through a difficult time?

"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is "good", because it is good, if "bad" because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country."

CS Lewis

Can I encourage you that there is nothing God will give you that He has not worked in you to handle. He doesn't change our circumstances so much as He changes us to meet our circumstances. If it gets too difficult He will rescue ... right on time.

Thank God for His indescribable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank Him for rescuing you from sin and death and hell. Thank Him for walking with you today. If He was willing to walk on earth in the OT how much more will He not show Himself to those that are filled with the Holy Spirit today.

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