6. Some Intriguing Observations (4)

Illustration #3: Isaac, A Symbolic Prophecy about Jesus

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’”

Genesis 22:2

Here is the story of when God tested Abraham’s faith. He told Abraham to take his only son Isaac to a mountaintop and sacrifice Isaac. Fortunately this was only a test, so when Abraham was ready to kill Isaac, God intervened and provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac.

Compare the story of Isaac to Jesus and the gospels. There are astonishing parallels: [11]

• Like Jesus, Isaac was miraculously conceived. Sarah, Isaac’s mother, was 90 years old when she bore Isaac and had been barren all her life; Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 17:17).

• Like Jesus, Isaac was his father’s beloved son (Genesis 22:2).

• Like Jesus carried the cross, Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice (Genesis 22:6).

• Like Jesus spending three days in the tomb before the resurrection, the journey to Moriah took three days (Genesis 22:4).

Although these similarities are not expressly delineated in the New Testament, the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac became the “old covenant” counterpart of and paradigm for God’s sacrifice of his own son on Calvary very early in post-New Testament Christian literature. The earliest reference is in the Epistle of Barnabas: [12] “because He also Himself was to offer in sacrifice for our sins the vessel of the Spirit, in order that the type established in Isaac when he was offered upon the altar might be fully accomplished.” [13] Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, and Origen also cited the Isaac-Christ parallels. Tertullian saw the firewood Isaac carried as a figure of the cross and emphasized Christ’s self-sacrifice: “Accordingly, to begin with, Isaac, when led by his father as a victim, and himself bearing his own ‘wood,’ was even at that early period pointing to Christ’s death; conceded, as He was, as a victim by the Father; carrying, as He did, the ‘wood’ of His own passion.” [14]

That is not all! Where is mount Moriah? The region of Mount Moriah is once again mentioned as the location where Solomon built the temple: “Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David” (2 Chronicles 3:1). That is interesting. So the location of the temple is in the same mountain range as where centuries earlier Abraham was commanded to go to sacrifice Isaac. The threshing floor of Araunah is described in 2 Samuel 24:15-25 and is the site currently known as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

It is not on the top of the mountain, but at a saddle point about 1,500 feet southeast of the actual peak. The mountain peak itself is just outside the walls of Jerusalem as it was in the time of Jesus. That mountaintop, likely the actual location where Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac, was known in the time of Jesus as Golgotha; we now know it better as Calvary! [15]

In the words of Genesis 22:14: “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.’”

Analysis of this symbolic prophecy:

• Is it significant? I believe so. Not only are the parallels between Isaac and Jesus striking, but it is also compelling that Abraham is commanded to travel to the same area where we now know Jerusalem to be.  Possibly this is even the same mountaintop where two thousand years later Jesus was suspended on the cross as a sacrifice for all people.
• The account is unique to the Bible. No other books claim a similar prophecy and fulfillment.
• There is no way Moses, when he wrote Genesis, could have known the future location of Jerusalem . The site for the temple was revealed to David about five hundred years later, and the location of the crucifixion was chosen by the Romans (who preferred a prominent spot just outside the city walls for the maximum effect) fifteen hundred years after the Abraham – Isaac incident was recorded.

Therefore, I personally believe, that the symbolic sacrifice of Isaac, the location of Jerusalem , and possible even the site of Calvary are impressive illustrations for God’s design of the text of Genesis. It shows how irrelevant detail might provide provocative information.