To Biblical scholars and other experts of Scripture (and probably to a great many who don't fit into those categories) this may seem like an obvious point. But it was just made clear to me that Isaac seems to prefigure Christ in more ways than one. In fact, the entire patriarchal triumvirate of Abraham-Isaac-Jacob can be seen as a microcosm of God's infinite design. Abraham's fatherhood is stressed as much as Isaac's sonship is. The account of Esau and Jacob foreshadows the split which results in Jews and Christians parting ways. Jacob's twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. the twelve Apostles), spread out and go forth. But what I want to focus on is Genesis 22, the famous chapter in which Abraham is instructed to sacrifice his beloved son. The parallels to Christ throughout this chapter are so unconcealed that I couldn't believe it was only dawning on me now. There are a couple key elements to this story that I was heretofore ignorant of: one is the fact that Isaac carried his own wood up the hill where he was to be sacrificed, and the other is that Isaac was actually much older than I had ever imagined. Most artistic depictions of this event show a very young Isaac, some even portraying him as an infant child. But the fact is that Isaac was much older, probably around 25 years of age. Whereas I had always imagined that A
braham never told his son what he was about to do, I now see that Isaac had to have known full well what was about to happen to him.... and Isaac voluntarily went through with it anyway! This is an amazing change of perspective for me. If Isaac was a strapping 25-year-old, and Abraham a feeble old man of over 100, then the son could have easily resisted his father and ran from this horrifying thing that was about to happen. But he didn't. He laid down upon the wood and willfully offered himself up for the sake of his father! (See what I mean about unconcealed parallels?!) The other tidbit of information that previously eluded me was the fact that Isaac carried the means of his death to the place of his death, exactly as Christ would do thousands of years later -- before they went up to the place of sacrifice, "[Abraham] took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son" (Genesis 22:6). Isaac carried the wood to his death, just as Christ carried the cross. Abraham allowed this to happen to his son, just as God the Father allowed His beloved Son to be sacrificed.
Could you post some of the text of the scripture here? I'm specifically interested in verses 7-8. I'm reading the New Internation Version (NIV) and I'm curious about translation differences. The NIV translation reads:
ReplyDelete7 "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.
My translation is virtually identical to the NIV, but I'll go ahead and post it anyway:
ReplyDelete"Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son? Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust?
And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went on together" (Gen 22:7-8).
Abraham obviously didn't immediately let on to his son what was going on, but at some point in time between verse 8 and verse 9, Isaac must have been made aware, because in verse 9 it is written that Abraham "bound Isaac his son." Isaac, being stronger than his aging father, clearly would have had an opportunity to escape before being bound. Whether or not he knew his fate while climbing the hill carrying the wood is debatable. The symbol is there for us nonetheless.
Re-reading this right now I just noticed how telling is the line in verse 8, "God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son." God indeed will provide Himself a victim for an holocaust in Jesus Christ!