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Let us pray. Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be. Luke 22, 42. Dear Heavenly Father, your ways are higher than our ways, and your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Your wisdom far exceeds our own, yet still we sometimes wrestle with obedience.
We want our way and our desires to be put before yours. Lord, we humbly pray today that you would conform our hearts to yours so we can honestly echo the words of Jesus. Not my will, but yours be done.
We want holy submission and a heavenly mindset. Forgive us when we stumble and fall prey to pride and guide us daily to fulfill your will, even when it's difficult. We love you and we trust you in Jesus's name. Thank you for praying with me today. Stay tuned now for another episode of Stories of the Messiah with Rabbi Schneider.
The cries of a tiny newborn echoed under the vast starlit canvas of Canaanite night. Sarah cradled the newborn child in her arms, tears of joy cascading down her aged face. She laughed at herself. She once scoffed at the idea of bearing a child at her age. Yet here he was, the fulfillment of God's promise packaged in a small child. His name will be Isaac, she sighed. God has made me laugh.
And everyone who hears of this will laugh. Who would have thought Abraham and Sarah would ever bear a child? The boys' cries were a melody that turned bitter impossibilities into sweet possibilities. Abram entered the tent and gazed upon Isaac. He limped forward and knelt beside his wife. His trembling hands reached for him. Isaac's tiny hand wrapped around Abraham's finger, and a surge of fierce and overwhelming love engulfed him.
Abraham was not just holding his son. He was holding the manifestation of the covenant between him and God, the tangible evidence of his faithfulness. This child was not just the fruit of his old age, but the seed of the great nation God had promised. As Isaac's soft breath warmed Abraham's chest, the realization of his promise overwhelmed him.
Abraham vowed that night never to doubt God again. He would obey him in everything, for he knew God always worked things together for the good. He always fulfilled his promises. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Stories of the Messiah podcast, brought to you by Pray.com.
I'm Rabbi Schneider from Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and it's my sincere joy to be with you today. If you've been following this podcast and found it a blessing, follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode. My mission in ministry has been to connect the mystery of the Old and New Testaments to the greatness of Jesus. This series unpacks stories from some of the most famous heroes of the Bible like Adam, Noah, and Abraham.
Each time we take a closer look at these characters, we realize that they are deeply flawed but mightily used by God. We can see ourselves in their stories. Their struggles mirror our own in many ways. Yet the most remarkable thing about them is they point us toward the great hero, someone more mighty and worthy of honor, Jesus. Today we meet the promised son of Abraham, Isaac. When he was just a boy, he was asked to join his father on a journey to Moriah.
At first, he doesn't realize that his journey may very well lead to his death. Join me for the somatic retelling of Genesis 22 in ancient Canaan, where God gives a seemingly impossible command to Abraham. Let's begin. Years had passed since the birth of Isaac, and the aged Abraham and Sarah slept soundly in their tent.
The night sky was covered in swirling dark clouds. The twinkling lights of the stars were hidden from view, and the cold eastern wind blew against the sides of the tent. Abraham heard a whisper through the wind. The voice of God beckoned him again. Abraham wrapped himself in wool and left the tent. The frigid air bit at his aged bones, and his legs shook as he sat on the stump of a terebinth tree and listened for the sound of the Lord. Abraham, the voice hushed.
Years had matured Abraham's understanding of God. He had accumulated enough moments of faith and failure to better grasp the Lord's will. When God spoke, Abram replied with a simple, Here I am. His voice was raspy and tender. He was ready for whatever God had for him, but he had not anticipated what would come next. God spoke through the cool evening wind. Take your son, Isaac, your one and only son.
The one who you love, to the mountains of Moriah, bring wood, oil, and rope. There you will make him into a burnt offering for me. The winds picked up, as did Abraham's heartbeat. His only son, the one God had promised to him. Abraham thought about objecting. He considered running, yet he did not. He paused, looked up at the starless sky, and shed a few silent tears to God.
What God asked was too much for him, but he would obey. He closed his eyes and nodded. Without a word, Abraham stood up and retreated back to his tent. He was done questioning God. He was a man of faith, bent on obeying even when the task seemed impossible. He sobbed alone under his blankets, waiting for the morning to come. The sun rose and Abraham began to chop wood, coil rope and pour oil.
Isaac emerged from his tent and looked at his father. What are you doing? he asked innocently. Preparing to make a sacrifice? Isaac's eyes had a youthful exuberance, especially when he spoke to his father. The two of them had a tender and unbreakable bond. Abraham looked at his son, trying to mask his sorrow. We are both going to the mountains of Moriah to make a sacrifice, son. Although I fear...
"Mine may be a greater sacrifice than yours." Isaac did not question his father's cryptic answer. He helped the servants bundle the wood and strapped everything to his father's donkey. Abraham, Isaac, and a few servants ventured to the hill country of Moriah. The skies hovering above them were still swirling. Thunder rolled in the distance. They came to the mountain's base, and Abraham dismounted the donkey and unstrapped the wood.
He placed the bundle in Isaac's hands, gestured to the servants, and said, Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go up to worship. He paused for a moment and looked at his son. He had faith that somehow God's promise would endure. He turned back to his servants and finished saying, And then we will come down the mountain, both of us.
The two of them ascended the mountain. Every step was a strain for Abraham. Age and sorrow took his strength away, draining every ounce of his energy. Isaac, a boy who loved his father, marched behind him with the wood. He propped up his father, and the two continued to the summit. Abraham lit the fire on a torch in his left hand and held a knife in his right hand. "Father?" Isaac said. Abraham could barely look at his son.
The torchlight was slightly reflected in his teary eyes as he replied, I am here, my son. We have the flame and wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice? God will provide a lamb, Abraham whispered. The clouds raged violently, galloping across the skies as they reached the top. A solitary flat stone was there to make a sacrifice. Without a word, Abraham took the wood from his son and placed them on the altar.
He prepared the altar, then turned to Isaac. He held his son's hands and bound them with a rope. Memories of Isaac's birth came flashing back in his mind. Those tiny hands wrapped around his finger. Now he was tying his son with rope to be sacrificed. Isaac, significantly stronger than his father, could have struggled. He could have ran, fought or protested, but he didn't.
He had a quiet trust in his father, even as Abraham laid him down on the wood and drew out his knife. Abraham stared up at the heavens. Storm clouds thrashed like the waves of the sea. The supposed father of nations raised his knife, prepared to kill his only son. He drew his shoulder back, closed his eyes, and screamed to the heavens,
He tilted his hips to thrust downward, but was interrupted by a sound booming from the sky. Abraham! Abraham! Abraham dropped his knife and fell to his knees as he heard the voice. Here I am, he replied, trembling with anxious sorrow. Do not lay a hand on the boy. I know you fear me.
For you would not even withhold your son from me. I will not require his life from you. Instantly Abraham unbound his son and embraced him. He wept with bellowing sobs. He held Isaac's face and smiled. Then the two of them looked to the left and saw a ram caught in the thicket. Then they sacrificed the ram to the Lord, and God reaffirmed his blessing to Abraham and Isaac. By myself.
I have sworn to bless you, he said, because you have done this and have not withheld your only son from me. I will bless and multiply your offspring to outnumber the stars in the heavens and sand on the shore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies, and through him all the nations will be blessed. What a test God put Abraham through. Abraham's entire life was filled with tests.
His journey from leaving his homeland and saving his nephew to fathering a child at an old age, all were incredible tests of faith. Through his journey, God was shaping Abraham into a conduit of his blessings. God then invited Abraham into the greatest test of all, the sacrifice of his son. This command from God seemed so harsh. And you know what?
It was harsh. That's the point. God knew that the most difficult and brutal thing he could ask of Abraham was the sacrifice of his son. But there was always a plan, a plan to save Isaac just in the nick of time. In his willingness to sacrifice what was most precious to him, Abraham demonstrated his unequivocal faith in God's wisdom over his own.
This story illuminates the principle of trust in God, even when things don't make sense. Abraham trusted in God's goodness and somehow knew that Isaac's life would be spared. So he stood there at the altar, poised and prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, hoping and praying God would come through. Yet Abraham was not the only figure in this story, was he? Isaac was also being tested.
His willingness to trust his father, even toward the point of being slain on an altar, hearkens to the greater theme in the Bible. In fact, according to Jewish tradition, Isaac was 37 years old when he willingly offered up his life at his father's call. He silently marched up the hill and willingly laid down his life in submission to his father's will. Abraham's sacrifice of faith was significant, and the willingness of Isaac to lay down his life was incredible.
This story, in isolation, doesn't quite settle well. At DiscoveringTheJewishJewish.com, I impact the hope of the gospel in all of these stories. This story is a foreshadowing of the greater things to come. This event points to another story where Jesus knelt before God on a different hill, prepared to be sacrificed for the world's sins. Jesus and his disciples scaled the winding path to the Garden of Gethsemane.
The full moon lingered over the trees like a watchful eye. The frosty air pierced the disciples' lungs as they followed their shepherd. They all missed the warmth of the upper room and wondered why he had led them there. They arrived at the garden and paused under a wooden glen. There was an ominous silence in the garden, as if all the creatures of the night were watching them with bated breath. Unbeknownst to the other disciples, conspiracies had been made to arrest and execute Jesus.
They were blissfully ignorant of the impending peril Jesus was about to face. So the Son of Man carried that burden alone with him. He knew what was coming, and he knew it needed to be done. The wind picked up, running through the trees like wolves. It blew towards a far-off stone underneath a break in the tree covering. It beckoned the Son of God forward. He left his companions and retreated to be alone with his Father.
He knelt beside the stone and poured his soul out to him. Jesus considered the fate that awaited him, not just the pain of crucifixion, but the separation he would have to endure from the Father and Spirit. All the sins of humanity were going to be thrust upon his shoulders. The existential weight overwhelmed him. Blood sprang from his pores like beads of sweat. The hero of heaven was overcome with anxious anticipation.
He could have ran, fought, or protested. But he didn't. He had a quiet trust in his father. Cutting through the silence, Jesus looked up to the moonlit sky and prayed. Abba, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. He pleaded with God, but there was no other way. He was the prophesied sacrifice. Like Isaac long ago, Jesus would be led up onto a mountain carrying wood. Although there would be no sheep to take his place,
He was the sheep, the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of humanity. God would do what he spared Abraham from, kill his only son, Jesus. Knowing all these things, bowed and whispered, Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. He was ready to die. Not my will, but yours be done. Now there's a prayer for all of us to cling to.
Jesus, Abraham, and Isaac all demonstrated an important quality for us to embody: trust. Unwavering and devoted trust. They all trusted in the will of God even when the path forward seemed treacherous. All of their faiths were put to the test. The test given to Abraham and Isaac foreshadowed the test God the Father and the Son would be put through. As the greater Abraham, God the Father would slay his son as a sacrifice.
God the Son would willingly give up his life in submission to his Father's will. Do you see how this powerful imagery is interwoven throughout Scripture? Isaac, the promised son of Abraham, was a mere image of a greater son who would come into the scene. Genesis 22 points forward to the ultimate test passed by Jesus Christ. Like Abraham and Isaac, Jesus was tested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He surrendered his will to the Father, saying, not my will, but yours be done. Jesus ultimately did what Isaac didn't. His life was given as a sacrifice, which acted as the ultimate atonement for the sins of humanity. You and I are beneficiaries of the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. While Isaac's willingness to submit to his father was beautiful, it was only a small picture of what Christ did when he submitted to the Father and redeemed mankind.
In this way, Jesus is the greater Isaac. Join us next time to witness a man struggling in the dirt, fighting tooth and nail with God himself for a blessing. Our next episode will be an epic journey to discover how Jesus is the greater Jacob.
Are you interested in further exploring the presence of Jesus in the Old Testament? If so, head over to our website, discoveringthejewishjes.com. Additionally, my latest book, Messianic Prophecy Revealed, Seeing Messiah in the Pages of the Hebrew Bible, could offer valuable insights for anyone who wants to go deeper. You can find a copy at my website.
If this podcast blessed you, be sure to follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode. And remember to download Pray.com to hear even more great stories and make prayer a priority.
