Where is the lamb?
By Rev. Roy Delia
Friday, February 15, 2008 11:46 AM PST
“And he said, ‘Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering,’” (Genesis 22:7, 8). The question was asked by Isaac of his father, Abraham. This incident, which took place more than 1800 years before Christ came into the world, is both instructive and prophetical.
From the time the first sin entered into the world through Adam, God required that the penalty for sin (death) be paid by the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).
In his mercy, he has decreed that this penalty could be paid through a substitute of an innocent dying in the place of the guilty. Both before and under the law, animals (most often a lamb) were sacrificed as an offering to God for the remission of the sin.
One of the most well-known passages of Scripture, Exodus, chapter 12, describes the night that God delivered the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. God gave instructions to Moses to have each household of the Israelites take a lamb from the flock and slay it and sprinkle its blood on the door posts of their house. He planned to slay the first-born in every house of the Egyptians, so that they would beg Israel to leave their land.
His promise to the Jews was, “When I see the blood, I will Passover you.” In other words, every house which had blood-spattered door posts would be spared from this awful judgment.
This tremendous event in Jewish history is still celebrated today in the Feast of the Passover.
Under the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the Jews were instructed that when one sinned he was to bring an animal (a lamb) to the altar, place his hands on the animal’s head while confessing his sin (thereby transferring the guilt to the sacrifice), and then slay the lamb. The priest would catch the blood in a basin and sprinkle it on the altar.
By this act, God would withhold judgment (the penalty) of sin from the sinner.
Although this practice continued for many centuries throughout Old Testament times, it was only a temporary solution, whereby judgment for sin was only set aside for a time.
God, as prophesied by Abraham earlier, was getting ready to “provide himself a lamb.”
Moving into the New Testament, we come across John the Baptist preaching, and seeing Jesus approaching, he directed his listener’s attention toward him saying, “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29). Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices. His one sacrifice for our sins on the cross satisfied the penalty of sin forever (1 Peter 2:24).
However, this sacrifice is only effectual to those who apply it to themselves by (spiritually speaking) coming to the cross, placing their hands on his head, confessing their sin and accepting the payment that he made. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead; thou shalt be saved,” (Romans 10:9).
Faith through the Word is written by Pastor Roy Delia of the Faith Baptist Church, 407 Main St., Nyssa. He can be contacted at (541) 372-3911.
