Page 34 - Biblical Theology Textbook - masters

Now the God-given instruction to sacrifice Isaac, in violation of what would later be codified in the Law
of Moses, can be understood. God had no intention of actually allowing Isaac to die. Instead, He
intended to test Abraham’s faith and demonstrate prophetically His intention to offer His own Son,
Jesus Christ, on the same mountain hundreds of years later (Ps. Ps. 22:1; Isa. Isa. 53:1).

Sadly, the same words that Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of His day can still be said to Judaism
which rejects Messiah Jesus: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and
these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). In the hundreds of years which would separate
Abraham’s offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah from God’s offering of Jesus, the ritual slaughter of
countless animals within the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Solomon’s Temple, and the Second
Temple all pointed forward to this ultimate offering of Jesus on the cross. Both Solomon’s Temple and
the Second Temple were specifically placed on Mount Moriah to show their connection with the
ultimate sacrifice of God’s Lamb. Thus, the Temple Mount is not just a random piece of real-estate
contested by some confused religious fanatics. It is a specific location where God Himself ordained that
Abraham should act out the event pointing to the crucifixion and the place where the intervening
Temples stood. It is at this precise location where both the Tribulation Temple and the Millennial
9
Temple will be built.

The Passover Lamb
Before the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, God
commanded Israel to observe the Passover. The Passover
lamb was the animal God directed the Israelites to use as a
sacrifice in Egypt on the night God struck down the
firstborn sons of every household (Exodus 12:29). This was
the final plague God issued against Pharaoh, and it led to
Pharaoh releasing the Israelites from slavery (Exodus 11:1).
After that fateful night, God instructed the Israelites to
observe the Passover Feast as a lasting memorial (Exodus
12:14).

God instructed every household of the Israelite people to select a year-old male lamb without defect
(Exodus 12:5; cf. Leviticus 22:20-21). The head of the household was to slaughter the lamb at twilight,
taking care that none of its bones were broken, and apply some of its blood to the tops and sides of the
doorframe of the house. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten (Exodus 12:7-8). God also gave specific
instructions as to how the Israelites were to eat the lamb, “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your
sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand” (Exodus 12:11). In other words, they had to be ready
to travel.

God said that when He saw the lamb’s blood on the doorframe of a house, He would “pass over” that
home and not permit “the destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to enter. Any home without the blood of the lamb
would have their firstborn son struck down that night (Exodus 12:12-13).

Passover was to occur on Nisan 14. The families were to roast the lamb and eat it completely by
daybreak. We know this was the rehearsal for the coming of the lamb of God who would offer Himself
as a sacrifice by shedding His blood for the sin of man. Not a bone in his body would be broken. By

9 Ibid.

33