Day 6: A Ram in the Thicket
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Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
—From Genesis 22:1–17 (NKJV)
Meditation
Isaac was not Abraham’s first child. Before Sarah’s laughter became a living, joyous child, Abraham listened to his wife’s fearful pleading and agreed to take her servant, Hagar, as his wife. Ishmael, not Isaac, was Abraham’s firstborn son, yet he was not a son of promise. He was the child of Sarah’s fear and her human efforts to fulfill God’s promise in her time and her way, through her wisdom, rather than God’s.
Perhaps Abraham regretted his choice to follow Sarah’s lead, as Adam no doubt lamented his bite of fruit. Surely he regretted the doubt that preceded it, because by this point in his life Ishmael and Hagar were gone, cast out into the desert. Isaac was at least an older teen (some scholars even age him in his thirties!), and since Sarah was well past the “way of women” when Isaac was born, the thought of having another son some twenty years later? Unimaginable.
Isaac was Abraham’s only heir, his only hope.
He was the child of promise.
And God demanded him as sacrifice.
Many are lost in the horror of the story. The emotional turmoil, the sheer, shocking violence of it. And many question God’s goodness—what loving God would demand His follower to murder his own child?
Yet we lose sight of the true focus: not the what of the act Abraham was called to do, but the why. Abraham was not being asked to partake in a human sacrifice. Rather this was a test of faith, for Abraham and Isaac both.
Remember, Abraham was an old man when Isaac was born, and now Isaac was in his prime. Twenty, twenty-five, and he was strong from having worked the life of a herdsman. A frail old man could not kill a strong young man like Isaac. Not without his consent. Yet Isaac did consent.
Isaac allowed himself to be bound, to be placed on an altar, to watch his father’s trembling hand raise a knife above his head.
“This Promise was born in an inn-yard, placed in a manger.”
Imagine that sort of faith! Abraham believed in the promise of God so thoroughly, so fully that he knew God—if needed—would resurrect Isaac from the dead to fulfill His promise.
Consider another promise, another Son. This Promise was born in an inn-yard, placed in a manger. As He grew into manhood, He too was required as a sacrifice, but there was no ram in the thicket for this Son. He was allowed to die—He allowed Himself to die.
As we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ, let us remember His willing sacrifice.
Inspiration
Sacrifice of Isaac
Giambattista Pittoni, 1687–1767. “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
Music
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear welcomes us to the Advent season.
As you listen to Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence reflect on Christ’s Gift to us.
Visit our Joy of Advent YouTube playlist for featured videos, our Ultimate Christmas playlist for all our favorite carols, or our sing-along carols to enjoy karaoke style.
Reflection
What distractions keep you from the sort of faith that Abraham had? Surely he had expectations for his son and heir, yet he was willing to sacrifice those expectations to see God’s purpose accomplished. Are you willing to sacrifice your expectations for the future on the altar of faith? Take time to reflect on a current trial, longing, expectation, or disappointment in your life that weighs on your spirit. You may have tried many ways to change or achieve or avoid this thing. We all have a tendency to grasp onto our hopes with white-knuckled intensity. We do the same with our fears, clinging to them, because by holding on we (incorrectly) think we can control them. Are you willing to open your hands? Are you willing to let go and let God?
Prayer
Look upon us, O Lord,
and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love,
and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face,
turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.
St. Augustine (354–430)
Family Celebration
A ram reminds us that God will provide a sacrifice.
In your child’s favorite Children’s Bible, read the story of Abraham and Isaac.
Say: Do you remember the story of the starry sky? God promised Abraham that he would have more grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and more than the stars in the sky! Yet here he’s asking Abraham to kill his son! How could God do what he promised if Abraham has no children at all? Abraham didn’t know how God would keep his promise, but he knew God would keep his promise. God always keeps His promises. He thought God would even raise Isaac from the dead and make him alive again.
Many years later God would have a Son. Do you know who God’s Son is? That’s right, He is Jesus. God let his Son die, and made Him alive again because of His love for us!
Especially for Toddlers and PreK
Resources
Today is St. Nicholas Day! Enjoy a video about the history of St. Nicholas.
Watch this stunning animation of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.
Enjoy a printable coloring page of Abraham and Isaac on the mountain.
Would you like to make Jesse Tree ornaments to accompany your readings? Find tutorials and ideas from simple to advanced at our Jesse Tree Ornaments Pinterest board.
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