The first mention in the Bible of a lamb is found in that very well-known account of Abraham taking his son, Isaac to a mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord. Let’s read Genesis 22:1-8, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. 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: so they went both of them together.”

It is estimated that Isaac was in his teen years when this happened. He was certainly big enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering. We read in Genesis 21:5, “And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” If Isaac was 15 years old at this time, that means that Abraham was 115 years at this point. We can readily see that Isaac had to be willing to be placed upon the wood to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord. I encourage you to continue reading this portion in Genesis 22. You’ll see that Abraham placed Isaac on the wood, he raised his hand to slay his son, and he hears the voice of an angel of the Lord who told him not to sacrifice his son. This was a test from the Lord to show Abraham’s faith and obedience. In this event, we learn about a ‘sacrificial lamb’ that the Lord required of him. Let’s go back and re-read Genesis 22:7-8, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. 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: so they went both of them together.”

Indeed, “God will provide himself a lamb” and He HAS provided Himself a lamb in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John, chapter 1 we find John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ making this bold declaration in verse 29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Where Abraham announced that God would provide Himself a sacrificial lamb, John is declaring that the Lord Jesus IS that lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Throughout the Old Testament bulls, goats, birds and other animals were sacrificed to the Lord according to the Law. Christ voluntarily gave Himself as a sacrificial to the Lord to redeem us. We read the words of the Lord in John 10:17-18, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I LAY DOWN MY LIFE, that I might take it again. NO MAN TAKETH IT FROM ME, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Christ sacrificed His own life so that He might take away the sin of the world. The Apostle Paul would comment years later in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME.”

When Christ gave Himself for us, He completely satisfied God’s righteous demands for the sins of man. God was ‘well pleased’ with the sacrifice of His Son. Speaking of Christ, we read in Hebrews 10:12, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” This one sacrifice was sufficient enough to put away every sin ever committed and is offered to everyone who will come to the Lord Jesus by faith and accept His sacrifice as payment of our sin debt. If you have not, I urge you to put your faith in this sacrificial lamb of God now and receive eternal life! (243.8)