Episode 2360 - Lesson 2 - Tuesday April 08 - Isaac's question: Where is the Lamb?

The Bible’s first mention of a seh (Hebrew: a lamb) occurs in the same story as the first mention of love: Genesis 22. The lamb, of course, is one of the most persistent symbols found in the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is called “the Lamb” more than 20 times. In one of the most powerful scenes of Revelation—John’s visit to the throne room of God in chapters four and five—the Lamb plays the central role.Read Genesis 22:7, 8; Exodus 12:3–13; and Revelation 5:5–10. How does the story of Isaac’s near-sacrifice help us understand how lambs are used symbolically? How does this story tie into what John sees in Revelation 5?The first mention of a seh (lamb) in the Bible comes in the form of Isaac’s question: “Where is the lamb?” (Gen. 22:7). Interestingly enough, the rest of the Bible answers that question in great detail. The other 38 books of the Old Testament lead the reader along a path where Isaac’s question is progressively answered with more and more details, from the Passover rituals to David’s early occupation and onward. The entire story is punctuated with countless Messianic prophecies that anticipate the answer to Isaac’s question. Then in the New Testament, the question is answered when Jesus appears in flesh and blood, ministers among His people, and finally sacrifices His life at the cross.Meanwhile, look at the first mention of a Lamb in John’s Gospel, in John 1:29–34. It would almost seem as if John the Baptist is personally answering Isaac’s question, and the setting couldn’t be more apropos. Sinners are repenting and going under the water in baptism, symbolizing the death of the sinner and the beginning of a new life. In this context, Jesus, the Lamb of God, suddenly appears and, according to Matthew’s account, the heavens open to announce Him: “ ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ ” (Matt. 3:17, NKJV). Notice how a voice, the Angel of the Lord, also announces from heaven the solution to Abraham and Isaac’s problem (Gen. 22:11–14).When you weave all the threads together, it is clear that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Substitute. That sheds much light on our understanding of the slain Lamb in John’s vision.Why is knowing that Jesus is our Substitute so foundational to our salvation? What hope would you have without Him, as that Substitute, especially in the judgment?