Genesis 22: God Provides

Christmas has become a lot of different things to different people. It is a time to spend with family, time to give to others, and it is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is a time when individuals are kind to each other, except if you are around a mall or a shopping center. Unfortunately, for many people this is also a difficult and depressing time. The sorrows of this world hit them in very real ways during the holiday season. So what do we have to offer those around us who view Christmas in such diverse ways?

Genesis 22 is a great place to start thinking about what the Christmas means. God promised an old and aging Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a son. God did provide that heir and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. However, God is now asking Abraham to kill Isaac. On their journey up the mount Isaac asks one question, “Where is the lamb for the burn offering?” Abraham simply answers, “God will himself provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” God does provide the lamb and Isaac is spared, but the story does stop on that mountain. It points to another Father and Son relationship.

Though Isaac was Abraham’s promised son, Jesus is the ultimate promised Son through whom God blesses all the nations. Jesus is the sacrificed lamb who God provided to reconcile all things back to himself. It is in Jesus that we have hope for today and for tomorrow. Genesis 22 is then prophetic of Christ’s death on the cross—that God provided himself as the sacrifice. The Christmas story cannot be view without this end. Without Easter, Christmas is meaningless.

Christmas is more than family, gifts, kindness and love. It is about God providing. In Bethlehem he began the greatest act of love—of giving himself to die for us. This is our hope, this is why we celebrate, and this is what we have to offer.

Posted by Aaron Miner