I often wonder what was going through the mind of Abraham and Sarah with the commandment to sacrifice Isaac. We get a clue in the text. “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” (Genesis 22:5). This could imply that Abraham was expecting to return with Isaac.
The typology is further developed as Abraham lays the wood for the sacrifice on his son, Isaac, foreshadowing Jesus carrying His wooden cross—at least according to the Gospel of John (19:17). This could be a heavy task for a young boy. The text calls him a “lad,” but this could mean a young man. Bible scholars estimate Isaac’s age at this time to be as old as 37. We see Isaac’s willingness to submit to God’s will. Abraham is an old man, and Isaac, as a young man, could have easily overpowered Abraham and escaped.
If Abraham and Isaac are required to complete the offering, there can only be three possibilities. Since Isaac is the son of the covenant, there is much more at stake here, because all the promises given to Abraham connected to the New and Everlasting Covenant are also lying upon that altar. Without Isaac, the covenant does not continue to the next generation. The only possibilities are:
- God is a liar.
- Abraham has violated the covenant and rendered it void.
- Isaac will be raised from the dead.
Each of these three possibilities is a test and measure of Abraham’s faith, and perhaps this is the main component of the test. Like Book of Mormon prophets such as Enos, Nephi, and the brother of Jared, Abraham knows the character of God—that God cannot lie. Another component of faith according to The Lectures on Faith is to know one’s standing before God. Abraham knows he has been true and faithful to the covenants he has received. For Abraham, the third possibility is the only possibility. This is confirmed by the author of Hebrews:
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
“Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
“Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Abraham’s faith taught him something about the atonement of Jesus Christ. He must have gained a profound appreciation and love for his Savior. And especially with what happens next. The angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven saying, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:12).
The saving grace appears in the form of a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Without those horns, the ram could break free and easily escape. It’s those very horns that save Abraham and Isaac. The ram becomes the substitute sacrifice in likeness of the atonement of Jesus Christ who suffered for our sins and infirmities and took our place on the cross. “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16).
Some scholars believe that the cross Jesus died on was not made for Him, but was custom designed for the guilty man, Barabbas. His name, meaning “son of the father” is drenched in irony. Jesus took the place of Barabbas, but He also took the place for you and me—guilty sinners. I have attached a video below.
An early Christian scholar named Origen (born 185 AD) had a different take on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Many scholars have observed that Jesus wrote Himself into most of His parables. Origen sees the older brother as Jesus. This is rather repulsive to many believers, but it brings me to tears of gratitude for my Savior. The older brother can be seen as a jealous, angry sibling who feels slighted. The younger brother has wasted his inheritance in riotous living and now returns home begging for a position as a menial slave in his father’s house. Instead, he gets the royal treatment, including a robe, shoes, and a ring, symbolic of the sealing power. The older brother, who has never transgressed a commandment (and I can only think of One person who qualifies for this) protests that “the fatted calf” is being killed and sacrificed in a great ritual feast. The calf, like the ram in Abraham’s story, would be a substitute sacrifice to atone for the misdeeds of the younger brother.
When the older brother said, “thou never gavest me a kid,” he observed the unfairness of it all and was “angry” and “would not go in.” The original Greek reads quite differently. The Greek word for would here is thelo, meaning “to will, intend, or desire.” It’s a statement of intention rather than a refusal, like it sounds in English. It’s actually the same word Jesus uses in Gethsemane, as He pleads with the Father, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will (thelo), but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). The father’s consolation stated as, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine,” implies the difference between the substitute offering of atonement and the role of the older brother, who would not have or need an atonement for Himself. For Jesus, there was not a “ram in the thicket.”
The ram’s horn is a symbol of power, protection, and authority. Psalm 18:2 reads, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Ancient altars had horns on the four corners. The high priest once a year sprinkled the blood of the sin offering on the horns of the alter of incense on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The horns on the altar were a place of refuge to flee from danger (see 1 Kings 1:51; 2:28). Kings and priests (and queens and priestesses) were anointed with a horn of oil (see 1 Kings 1:39). On the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), a ram’s horn called shofar was blown to signal the Jewish New Year.
One Feast of Trumpets occurred on September 22, 1827. As Jews were blowing the ram’s horn, a shofar trumpet, Moroni delivered the gold plates to Joseph Smith. The symbol of Moroni with his trumpet (a ram’s horn) atop many temples is a signal to the world that the dispensation of the fullness of times has begun. It’s a warning to the world to prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I invite you to watch the two excellent videos below and also the image of the shofar.
