Why Did God Call Abraham
to Offer his son?
4,000 years ago, God told Abraham, take your son, your only son…whom you love…and offer him as a burnt offering.1 Before sun-up the wood was split, the donkeys were saddled, and Abraham and his son were on the road, with a few servants, for a short three-day journey to a nearby mountain. When they arrive at the base of the mountain, he and his still-unsuspecting son climb the mountain alone, where he plans to offer his son in obedience to God.
However, Abraham did not kill his son that day. God in his compassion, sent the angel of the Lord to Abraham, who stopped him from offering his son and provided a ram to be offered in the place of his son. But why would God request the death of a child only to stop it at the last minute?
The incident was a test of Abraham’s faith in God and points to a time, around 2,000 years later, when God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, on a similar mission. The eternal Son of God was born into the world. When He grew up, he traveled throughout the country sharing the truth that a holy sinless God loved mankind. At the end of his mission on earth, He arrived at the very same mountain where Abraham had been directed to offer his son. There God, in his compassion for mankind, allowed his Son to be offered on a cruel cross as the sacrifice to pay for the sin of humanity.
So why does this matter?
Because God is holy. He who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,2 cannot have any sin or imperfection in His presence. The problem is, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.3 However, God deeply loves mankind and wants to liberate humanity from the stain of sin, so that He can enjoy the relationship of each and every human. So, in His great love and compassion, God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.4 The requirements for sin had to be met, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.5 So God, offered his son, Jesus, on a cross where his blood was shed, to cleanse every person who places their faith in Him. The blood of Jesus Christ, [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.6
The astonishing story where Abraham is told by God to sacrifice his Son, simply points to the momentous event where God sent his Son as a sacrifice to liberate every person from the chains of sin, death and hell; who places their faith in God’s lamb, Jesus Christ.
