At a time of great peril and danger, Winston Churchill called his nation to sacrifice…blood, sweat, and tears. His compatriots responded and saved their land. Their shared sacrifices invigorated them as their character matured.

The Bible describes the growth of Abraham’s character molded by sacrifices. He had to leave his family and homeland in obedience to God's call. He travelled to a new land trusting God to identify it to him. Yet, the greatest challenge to his faith in God occurred when he asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

The morning after God's requested this sacrifice, Abraham rose early to begin his journey to the place of sacrifice. He cut the wood for the fire and saddled his donkey. Choosing two young men to accompany him and his young son Isaac, Abraham departed to the place of sacrifice.

After three day’s journey, they arrived at the site designated by God. Abraham left the two young men with the donkey and started up the mountain with Isaac. As they left, he told them to wait for him and Isaac to return to them after their sacrifice.

As they climbed the mount to the sacrifice, Isaac noticed the lack of one important item. He noticed the wood which he carried, the fire, and a knife in his father’s hands. However, he did not see any lamb for the sacrifice. When he asked his father about it, his father promised him that God would provide himself a lamb for sacrifice (Genesis 22.8).

On the mount, Abraham prepared for the sacrifice. He built the altar and put the wood upon it. Then, he bound Isaac and placed him upon the altar. Fully ready to slay his son and sacrifice him, he took his knife to kill his son. At that moment, the angel of the Lord called from heaven to stop him. God had indeed provided a lamb for them, which Abraham saw trapped in a thicket.

In recording these events, God revealed the development of Abraham’s character. From the first call to him in his homeland, Abraham’s faith grew. He believed God when he left his family to go to a strange land. He trusted God's promise of a son when it seemed humanly impossible. At every circumstance, Abraham’s faith matured, which enabled him to face this final challenge without wavering, steadfast to the end.

The display of Isaac’s character almost gets lost in the story. No doubt, he had seen his father sacrifice lambs, because he expected a lamb for the sacrifice. On the mount, he willingly complied with his father’s binding him and placing him on the altar. His faith and obedience defies human reason.

The story reveals God's character, too. As sovereign ruler, God had the right to ask a difficult trial of Abraham. In grace, God provided a lamb for the sacrifice instead of Isaac. God required Abraham to prefer nothing above God, not even his son.

These events also display God's redemptive purposes. When God created his world, he made it perfect, without sin or imperfection. He fellowshipped with mankind on earth. Adam and Eve knew him and walked with him in the Garden in Eden. When they disobeyed his command, they lost their intimacy with him. Their sin separated them from their creator.

In grace, God promised Adam and Eve a savior to defeat the evil one who had tempted them into sin. What began as a simple promise took shape with additional revelations. In the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, God provided some examples of the promised savior.

The revelations culminate in Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. Like Abraham, God the father sacrificed the son of his love, Jesus. Like Isaac, Jesus willingly obeyed his father and became the sacrifice to atone for the sin of sinners (John 3.16; John 14.31; Hebrews 10.6-9).

As Isaac carried the wood for his sacrifice, Jesus carried the wood, the cross, which became the place of his sacrifice. Jesus even fulfilled the picture of the lamb that God provided for Abraham. Jesus became the Lamb of God as the substitute for sinners (John 1.29).

The truth of the events of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac reveal to us the character of God and his provision of Jesus Christ, and compel us to turn from dependence upon ourselves or any other thing or person and trust Jesus Christ alone and his works on behalf of sinners like you and me. When anyone lays claim personally and individually in faith upon Christ, that person receives eternal life (John 3.16).

To millions who have trusted Christ, these events remind them of God's provision for them and comfort them in God's grace. If you have not believed upon him, these portrayals point to your need to come to Christ, God's only provision for people like you and me.