A Shadow of the Cross
By Lillian Howard
In the beginning was the creation of time. Before time, there was God. And in this eternity before time, before earth, before man, God had a plan to save his creation. Matthew 25:34 reads, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
Titus 1:2 reads, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
And 1 Peter 1:19-20 reads, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
The plan has always been, but for many years, it was not fully told to men. Matthew 13:35 reads, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
The prophets, believers, and even the angels, wanted to know the full story. Matthew 13:17 reads, “For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” And 1 Peter 1:10-12 says, “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
They knew salvation was coming, but they did not know exactly how. There was a man, however, who knew more than most. John 8:56 reads, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.”
Abraham saw the days of Jesus. He saw the sacrifice. He saw the resurrection. He knew more of God’s redeeming plan than any other prophet. But how?
In Colossians 2:16-17, Hebrews 8:5-6, and Hebrews 9:23-24, the things in the Old Testament are described as an example, a shadow, a pattern of the better law that we have now. In Genesis 22, when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, we see a shadow cast back in time from the cross. We see a paper pattern from which the true, complete plan of salvation would one day be cut. And Abraham saw it too. Read with me Genesis 22:1-14 and watch for the parallels between this and the cross.
The son of promise was to be an offering. Genesis 22:2, “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Isaiah 53:7,10, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The sacrifice carried the wood. Genesis 22:6, “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.” John 19:17, “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is in the Hebrew Golgotha:”
God would provide a lamb. Genesis 22:7-8, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” 1 Peter 1:18-20, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
It would take three days. Genesis 22:4, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.” Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Luke 24:7, “Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
The sacrifice did not protest. Genesis 22:9-10, “And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built and altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” Luke 23:9, “Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.”
Hebrews 11:17-19 states, “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.”
Abraham expected God to raise Isaac from the dead. In a way, that is what happened. The phrase, “in a figure” means parable, similitude, or “side by side.” And after the sacrifice of an actual ram provided by God (Genesis 22:11-13), Abraham renamed Mount Moriah as Jehovah Jireh: In the mountain of the LORD it shall be seen (Gen. 22:14).
Abraham not only saw, but lived and felt, an accurate pattern of the cross. He was the only one to see so much. And Jesus tells us in John 8 that Abraham was glad.