Hello, again, and welcome to this edition of our video log or VLOG, for short. I so look forward to meeting together AND visiting some of the wonderful places mentioned in the Bible.
Let’s see... where’ve we been? Well, we visited the wilderness and also a couple of gardens. Hmmmmm. I think it’s about time we traveled to one of the many mountains mentioned in the Bible.
Have you ever hiked up a mountain? Was it easy or hard?
When we lived in Kenya, East Africa we were very close to one of the most famous mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world. A freestanding mountain is a mountain that is all by itself, not connected to other mountains in what’s called a mountain range.
Mountains are all over the world and some of the most important events in all of history happened on top of mountains. Some of those events are a very important part of the story of the Gospel. Do you know the first mountain given a name in the Bible? Maybe you even remember what happened on top of that mountain. Well, if you can’t think of it...let’s remember together.
Take your Bibles and turn to Genesis 22. This is the story of what happened one day on top of a very important mountain in Israel. Let’s read it together starting in verse 1 of Genesis 22. We’ll read all the way to verse 14 together. Ready?
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
So what do you think makes this story so important? It’s important because it gives us a picture of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Abraham was willing to obey God and sacrifice his only son. God also, really did sacrifice His only Son. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus went obediently to the cross so that we could obey and be saved. Abraham’s son, Isaac, was a picture of Jesus but so was the ram. The ram was sacrificed in place of Isaac just like Jesus was sacrificed in our place. Our sins are forgiven and we get eternal life because of Jesus and His obedience.
Mount Moriah is also mentioned in a very important passage in 2 Chronicles 3:1. Here’s what it says...
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
So the Temple in Jerusalem was actually built on Mount Moriah, the very same place Abraham obeyed God regarding Isaac. The Temple was the place God was to be worshipped. It was the place where bulls and goats were sacrificed for sin... by sinners... through the priest. All of this was a picture of the Gospel long before Jesus walked on the earth. God was faithful to help His people, Israel to know Him as the God who Provides. That’s what happened to Abraham on Mount Moriah...God provided. And that’s what God did through Jesus Christ. He provided for His people by giving them the perfect sacrifice, His Only Son, Jesus Christ.
After the video maybe you can talk some more about what happened on Moriah that day. Also, talk about what it means to obey God even in very difficult times such as now.
Otherwise, I so glad we could be together today and May God bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and give you peace. Thanks for listening.