From Empty Womb to Empty Tomb

Read Genesis 22-23
 
Genesis 21:2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.
 
Genesis 21:17-18 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”
 
Genesis 22:7-8 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
 
HERE are two passages from yesterday’s reading and one from today. They are three examples of God’s physical salvation, resurrecting lives out of emptiness and the threat of death. First, God provided the long-promised son to Abraham and Sarah. Second, God provided water for Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness. And third, God provided the sacrificial lamb to replace Abraham’s son Isaac on the altar.
   Yes, God provided a son. God showed his power first over the barren womb. Sarah became the mother of Israel. Abrahams’ grandson, Isaac’s son Jacob, will be the father of Israel’s 12 tribes from  whom the Son of God would come. From Sarah’s empty womb God takes us to the empty tomb. In the Son’s resurrection, there is no spiritual tomb. Only heaven’s glory awaits us.
   Second, the LORD showed his power over death in a barren desert. God’s physical salvation for Ishmael and Hagar pours even unto the child of the slave. God rewarded Abraham, the father, through the blessing he gives to the son. We are born a slave to Adam’s and Eve’s sin. But Jesus, the Living Water, gives us new life. God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved! (Ephesians 2:4-5)
   And third, on Mt. Moriah God provided the lamb that day to replace Isaac. This foretells the scene to occur here about 2,000 years later. Mt. Moriah is where the Temple Mount would be one day. And just off the mount, on top of another hill, the Father would take the Son to the altar. The Father did not withhold death from the Son, who became your sacrificial lamb to take your place on the altar.
   Praise God! The LORD has provided.  
 
In Joy and Gratitude: Trust the God, who sent the Son as the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. 1 Peter 2:19-20