Mount Moriah to Mount Zion
Notes
Transcript
We are on a journey these Sundays in Lent — a journey of Returning from Exile. Last Sunday we reflected on the beauty of a garden. God created it all, including our first parents — Adam and Eve — and He called it “very good;” He referred to them as the “crown of His creation.” The garden was beautiful, because it was perfect! And the best part of all was the relationship that God had with Adam and Eve, the crown of His creation. God and man were united in perfect unity. That was until sinned this Garden and man was exiled due to their sin. This we inherited, passed down through our DNA as it were, and now our relationship with God is best illustrated by a great chasm.
So last Sunday we compared and contrasted Two Gardens — Eden vs. Heaven — and how God had to restore us by a Champion who would redeem us, opening the way for us to return to Paradise.
Today we are going to compare and contrast Two Mountains — Moriah and Zion.
Mountains are majestic. Mountains inspire us. Mountains have symbolic meaning for us—for example, if I were to say “Climb every mountain,” a some would immediately know of the musical from 55 years ago.
I). Mountains are amazing geological structures.
(Grand Tetons Photo)
Some people cannot live far from them, and others cannot help but climb them; but do they also cause us terror and dread? Perhaps the early pioneers, as they forged their way west, saw mountains as obstacles and were overwhelmed by what stood in the way of their journey. Did they view them with terror and dread? I do not know, but I do know that Abraham in our text must have been overcome when Mount Moriah came into view.
The Lord came to Abraham and instructed him to take his son, his only son, to Mount Moriah and offer him up, to sacrifice him on an altar on Mount Moriah. Abraham was faithful. Abraham trusted. He loaded the donkey with wood, and he headed for the region of Moriah. What a journey that must have been! Abraham knew what lay ahead, but Isaac was clueless. What do you talk about? How do you act? When you know that the death of your child—at your own hands—lies in your path, how do you say the things that need to be said without giving away the intent of your journey? Quite the journey—a journey with the promise of death as your companion the entire way. Then, after three days, Abraham lifted up his eyes and there it was—the mountain—Mount Moriah. The time had come.
II). Sin requires sacrifice.
II). Sin requires sacrifice.
Blood must be shed to pay the price. Payment must be made to satisfy the debt. Sin has exiled man from God, and the only way to return from this exile is to pay the price demanded, and the price is blood. So, to satisfy the payment demanded, Abraham prepares to offer up his only son.
Isaac bears the wood upon which he will be sacrificed up the mount, and he wonders and asks, “Where is the lamb for sacrifice?” He knows there must be blood shed to atone for sin. He knows the ritual. He knows, and he wants to know where the sacrifice is. Abraham’s heart must have been ripped from his chest at the question. How do you answer? What do you say? Abraham responds in faith, even as the tears are pushing at his eyes.
“God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (v. 8).
Abraham has faith. Abraham trusts. Abraham knows the Lord will provide the lamb for sacrifice, but is the lamb Isaac? This he does not know, and it is this that makes his feet drag and his spirits sag. Is the sacrifice Isaac? Yet, Abraham builds the altar and arranges the wood and places his only son upon the wood; he raises the knife . . . and the Lord stays his hand! The Lord provides a sacrifice, a ram caught in the thicket. And thus it is said,
“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (v. 14).
“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (v. 14).
So powerful is this account, so intense is the drama, so shocking the faith, so amazing the rescue that the Hebrew people will later build the temple on this very hill. This very hill, this mountain is where God dwells with His people. This mountain is Mount Zion! Consider this: The Hebrew people revere this account of Abraham and Isaac so highly that it has its own title and place in their faith. They call it the Aqedah, which is the Hebrew word for “binding.” Isaac is the only “bound,” tied-down sacrifice in the Old Testament. All other sacrifices are first killed and then placed upon the altar as their blood is poured and sprinkled. Isaac is the only bound sacrifice, the only living sacrifice in the Old Testament.
In the rest of the Bible, there is only one more.
“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (v. 14). On this mountain, the sacrifice of the only-begotten Son of God will be provided. He, too, is a bound sacrifice for He is nailed to the tree to suffer and die. Sin, our sin, has exiled us from God, causing a great chasm fixed. Blood is required for payment, and on the mountain the Lord provides. This sacrifice takes place on another mountain, Mount Calvary. Here, Jesus carries the wood for His sacrifice, a tree, a cross. And from that tree on that mountain, the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is brought to Mount Zion. Jesus Christ brings His own blood onto Mount Zion, into the temple, through the curtain, and into the Most Holy Place. The temple curtain is ripped in two, and the blood of the Lamb is poured out on the Mercy Seat. The Lord provides the final sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Abraham makes a three-day journey to Mount Moriah prior to the sacrifice of his son; but Jesus’ three-day journey follows His sacrifice. For three days, He lies in the tomb. For three days, the grave holds Him. But on that third day, Jesus is lifted up to new life, a glorious resurrection. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God provided His Son, His only Son, as the sacrifice required for sin, and all who believe in Him shall not perish. For God provides everlasting life, on this mountain.
Mount Moriah to Mount Zion—a return from exile. We who have been exiled from the presence of God by our sin have been returned to His presence, restored to His face, reunited on this mountain. On this mountain, God provides His only Son, and He provides the bloody payment for sin. On this mountain, as the curtain is ripped in two, the gates of heaven are thrown open to those who believe and call upon His name.
On this mountain, the Lord provides.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Texts: Genesis 22:1–8; John 3:16
Textual Notes
Genesis 22:1–8
This account is considered to be one of the most important texts for the Jewish people. It is called the Aqedah, which is the Hebrew word for “binding.” This is in reference to Isaac being bound to the wood and altar to be offered up as a burnt offering. There are only two “bound” sacrifices in the Bible: one in the Old Testament and the other in the New. Generally, sacrifices are first killed and then burnt upon the altar; however, Isaac is bound first and then offered up as a living sacrifice. The other “bound” sacrifice is in the New Testament. Jesus is bound, nailed, fixed to the cross as a living sacrifice. This connection will help inform our reading of this text.
V. 2: “Your only son Isaac, whom you love”: Obviously, Abraham has another son, Ishmael. How then should we understand, “your only son”? Looking at the language of the entire chapter, we can see a connection to the only-begotten Son of God. Jesus is the sacrifice God will provide.
“Land of Moriah”: The region of Moriah is a mountainous area. The mountain to which Abraham is sent will be called Mount Moriah, and, according to Hebrew tradition, this will be the mountain upon which the temple is built—later to be called Mount Zion.
God forbids human sacrifice. But since God makes the rules, He can break them. This is not an option for man. However, when God breaks His own rules, it is always on the side of grace. This becomes apparent as we read further into the chapter. However, Abraham has no idea; it is by faith that he offers up his son. (See Hebrews 11:17–19.)
V. 4: “On the third day”: The three-day journey fits into a “Death and Resurrection” motif. Note that Abraham “lifted up” his eyes after three days. By itself this detail may seem insignificant, but in the context of this account it is certainly Christological.
V. 5–6: Donkeys are quite capable of navigating the mountains (hills) in this part of the country of Israel. Why does Abraham leave the donkey behind? The answer is seen in his placing the wood on his son Isaac, who then bears the wood upon which he will be sacrificed further up the mountain. Again, a strong Christological connection is seen.
“and come again to you”: Abraham believes that, by some means, God will restore Isaac to him, perhaps by resurrecting him from the dead following the sacrifice.
V. 7–8: Isaac notes what is missing and asks about a lamb. Abraham responds with, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.” This is prophetic in nature, and the provision of a sacrifice on this mountain is mentioned again in verse 14. For this reason, the Israelites will later build the temple on this mountain; the temple is the place where sacrifices are made and where the Messiah will come. The reason Jesus is not sacrificed on the Temple Mount is due to the law that forbids the killing of a human within the city gates. Thus, we see Jesus is sacrificed on Mount Calvary, outside of the city; as a result, He is connected with the scapegoat of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) which was taken outside the camp (or city), bearing the sins of Israel.
John 3:16
The love of God that drives Him to offer up His only Son as a sacrifice reminds us of the love Abraham had for Isaac. Yet, by faith, Abraham was ready to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice at God’s command.
The Mountain Motif
Mountains are significant places in Scripture. The Hebrew people had a cosmology that saw heaven being up, hell being down, and the earth being in between. God Himself encourages this way of thinking as He continued to make Himself available to His people on mountains. So, mountains drew the people for worship.
Mount Sinai is a powerful example of the presence of the Lord God as it was covered in smoke and rumbled and burned when God was there. It is on this mountain that Moses entered into the presence of God and brought back all manner of messages and directions from the Most High. However, even earlier in the pages of Genesis, God called upon Abraham to bring Isaac, the son whom he loved, to the Mountain of Moriah and to offer him up as a burnt offering. Mountains bring one closer to God, and sacrifices made there ascend directly to Him in the smoke.
The Mountain of Moriah will later be renamed Mount Zion: the Holy Mountain upon which the temple in Jerusalem is built. The city of Jerusalem is built upon seven hills, the highest being Zion. In the Most Holy Place, God established His throne room on earth, and the people ascended to Him there to worship Him. The Psalms of Ascent were sung or chanted as the people made their way through the streets of Jerusalem and up Mount Zion for worship. They climbed up to the temple; and even the temple itself had various levels of height. The higher the people ascended, the closer to God and His holiness they came.
This proximity to God on mountains is also noted by Jesus’ Transfiguration on a mountain and, of course, by Mount Calvary, where Jesus was offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1).