Isaac

Not Newton.
Not Asimov.
Not the deli-restaurant.
Isaac.
The guy in the Bible that no one talks about.
The guy who the Bible doesn't even talk about.

Hebrews 11, which is called by many as the Hall of Faith, talks a whole lot about Abraham, Isaac's dad.
Eight verses spanned over two paragraphs speak just about Abraham.
Abraham gets almost half of the book of Genesis all about him, at least it seems that way.
Then we go to Jacob.
Jacob tricked Esau out of some pretty good things.
Twice.
Jacob wrestled with Jesus. Like literally. They spent a whole night going at it.
Jacob had to work a really long time for his two wives.
Jacob had many sons.
Jacob liked Joseph more than any other.
And then there is Joseph.
Sometimes I just want to yell out, What about Isaac?!
Yeah, he was the little boy who Abraham almost killed.
He turned into a dad and had Esau and Jacob.
The End.

NO not the end.
And this is where I think the problem lies, we skim over the surface of a lot of really cool guys.
I think it's time to really look inside and overneath Isaac's story.
Very recently.
Last night kind of recently.
I was preparing to lead a Bible study on this guy, and I felt like we were just doing Abraham all over again. So I started digging... anything. Anything that I can talk about for a few minutes, just Isaac.
I decided to start with the Isaac -Jesus similarities.
Maybe you've heard this before... maybe not. Either way it's really cool to see how it all works out.
We have to start with Abraham.

Abraham had one son, his only son. Isaac.
Wait, no he had Ishmael too.
But then why does God say in Genesis 22:2 "Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."
Isaac was the son in which the promise was going to be brought from. Isaac was the only way that salvation was going to come to the world. Every covenant, every promise, every chance of Jesus coming had to do with the line of Isaac.
Then WHY would God ask Abraham to sacrifice him?
Abraham was probably wondering if God had forgotten His covenant. Nevertheless, Abe decided that God could bring Isaac back from the dead.
So he went, and we all know the story.
They went up to the mountain, Isaac got tied up and Abe was just about to plunge a daggar into him when an Angel said HOLD UP! Don't you touch him... This was all a test, and God now knows that He is number one in your life. And they all lived happily ever after.
Isaac probably needed some counseling after this episode. Just sayin'.
Unless we rewind and look at the story closely.
Isaac must have had A LOT of faith.
I don't think Abraham went soft on teaching Isaac all about the character and nature of 'the Lord God, maker of heaven and earth'
But just before we get to faith, I want to touch on some similarities:
Abraham took two of his servants with him and a donkey.
Jesus sent two of his disciples to fetch him a donkey.
Abraham told the two servants to wait at the bottom of the mountain, they would return after they were finished worshiping.
Jesus said many times that he would leave and then return.
It took three days to find this mountain.
Jesus and the number three seem to go hand in hand. Parables, travels, miracles, and obviously three days in the grave.
Isaac walked up Mount Moriah (which is the same hill that the temple would later be built on in Jerusalem) with the wood strapped to his back.
Jesus would walk down this same hill with a Roman cross attached to him, only to go up on another, named Golgotha and be crucified. Jesus claimed He would destroy and rebuild the temple in three days.

Isaac willfully allowed himself to be bound by his father.
And this is where I want to pause. The Bible does not say this. It just states, "He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood."
But let's imagine... an old guy... well over 100 years old... like well over that marker. And Isaac, who is most likely a teenager or in his early 20s. The old guy has been traveling for three days. They just climbed a mountain. He has just spent who knows how long building an altar. And you mean to tell me that he is going to overpower the son?
Isaac must have had a lot of faith.
As much as this story is about Abraham, it speaks a lot about Isaac. He must have understood what was going on. And he willingly allowed his father to sacrifice him to a God he had only heard about.
He didn't run. He didn't struggle. He didn't fight.
He laid down his life.
Jesus would echo this same attitude by actually having to die. Laying down his life.
He said in John 10:18, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
He would also call his disciples to the same attitude. Pick up your cross daily and follow me.
Whoever wants to gain his life will lose it. If you lose your life for my sake, you will gain it.
Paul challenges our attitudes to be the same as Christ Jesus.
One more thing...
Isaac asked his dad while they were walking up, where the sacrifice was? They had the wood and the fire, there were plenty of stones for the altar. Where's the sacrifice?
Abraham replied that God would provide the Lamb.
But God didn't provide the Lamb.
Not on that day.
What does the story say?

'But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
   “Here I am,” he replied.
 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” ' -Genesis 22:11-14 NIV


A ram. A ram stuck in a thicket... or a thorn bush.
The Lamb would come generations later.
The Lamb would come with a crown of thorns pounded on his head.
The Lamb would be sacrificed.
But not on this day.


Still, the story seems to surround Abraham. We can see the faith Isaac had, the understanding in the midst of chaos that he had. The apparent peace of mind that he had.
One other verse.
One other verse two chapters later in Genesis 24. We get just a small glimpse of Isaac's character.
Rebekkah is on her way to meet and marry this guy she has never met.
And she sees him. In a field.
Verse 63 states, "He went out to the field one evening to meditate..."
We could go into all the symbolism of the field and Jesus' whole parable on the sower and the fact that Jesus came from 'the seed of Isaac' or Isaac's lineage. But I want us all to ask ourselves, when was the last time we went out to listen for God.
Isaac knew what his father had done, sending his servant out to find a wife for him, what was he doing meditating?
Whatever he was doing, whether just seeking God for peace due to his mother's death, seeking God to be a good husband to Rebekkah, or just seeking after God just because... Isaac went out to the field to meditate. The Hebrew word in this instance is not known as a fact, but I would suggest it was Isaac going out into the field marveling, absolutely speechless at all of God, at all of what God was doing, had done, will be doing, seeking out an answer for his prayers, seeking out God's help to be a good husband. Isaac may be known as one of the patriarchs that doesn't have this grand old faith story... such as Abraham or Jacob. But maybe, that's the point. Maybe, Isaac didn't need to have the tests Abraham needed. Maybe Isaac didn't need to suffer and stress like Jacob did. Maybe Isaac is a perfect example of opening ourselves up to God's perfect plan the first time.
Something to think about.