1. "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" (Gen. 22:2). This is one of the very few Old Testament types that brings before us not only God the Son but also God the Father. Here, as nowhere else, are we shown the Father's heart. Here it is that we get such a wonderful foreshadowment of the Divine side of Calvary. Oh! how the Spirit of God lingers on the offering and the offerer, as if there must be a thorough similitude in the type of the antitype-"thy son— thine only son-whom thou lovest"! Here it is we learn, in type how that God "spared not His own Son" (Rom. 8: 32). Really, this is central in Genesis 22. In this chapter Abraham figures much more prominently than Isaac-Isaac is shown simply (and yet how sweetly!) obeying his father's will. It is the affections of the father's heart which are here displayed most conspicuously.

2. "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him" (22:3). Here we see in type the Father setting apart the Son for sacrifice. Just as we find the passover-lamb was separated from the flock four days before it was to be killed (Ex. 12:3), so here Isaac is taken by Abraham three days before he is to be offered upon the altar. This brings before us an aspect of truth exceedingly precious, albeit deeply solemn. The seizure and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was something more than the frenzied act of those who hated Him without a cause. The cross of Christ was according to "the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and Jews only did "whatsoever" God's hand and counsel "determined before to be done" (Acts 4:28). Christ was the Lamb "without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1

The writer has little doubt that the particular "mountain" upon which Isaac was bound to the altar was Calvary itself. Here, the mountain is not denominated, it was "one of the mountains" in the "land of Moriah" (it is significant that "Moriah" means "the Lord will provide"), and Calvary was one of the mountains in the land of Moriah. What seems to identify Isaac's mountain with Calvary is not only that the marvelous fullness and accuracy of this type would seem to require it, but the fact that in Gen. 22:14 this mount on which Isaac was offered is distinctly termed "the mount of the Lord." Surely this establishes it, for what other save Calvary could be thus named!

Pet. 1:20). Yes, the Lord Jesus was marked out for sacrifice from all eternity. He was, in the purpose of God, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). And note how this is suggested by our type, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning" (22:3).

3. "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you" (22:2). Here we see in type that what took place on that mount of sacrifice was a transaction between the Father and the Son ONLY. How jealously God guarded these types! Nothing whatever is said of Sarah in this chapter though she figures prominently in the one before and is mentioned in the one succeeding. Abraham and Isaac must be alone. Up to the time the appointed place enters their range of vision "two young men" (22:3) accompany Isaac; but as they near the scene of sacrifice they are left behind (22:5). Is it without a reason we are told of these two men journeying with Abraham and Isaac just so far? We think not. Two is the number of witness, but there is more in it than this. These two men witnessed Isaac carrying the wood on his shoulder up the mountain, but what took place between him and his father at the altar they were not permitted to see. No; no human eye was to behold that. Look now at the Antitype. Do you not also see there "two men," the two thieves who followed Abraham's greater son so far but who, like all the spectators of that scene, were not permitted to behold what transpired between the Father and the Son on the altar itself the three hours of darkness concealing from every human eye the Divine Transaction.

4. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son" (22:6). This was no half grown boy (as pictures so often represent Isaac), but a full-grown man who is here brought before us, one who could, had he so wished, have easily resisted the aged patriarch. But instead of resisting, Isaac quietly follows his father. There is no voice of protest raised to mar the scene, but he acquiesces fully by carrying the wood on his own shoulder. How this brings before us the Peerless One, gladly performing the Father's pleasure. There was no alienated will in Him that needed to be brought into subjection: "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God," was His gladsome cry. "I delight to do Thy will" revealed the per

fections of His heart. Christ and the Father were of one accord. Note how beautifully this is brought out in the type "And they went both of them together:" twice repeated. We need hardly say that Isaac carrying "the wood" foreshadowed Christ bearing His cross.

5. "And he took the fire in his hand and a knife; and they went both of them together" (22:6). And he (Abraham) took the fire in his hand. Here, as everywhere in Scripture, "fire" emblemizes Divine judgment. It expresses the energy of Divine Holiness which ever burns against sin. It is the perfection of the Divine nature which cannot tolerate that which is evil. This was first manifested by the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen. 3:24). And it will be finally and eternally exhibited in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. But here in our type it pointed forward to that awful storm of Divine judgment which burst upon the head of the Sin-Bearer as He hung upon the Cross, for there it was that sin, our sin, Christian reader, was being dealt with. Just as Isaac's father took in his hand the fire and the knife, so the beloved Son was "smitten of God, and afflicted" (Is. 53:4).

6. 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" (22: 7, 8). These words of Abraham have a double meaning. They tell us that God was the One who should "provide" the "lamb," and they also make known the fact that the lamb was for Himself. God alone could supply that which would satisfy Himself. Nothing of man could meet the Divine requirements. If sacrifice for sin was ever to be found God Himself must supply it. And mark, the "lamb" was not only provided by God but it was also for God. Before blessing could flow forth to men the claims of Divine holiness and justice must be met. It is true, blessedly true, that Christ died for sinners, but He first died (and this is what we are in danger of forgetting) for God, i. e., as the Holy Spirit expresses it through the apostle. "to declare His righteousness that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). Note how this comes out in our passage: it is

not "God Himself will provide a lamb," but "God will provide Himself a lamb❞—put this way, abstractly, so as to take in both of these truths.

7. "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an 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. And the Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not Thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and beheld behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh: as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen" (22:9-14). Here the type passes from Isaac to the ram offered up-"offered up in his stead"—a beautiful foreshadowment of Christ dying in the stead of sinners who are, as Isaac was, already in the place of Death, "bound,' unable to help themselves, with the knife of Divine justice suspended over them. Here it was that the Gospel was "preached unto Abraham" (Gal. 3:8). Similarly in other scriptures we find this double type (both Isaac and the ram) as in the sweet savor and the sin offerings, the two goats on the Day of Atonement, the two birds at the cleansing of the leper.

8. "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, 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" (Heb. 11:17-19). From this scripture we learn that Gen. 22 presents to us in type not only Christ offered upon the altar, but Christ raised again from the dead, and that on the third day, too, for it was on "the third day" Abraham received Isaac back again, for during the three days that elapsed from the time Abraham received command from God to offer him up as a burnt offering, his son was as good as dead to him. And now to complete this won

derful picture, observe how Gen. 22 anticipated, in type, the Ascension of Christ! It is very striking to note that after we read of Isaac being laid upon the altar (from which Abraham received him back) nothing further is said of him in Gen. 22. Mark carefully the wording of verse 19 -"So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-Sheba." Our type leaves Isaac up in the mount!

This article would not be complete did we say nothing about the remarkable trial of Abraham's faith and of the Divine grace which sustained him, yet, a very brief word is all we now have space for.

The spiritual history of Abraham was marked by four great crises, each of which involved the surrender of something which was naturally dear to him. First, he was called on to separate himself from his native land and kindred (Gen. 12:1); Second, he was called on to give up Lot (Gen. 13: 1-18); Third, he had to abandon his cherished plan about Ishmael (Gen. 17:17, 18); Fourth, God bade him offer up Isaac as a burnt offering. The life of the believer is a series of tests, for only by discipline can Christian character be developed. Frequently there is one supreme test, in view of which all others are preparatory. So it was with Abraham. He had been tested again and again, but never as here. God's demand is, "Son, give Me thine heart (Pro. 23:26). It is not our intellect, our talents, our money, but our heart, God asks for first. When we have responded to God's requirement, He lays His hand on something especially near and dear to us, to prove the genuineness of our response, for God requireth truth in the inward parts and not merely on the lips. Thus He dealt with Abraham. Let us consider now, The Time of Abraham's Trial.

It was "after these things" that God did try Abraham; that is, it was after the twenty-five years of waiting, after the promise of a seed had been frequently repeated, after hope had been raised to the highest point, yea, after it had been turned to enjoyment and Isaac had reached man's estate. Probably Abraham thought that when Isaac was born his trials were at an end; if so, he was greatly mistaken. Let us look now at, The Nature of Abraham's Trial. Abraham was bidden to take his son-and what? Deliver him to some other hand to sacrifice? No: be thou thyself the priest; go, offer him up for a burnt offering.