The name "Moriah" shows up again as Solomon begins to build the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). At the temple dedication part of the dedicatory prayer states:
"That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive (1 Kings 8:29-30). Notice again the repetition of the word place. Also, on the east side of the Salt Lake (Utah) Temple, there is the all-seeing eye, reminding us of His eyes which are upon His house and upon each of us.
On April 3, 1836 the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in the newly-dedicated Kirtland (Ohio) Temple and said to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, "I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house (Doctrine and Covenants 110:7). The Lord confirms the place he has chosen by placing His name there.
When Abraham was commanded to offer his "only son" Isaac as a burnt offering, he took the wood of the offering and "laid it upon Isaac his son." He also took "fire in his hand," and a knife. This foreshadows the Mosaic ordinance of a burnt offering as "the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire" (Leviticus 1:7). The priest would also "lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar" (verse 8). But more importantly, this prefigures the crucifixion scene where Jesus bears His wooden cross as He is led away to Golgotha (see John 19:17).
Isaac asks his father about the lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham responds, "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8). How prophetic this was as God condescended to offer Himself as the Paschal Lamb, playing the roles as Priest, Sacrificer, and Sacrifice! Isaac's role as the "burnt offering" was that of a voluntary sacrifice. The Hebrew word for burnt offering means to ascend (Strong's # 5930) and represents the smoke of the sacrifice ascending to heaven. Thus, the carnal, animalistic desires of the natural man are surrendered to God, as the will of the natural man goes up in smoke.
As described in Leviticus, the burnt offering was "flayed" and "cut in pieces" (Leviticus 1:6). This symbolizes the Atonement as the soldiers stripped Jesus and "parted his garments" (Matthew 27:28,35). The sacrificial animal was killed "on the side of the altar northward" (Leviticus 1:11). Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, lies north of the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.
Abraham was stopped by the angel of the Lord as he was obedient to the command of God. Mercifully, there was a ram in the thicket which would become the substitute sacrifice. Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, meaning "Jehovah sees." Jesus, as our Savior, not only sees each of us clearly, but also understands every challenge we face.
Because Abraham was obedient he was promised that his posterity would be "as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies" (Genesis 22:17).
It is truly amazing that in holy temples we can receive the same promises.
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