The Ram in the Thicket

I posted previously concerning Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, highlighting similarities between Abraham's sacrifice and the Savior's Atonement. Today I want to emphasize the differences.

I mentioned the name Moriah which appears in the sacrifice story and also as the site for the Temple of Solomon (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1). The temple is the place "chosen by Jehovah" where we offer sacrifice to the most high God. The wood was laid in order for the sacrifice in similitude of the wooden cross carried by Jesus, at least according to John's Gospel (John 19:17). The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) all have Simon carrying the cross for Jesus. But typical of John's portrayal of Christ as the "Word Made Flesh," Jesus doesn't need anyone to carry the cross for Him, nor does He need anyone to identify Him as the Great I Am as He comes out of Gethsemane. There is no betrayal kiss from Judas, but rather an open invitation of "Whom seek ye?" followed by the declaration of "I am" repeated three times (John 18:4-8).

Isaac would be the burnt offering mentioned six times in this story, and the Hebrew root means to ascend, referring to the smoke of the sacrifice ascending to heaven in a complete surrender of will. You can read more of this in the "sealed portion" of the scriptures (i.e. The Bible Dictionary). Look under "Sacrifices" in the Bible Dictionary. Thus, Isaac's role was a total voluntary surrender. He was not forced on the altar.

Then comes the question that must have produced pure agony in the heart of Abraham as his son asks, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Then the prophetic answer, "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." The next sentence reads: "So they went both of them together" (Genesis 22:7-8).

Jehovah, the Great I Am and God of the Old Testament becomes the Word made flesh and the Paschal Lamb of God. And Abraham and Isaac went together to the place of sacrifice.

But wait just a minute! There is a turn of events and "Jehovah sees" (the Hebrew name of the place) that neither He, nor Isaac, will become the sacrificial Lamb, at least in this scene. We all know the rest of the story:

"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 any thing 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 behold 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"  (Genesis 22:11-13).

There is that phrase again--"Lifted up his eyes." Abraham is now seeing things from an eternal perspective. He now sees a ram--the adult, grown-up, and even perhaps resurrected version of the Lamb of God. Horns symbolize power, and this is the full-force power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is something that can bless every one of us every day.

Now we begin to see the great differences as well. Abraham and Isaac walked together to the place of sacrifice. But Jesus said, "I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:107).

And we see another difference in one of Jesus' parables. As the Prodigal Son returns home and his father runs to fall on his neck and kiss him, there is the older brother in the field. He hears the music and dancing and learns that his younger brother has just returned home and a fatted calf has been killed. The fatted calf would be a symbolic sacrifice, or a burnt offering.

The parable states, "And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him" (Luke 15:20-28). Parables can be discerned on various levels and sometimes they can be tricky. We can see the older brother as a spiteful, jealous man. But the phrase, "would not go in" is not necessarily a statement of refusal or a temper tantrum, as we sometimes read it. The Greek word for would is thelo and it means to have in mind, to will, or intend. The verse could be translated as, "It's not my will to go in."

Let's look at the Greek word thelo in another context. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus pleads with His Father. "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, (thelo) but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39). The word would in Luke 15 and the word will in Matthew 26 are both thelo.

Jesus can be found in about 90 percent of His parables. I was once teaching this parable to a group of youth in my ward, and I asked them if they could find the Savior in this parable. One young man said, "It's the older brother, isn't it?" I think he is right.

I always get a little emotional as I read this parable and come to the older brother's response: "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid" (Luke 15:29). The only One never to have transgressed any commandment of the Father, who spent His entire life serving His Father, and in turn serving you and me, was not given the substitute sacrifice of a fatted calf or a lamb to make an offering for sin.

It is almost as if the Father is saying, "For thee, my son, there will be no ram in the thicket." Therein lies the difference between the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac, and the sacrifice of the Father and the Son. How grateful I am for both the Father and Son, who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for me!