He did and then commended Abraham’s faith and obedience, but the story is much bigger. The next part of it involves sacrificial lambs offered for sin and even though those offerings did not take away sins, they resulted in atonement and forgiveness.
These lambs were also sacrificed on other occasions such as Solomon’s ascension to the throne, Josiah’s renewal of the covenant, Ezra’s return from exile, and in Ezekiel’s eschatological visions of the temple. Lambs are also descriptive of God’s people.
In the NT, the term is used most notably for Jesus who became the ultimate sacrifice for sin:
John 1:29. The next day (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The Lamb story is near its climax! After Jesus died and rose again, the NT repeatedly declares that He is that Lamb . . .
1 Corinthians 5:7. Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
1 Peter 1:17–19. And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Some references to Jesus as God’s Lamb use a paradoxical description of Him, such as Revelation 5:5–6 where Jesus is depicted as both a Lion and a very unusual Lamb: “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
Revelation also describes the “wrath of the Lamb” and says, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” and how those who come out of great tribulation with robes washed “white in the blood of the Lamb.” He is called “the Lamb in the midst of the throne” who will be the Shepherd who will guide His people to “springs of living water” where God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
This Lamb will also be at war with God’s enemies and He will conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Then the marriage of the Lamb will be celebrated at a marriage supper as His bride (the church) has made herself ready.
Revelation 22:1–5. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I’ve written about the vulnerability of lambs and think of Jesus with that same gentleness yet with the amazing power described above. He is the conqueror. For some reason, perhaps my age, perhaps the confines caused by Covid, or perhaps just the need of my soul partly because another friend was lost this week in an accident, I need to keep my eyes on Him, this Lamb of God who is mighty, worthy of all worship and praise. Jesus is sovereign and has His hand on the trials of life. At the same time, He puts me in awe of His gentle power and the fact that this meek power is what He wants in me.
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