Christian Living

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All over the world, devotees of Islamic religion are in the season of commemorating God’s wonderful substitution of life, a ram’s life for a human’s. While the details of the story differ in the Bible and in the Quran, the clear truth is that there was a substitution of life made by God, unaided by man, though in response to man’s obedient response to God’s request. We Christians do not consider it necessary to devote a special day to celebrating that event; nevertheless its principle is the defining fundamental of the Christian faith. Moslems, therefore, serve yearly as reminders of that great deed of God, and this piece is a call for Christians to also join in the celebration, though in a different way.

The story of what transpired on Mt Moriah between God, Abraham, Isaac, and the substitute ram is not just about Abraham’s faith and obedience; it is centrally about God’s plan of salvation given to us in a picture. It teaches us that God requires of man a sacrifice of life, that which is most dearly to man. In response to man’s faith-inspired obedience, God provided a substitute, and God did it once and for all of life. God never demanded such sacrifice from Abraham or any other man afterward. Also, God teaches us that He alone can afford the price of the soul of man, not even the deepest obedience and faith of man can.

In response to God’s divine provision, Abraham called the name of God Jehovah-Jireh which is literally translated as "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." (Gen 22:14). A careful reader of the Bible would realize that Abraham did not suddenly become aware that God can provide him a ram or any other material possession. In fact, Abraham earlier rejected King of Sodom’s offer of the booty, saying: "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'” (Gen 14:22-23). He was never for a moment lost on that one promise of blessing that God made to him at the outset of his journey of faith (Gen. 12:1-3).

What Abraham realized was that God alone can provide the substitute for the soul of man; that God alone can afford the worth of man’s soul, and that the salvation of the human soul will be provided only on the mountain of God. Jesus summarized Abraham’s encounter on that mountain in response to the skeptic jews: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." (John 8:56). The writer of Hebrews describes it in these words: “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb 11:19, NIV). Abraham saw through the vestige of Isaac’s vicarious death in that lamb the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Thus God taught the father of faith He alone is the Provider of the Substitute for the human soul. Like Abraham, we see through the countless number of rams that Muslims sacrifice every year that God alone can pay the price of the human soul, and that He did that once and for all times, once and for all men (Hebrews 10:1-4). So, as we live daily testifying of the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, the best way we can celebrate this event as Christians is to pray that the world, like Abraham, will see through these annual symbols that one sacrifice of Jesus Christ and become obedient to the faith of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Wole Oladapo
[email protected]

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