Message by Mike Mayfield
The Lamb on the Mountain
Genesis 22:2 (NIV)
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice (offer) him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.“
Genesis 22:6-8 (NIV)
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,
7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Genesis 22:9-12 (NIV)
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
1. Mount Moriah is where the Temple was eventually built.
2. God “Himself” provided the lamb.
3. The ram was a substitute.
Genesis 22:13-14a (NIV)
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called that place (Jehovah- jireh) The LORD Will Provide.
Where”™s the Lamb?
Leviticus 22:19-21 (NIV)
19 you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. 20 Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.
The Lamb in the Passover
1. It must be a lamb-
Exodus 12:3b (NIV) ”¦each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
1 Corinthians 5:7b (NIV) ”¦Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
2. It must be a male-
Exodus 12:5 (NIV) The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
3. It must be a year old lamb-
Exodus 12:5 (NIV) The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
4. It must be without blemish-
Exodus 12:5 (NIV) The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
1 Peter 1:19 (NIV) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
5. It must have no broken bones-
Exodus 12:46 (NIV) It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
Psalms 34:20 (NIV) he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
6. It must be offered “between the evenings.”
Exodus 12:6 (NIV) Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7. The blood must be applied-
Exodus 12:7 (NIV) Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
Exodus 12:13 (NIV) The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
The Lamb in the Prophecy
Isaiah 53:4-7 (NIV)
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
The Lamb in the Manger
Luke 2:16-17, 20 (NIV)
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Lessons from the Lamb
1. Jesus Christ is God”™s lamb
Luke 2:35b (NIV) ”¦And a sword will pierce your own soul too.
2. There is no salvation without sacrifice
Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
3. When you know the Lamb, you”™ll follow Him
John 1:29, 36-37 (NIV) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Isaiah 53:6 (NIV) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
4. If you refuse God”™s lamb, there is no other plan of salvation
Acts 4:12 (NIV) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”