February 1

Today's reading: Genesis 22:1-24

God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, who God calls his "only son" since he is the son through whom God is going to build the great nation that He promised to Abraham.

There are many things in this account that point ahead to Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf:

• Abraham is commanded to sacrifice "his only son" just as God sacrificed His One and Only Son
• Isaac was a willing sacrifice. Remember Abraham is an old man and Isaac could have easily overpowered him when Abraham laid him on the altar. Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for us
• God provides the lamb (ram) for the sacrifice, just as Jesus, the Lamb of God, is provided for us

We also see two appearances of "the angel of the Lord" which is  likely pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. He once again confirms the covenant that God had made with Abraham back in Genesis 12.

Take some time today to thank Jesus for willingly sacrificing HIs life so that you can have a relationship with God.