Abraham by Rembrandt
A study of Mt. Moriah, can help us to understand the plan of God for the salvation of man. In this study we look at Mt. Moriah in the context of Abraham, King David and Jesus Christ.
In Part 1 of this study, we shall consider Mt. Moriah in the context of Abraham and King David.
Mt. Moriah and Abraham’s Sacrifice
Probably there is nowhere in the Bible where God’s plan of salvation is more accurately portrayed than in the twenty second chapter of Genesis. This chapter provides us an overview of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind and man’s redemption from sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The chapter begins with God “testing” Abraham who would become, according to the New Testament, the father of our faith. In Genesis 22:2, God says:
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall show you.”
First, keep in mind that Isaac was the “miracle” child of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah had been barren. Abraham was about 100 when Isaac was conceived and Sarah was about 90. The child had been a miracle from God. At the time of the command to sacrifice Isaac, he would have been a young man. Various Bible commentators have estimated the age of Isaac at the time he was to have been sacrificed. The famous Jewish Historian, Josephus, said that Isaac was about 25 years old. Another commentator, Adam Clark, says 33 (about the age of Jesus when he died). Others say about 20 years old. We do know that Isaac was strong enough to help his father and carry the wood for the sacrifice on his back.
Further, God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be like grains of sand and like the stars of the sky. A great nation was to come from Abraham. Isaac’s name meant “laughter” but God’s command to sacrifice him was no laughing matter.
At the time of the command to Abraham, there was no Jewish nation, no Levitical Priesthood, no High Priest, no Day of Atonement and no Ten Commandments. All of these would come about five hundred years later.
One has to wonder at the precise instructions which Abraham received. At the time when Abraham received this command he was living in Beersheba.
Map showing Beersheba and Mt. Moriah which is on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
There were plenty of mountains nearby where a sacrifice could have been made but God had a specific mountain range where the sacrifice was to be made and that was in the land of Moriah which was a little under 60 miles away from Beersheba. Moreover, the sacrifice was to be on a very specific mountain which God would point out. Not just any mountain would do.
Abraham, two servants and Isaac traveled to Moriah. After three days of travel (about 20 miles per day), Abraham saw Moriah. He left the two servants and the donkey and he and Isaac went to the precise mountain which God pointed out.
Abraham placed the wood for the sacrifice on the back of his son Isaac. Abraham carried the fire for the sacrifice and the knife to be used.
Isaac asked his father, “…where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7). Abraham responded, “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Gen. 22:8)
When they got to the “place where God had told him,” Abraham built an altar, bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Isaac then took the knife to kill his son. It is at this point that God stopped the process and said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Gen. 22:12)
Abraham and Isaac by Rembrandt
Abraham then saw a ram caught in a thicket and he sacrificed the ram which God has provided for him.
Genesis 22:14 says:
So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide,” as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.”
God again blessed Abraham promising that his descendants will be like the stars of the sky and the sands on the seashore and “in your offspring shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed.”
Abraham, Isaac, and the two servants then returned to Beersheba.
Could I have passed the “test” like Abraham? I don’t know. We are each called to follow Christ, to deny ourselves and take up our cross. The actions of Abraham evidenced his great faith. The actions of Abraham showed the love that God has for all of mankind and for that reason Abraham’s actions are extremely important in understanding God’s plan. Abraham became the Father of Faith not only for the nation of Jews but also for all followers of God including all Christians. We are the children of faith and Abraham is our father.
In the account of Abraham’s sacrifice, the plan of redemption of mankind is revealed. Abraham is a symbol of a loving father who is willing to sacrifice his only son. Isaac is a young man. Like Jesus, he bears the instrument of suffering upon his back. Isaac carries the wood of his sacrifice; Jesus carries the cross. Isaac could have rebelled and refused to have been sacrificed but Isaac, like Christ, willingly chose to follow the will of his father and to submit himself to sacrifice. Moreover, there is also a portrayal of the sacrificial lamb which is the ram caught in the thicket. There is also the picture of the resurrection in which Isaac, the object of the sacrifice, lives again despite being placed upon the altar.
All of this shows the provision of God. God gave his only son. He provides for us a means of salvation. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. His sacrifice will many years later be portrayed again by the Passover Lamb whose blood is smeared on the door posts of the Hebrews to protect them from the Angel of Death. It will be shown again in the Levitical sacrifices of the lamb and goats for sin and in the great sacrifice made annually on the Great Day of Atonement when blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat which covered the Ten Commandments of the Law.
The selection of a specific place for the sacrifice on Moriah is not accidental but reveals the plan of God for our salvation. Mount Moriah will later become the location for the Temple where sacrifices of blood will be made annually. God’s plan is precise and his choice of Moriah is NOT accidental.
Mount Moriah and King David
Another series of events occurred on Mt. Moriah which had a long-standing effect upon the Jewish people a thousand years after Abraham. This series of events ultimately led to the establishment of Solomon’s Temple upon Mount Moriah.
The First Temple also known as Solomon’s Temple
After the destruction of the first Temple built by Solomon, a second Temple was built after the Jews returned from Babylon. This Second Temple would later be called Herod’s Temple.
The Second Temple also known as Herod’s Temple
It was at this Second Temple where Jesus preached and where there were sacrificial offerings including the lamb sacrifice on the Great Day of Atonement. The place where the Second temple existed is called The Temple Mount today.
The Sin of David
1 Chronicles 21 says that Satan incited the heart of David to sin. David’s sin was that he demanded that a census be taken of the fighting men of David’s Kingdom (consisting of both Judah and Israel). The reason that this was sin was for several reasons. First, the command by David violated Exodus 30:12-13 which stated:
“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary….”
God had not ordered that a census be taken. When the census was taken, it was not taken in the manner required by Scripture. At the time that David demanded that the census be taken, God had given David and Israel peace. Apparently the taking of the census by David was done out of pride. The concept behind the census provided for in Exodus was that the people of God belonged to God not to man and only God could number them or command them to be numbered.
God is not interested in numbers. He had protected David when David had a band of only 400 warriors. Further, when Gideon defended Israel, God sent all of the 33,000 soldiers home except for 300 so that God would get the glory from Gideon’s victory rather than it going to the efforts of man.
The actions of David were open sin. The general of David’s Army, Joab, begged David not to take the census. When David refused to listen to Joab, Joab took the census but refused to count the Levites and refused to count the Tribe of Benjamin.
The Punishment for David’s Sin
After the census was taken, the prophet Gad came to David and gave him a choice of three possible punishments. They were:
· Three years of famine
· Three months of devastation by the sword by the enemies of David
· Three days of pestilence by the sword of the Lord.
David chose the third option of three days of pestilence. Evidently pestilence came and 70,000 persons died. The angel was en route to Jerusalem to destroy it. However God relented and the angel was stopped between heaven and earth at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. [ In an earlier narrative of this event found in 2 Samuel 24, Ornan is referred to Araunah; however in some other similar eastern languages the word “Araunah” is not a personal name but a title meaning “King.” At any rate, both passages are thought to refer to Ornan, King of the Jebusites.]
David repented and said the following at 1 Chronicles 21:7:
“Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”
Gad, being instructed by the angel of the Lord, told David to build an altar to God on the threshing floor owned by Ornan. Ornan offered to give the threshing floor to David; however, David stated that he could not offer a sacrifice to God which had cost him nothing and agreed to buy the land for full price. The price for the land, according to 1 Chronicles, was 600 shekels of gold which today would be worth just under a half a million dollars. David made the sacrifice upon the altar which was built there and the angel of the Lord put his “sword back into his sheath.”
David at the Threshing Floor of Ornan or Araunah
The Threshing Floor became the site of the Temple of God.
David selected the threshing floor of Ornan to be the site of the new temple and said at 1 Chronicles 22:1, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
David during his lifetime collected the materials for building the Temple but was precluded from building the temple because he was a man of war and his hands were bloody. The job of building the temple was left to David’s son, Solomon. However, God was pleased with David’s desire to build a house for God. Moreover, God made a covenant with David in 2 Samuel 1. God promised that God will build David “a house.” One of David’s offspring will “build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Sam. 7:13). He goes on to say:
“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all of this vision, Nathan spoke to David.”
This promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Some Troubling Questions
Both in life and in studying Scriptures we sometimes come across troubling questions. Some are like: What is the purpose of evil? Is evil the price of having freedom of choice? Why do innocent people die due to the choices of others. One of the problems which I face as I study this passage is why was it right that 70000 die due to the bad choice of King David? I can give you some possible answers but you might not find them to be totally satisfactory. This is an area which I have to address in faith knowing that I serve a God who is not only just but loving. God knows the number of hairs on my head and knows when the smallest sparrow falls.
Historically, I know that bad leaders can cause the death of many people. Stalin caused the deaths of millions in Russia. Hitler and Mussolini wiped out whole nations and Hitler tried to wipe out all of the Jews. I cannot answer why good people die as the result of decisions of bad rulers, but they do. When Jesus was faced with why people died as a result of a falling tower at Soloam or the evil acts of Herod, he responded that we all must repent or we will perish. (Luke 13:1-5) Death comes. However, as a Christian and as a man of faith, I affirm by faith that God is merciful and loving, so loving that he would send his only begotten son Jesus to take my sins upon himself. I affirm a judgment in which God will right the wrongs and punish evil. I believe in the resurrection of Christ and in the resurrection for all of the children of God. I, however, cannot answer all of the questions which I encounter in life or Scripture; however, I do respond to these questions in faith. Therefore, although I cannot answer all of these perplexing questions, I can affirm in faith the love and plan of God and rely upon God to answer these questions in His time and in His way.
In our next study we shall discuss Mt. Moriah, Jesus and Calvary.