Abraham fears God more than he fears losing his son. We are told in the book of Hebrews that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. He was no longer using human reasoning to make sure God’s promises were carried out.

God wanted to know that Abraham feared Him. The fear of the Lord, we are told, is the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge, and the beginning of understanding. Abraham must have had some fear of the Lord from the beginning, or he wouldn’t have set out on his journey into the unknown.

The miracle happens, and the Lord provides the lamb for the sacrifice, just as Abraham had told his son. The Lord provides. He provided the sacrificial lamb for all of us by offering His one and only Son, Jesus.

Jesus was the perfect lamb without blemish, without sin, and His blood was spilled as the sacrifice. He offered Himself. He died so that we could live. His body was broken so ours could be made whole. He was separated from the Father so that we could be with God forever and for always.

The Lord provides. All that we need for life, life on earth and for our spiritual life for eternity, was provided for in Jesus. It was provided for in that one sacrifice. God gave His only son, His one and only Son. His precious, beloved Son, in whom He was so pleased. He allowed Him to die as a sacrifice because the Lord provides the Lamb.

There are a couple of religions that teach that Jesus didn’t die on the cross, that a loving God wouldn’t do that to His Son. Muslims teach that God made Judas look like Jesus, and they really killed Judas; after all, he’s the one that deserved it, right? But that’s human understanding. In God’s wisdom, He allowed His perfect Son to die. It was the only way to put an end to blood sacrifice, bringing about justice and satisfying God’s wrath. It was the only way to make His people righteous once and for all time, and to consecrate them, to keep them preserved as a people set apart for Himself.

The Fear of God is the beginning, but it’s not the end. The end is love; it’s the greatest of all things. God’s love for us is shown in this, while we were undeserving sinners like Judas, God offered up His only son, His perfect son, and Jesus died in our place, taking our deserved death for our sins and sacrificing Himself out of pure love for us.

Start with the fear of God. End with embracing His perfect love for you.