“The two of them walked together.” As I translated the passage in Genesis where Abraham is asked to offer his son Isaac, these words stood out to me. Twice they are repeated in the Hebrew. Once in Genesis 22:6 and again in verse 8.
As I proceeded through the passage at a painfully slow pace, using Bible software for the translation as the class assignment required, I saw Christ walking to the cross and the Father with Him. It struck me that Jesus was not alone in these moments. He felt alone. In His agony, He cried out to God, asking Him where He had gone. The night prior, He had begged, “If it is possible, take this cup from me! Yet not my will, but Yours be done!” (my paraphrase).
Yet God the Father was with Him, watching His agony and reigning as sovereign over this most horrific event in history.
I don’t know if you have ever felt alone in agony. I certainly have, and so did Jesus. Isaiah 63:3 says that He trod the winepress alone. This means that there was no one at the Cross to help Him bear the pain of God’s wrath against sin. Jesus bore it all for us. He took care of all our sin.
Yet He wasn’t entirely alone. The Father, though unseen, was present. The two walked together. (It perhaps should be acknowledged that Abraham’s hand was the one that held the knife as it was about to kill Isaac. Another theological truth to be pondered.)
Today I want to encourage you that you are not alone. No matter how rough circumstances might seem, the unseen God is with you. His authority is sovereign in this situation. Nothing will happen that is out of His realm of control. The sacrifice of the ram caught in the bush, Jesus Christ, will save you from all your sin and bring you salvation. You need not work out any of it alone!
May you rest in His presence today! Though it seem like there is no way through this situation, may you know that there is! Jesus died, so we might live. He bore the weight of God’s wrath alone, so that God could be fully pleased with us. Praise God for His incredible gift! Because of Him, we never have to be alone again!
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