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Sermon ~ Genesis 27: Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac

Date: February 7, 2026

Source: abbe-pivert.com

My dear Brothers,

The sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham is certainly a pinnacle of the Old Testament, for it reveals to us the depth of the sufferings of Our Lord. Abraham is, therefore, a model for us.

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Sermon Summary
The Birth of Isaac

Abraham waited one hundred years before having Isaac, and his wife was sterile. We must not be discouraged when our works appear to bear no fruit. They will eventually produce it, for God will visit us just as He did for Sarah: Holy Scripture says He visited her.
The Dismissal of Ishmael

The necessity of separations to preserve faith and heritage. It would be a lack of confidence in His Providence to fail to comply punctually with commandments from heaven for reasons of human prudence.
The Sacrifice of Isaac: The Sacred Text

God put Abraham to the test and said to him: "Abraham, Abraham!" And Abraham replied: "Here I am."

God added: "Take Isaac, your only son whom you love so dearly, and go to the land of vision; there you shall offer him to me as a h0Ɩ0cαųst on one of the mountains that I will show you."

Abraham rose before dawn, prepared his donkey, and took with him two young servants and his son Isaac. Having cut the wood for the h0Ɩ0cαųst, he set out for the place God had commanded him to go.

On the third day, looking up, he saw the place from afar. He said to his servants: "Wait here with the donkey; my son and I will go over there, and after we have worshipped, we will return to you immediately."

He took the wood for the h0Ɩ0cαųst and placed it on his son Isaac; he himself carried the fire and the knife in his hands. As they walked on together, Isaac said to his father: "My father." Abraham replied: "My son, what is it?" Isaac said: "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the victim for the h0Ɩ0cαųst?"

Abraham answered: "My son, God will provide the victim for the h0Ɩ0cαųst Himself."

They continued walking together and came to the place God had shown Abraham. There, he built an altar, arranged the wood upon it, bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the wood on the altar. At that moment, he stretched out his hand and took the knife to immolate his son.

But instantly, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: "Abraham, Abraham!" He replied: "Here I am."

The angel added: "Do not lay a hand on the boy, and do nothing to harm him. I know now that you fear God, since to obey me you have not spared your only son."

Abraham, looking up, saw behind him a ram caught by its horns in a thicket; taking it, he offered it as a h0Ɩ0cαųst instead of his son. And he called that place by a name meaning: The Lord sees. This is why it is still said today: The Lord will see on the mountain.

The angel of the Lord called Abraham from heaven a second time and said:
"I swear by myself, says the Lord, that because you have done this, and to obey me you have not spared your only son, I will bless you and multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall possess the cities of their enemies; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in the one who comes from you, because you have obeyed my voice."

Abraham then returned to his servants, and they went back together to Beersheba, where he remained.
Prophetic Meaning

    The Sacrifice of the Only Son of God by God the Father.

    Isaac represents Christ in His divinity, which does not die.

    The ram represents Christ in His humanity, which dies.

    Isaac is both priest and victim, as he consents to offer himself.

    The promise is renewed, but in relation to this sacrifice. It is the New Covenant which extends the Old. They are not distinct as two different covenants, but rather as the beginning and the completion.

    "Hic est calix sanguinis mei, novi et aeterni testamenti, mysterium fidei qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum."
    ("This is the chalice of my blood, of the new and eternal covenant, the mystery of faith, which will be poured out for you and for many for the remission of sins.")

Moral Meaning

Let us imitate Abraham, principally in his union with the sacrifice of Our Lord. (AI translation)