3 Reasons Mount Moriah Matters to Us Today

Mount Moriah is a Holy site in Jerusalem and an important place for Christians. Most of us have heard it mentioned in sermons or have read about Moriah in our study time. But what is the significance of Mount Moriah in the Bible?

It’s tied to some of the most incredible events of obedience recorded in the Bible. We may not see the connection unless it’s brought to our attention.

The first mention of Moriah in the Bible is found in Genesis 22, with Abraham and Isaac.

This Bible story is one of the first I remember from childhood. My grandparents had a big family Bible on their coffee table, and I’d thumb through it as a child because of the beautiful artist depictions found inside. The picture of Abraham hovering over his son (who is tied up) with a large knife about to kill him was seared into my brain.

At my young age, I couldn’t comprehend foreshadowing and God giving a picture through Abraham and Isaac of a future event to take place. The sacrifice of His only beloved Son, Jesus. I couldn’t have begun to understand how God may test us, as Christians, either.

What Is Mount Moriah, and Where Is it Today?

Mount Moriah is a mountain with an elevation of approximately 2,520 feet found in Jerusalem. It’s a good-sized mountain but not super high. To compare, the elevation of Pikes Peak in the Colorado Rockies is 14,115 feet.

It’s considered important to several religions including Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

What Is the Significance of Mount Moriah?

Mount Moriah is the site of several important Biblical events.

1. The testing of Abraham when God asked him to take the life of his only son, Isaac.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Genesis 22:2

2. It’s the same place Solomon built the Temple.

Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David. 2 Chronicles 3:1

3. Scholars believe Mount Moriah is also the place (or nearby) where Jesus was sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world – Golgotha.

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle. John 19:16-18

In the testing of Abraham, God provided a substitute ram caught in a thicket nearby and Abraham didn’t have to literally sacrifice his only, beloved son, Isaac.

“Do not lay a hand upon the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” Genesis 22:12-14

But God did not provide a substitute for His own beloved Son. Jesus was the substitute sacrifice for us. The perfect lamb of God.

Why Are the Events of Mount Moriah Important to Us Today?

God doesn’t change. The incredible events of Mount Moriah and the lessons they provide are applicable today for our relationship with God.

1. God will test us.

The story with Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah is a demonstration of a future event pointing to Jesus and God’s plan of salvation for mankind. However, it also reveals how God tests His children.

Our testing will not involve anything quite as dramatic, but it will be difficult because a test is not a true test unless it’s hard for us. Maybe God has been working in our lives trying to get us to trust Him regarding money. The test may be that we lose our job.

Will we trust His provision through job loss?

Will we desire His will in our lives even if it involves moving us to another place of employment?

Passing the test will involve peace. We go with the flow of God – knowing He has our best interest at heart and is in control of everything.

Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

shepherd on a mountain
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Jaka Skrlep

2. God’s timing is perfect.

When Abraham was about to plunge the knife into his son, God provided a ram for the sacrifice instead. God’s timing is perfect. The ram happened to be caught in a thicket nearby just when the substitute sacrifice was needed to save the life of his son, Isaac.

God arranged for the ram to be caught in the thicket. He knew Abraham wouldn’t take the life of his own beloved son. But Abraham didn’t know. He was following through with incredible obedience and faith, willing to do whatever God asked of him.

Our testing is the same. God is all-knowing and has a plan for us to get through the testing he’s placed us into. If we lose our job to test our faith in God’s provision, He already knows where we’ll be employed next.

Maybe we will be paid more money or have better working conditions. Maybe we would have never left our employer on our own but through a test of our faith, God moves us to a better place.

Because of His perfect timing, we trust Him more and more.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

3. God’s plan is best.

To be honest, death doesn’t seem like a good plan.

We hate it and avoid death for as long as possible. But God sees things differently than we do (Isaiah 55:8-9). Death was part of His perfect plan of salvation for us. The death (and resurrection) of His one and only beloved Son is how He made a way for us to have a right relationship with Him again.

Jesus lived the perfect life none of us are capable of living. He was the fulfillment of the perfect sacrifice required by God that Abraham demonstrated in Genesis with his son, Isaac.

Mount Moriah where God tested Abraham asking him to sacrifice Isaac, is the same place where Jesus was sacrificed years later as the perfect lamb sacrifice for all mankind.

How perfect are the plans of God?

In our Christian walk, we will see God’s perfect plans (and timing) repeatedly in our lives. We may see the new job we end up doing (after we lost the job with God’s test in our life) is exactly what we needed at the exact time we needed it. The job just opened, and we were the perfect candidate.

The more we learn this truth about how God works, the easier life is because we know He will not fail us. If things don’t go the way we expect, then we wait for His perfect plan and timing.

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Mount Moriah is a special place. Because of the testing of Abraham with his son, Isaac, foreshadowing the redemptive plan of God with His own Son. The building of the temple by King Solomon. And the crucifixion of God’s Son, Jesus – our Savior.

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30