God told Abraham to take his long-awaited, beloved son Isaac to the land of Moriah and to offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which God would tell him. In fact a fairly good picture of a savek can be found on the internet if you google up Ram in a Thicket. Abraham then called that place “The-Lord-Will-Provide.” (Gen. 22:14 NKJV). About the animal in the thicket, Hebrew says אַיִל 'ayil - from a root meaning to twist, indicating by the twisted horns a male sheep. These cookies do not store any personal information. So when Abraham took the ram or young bull and sacrificed it instead of his son he was putting to death, so to speak, the pagan god Amar-utu, the god of his youth and declaring his complete loyalty to the God Jehovah that revealed Himself to him. These are among the reasons why it is one of the toughest beings in the wild. Abraham held his dagger high in the air, his hand quivering as the dagger glistened in the sun. Do you have some hill of circumstance before you? God presented a sacrificial replacement, a male sheep with its horns entangled in the bushes, as the foreshadowing of a crown of thorns upon the head of the Lamb of replacement. She also hunts for God’s treasures on the road Home, though she does get muddy sometimes. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. Is that the fate of the United States? In accepting this gift, we will find life and life eternal. Over time, there are a lot of people who are digging for the ram symbolism. A Ram in the Thicket. God’s Ram in the Bush, Always On Time! the flower fades; Shraga Weil (1918-2009) was an Israeli painter who also did a lot of printmaking throughout his artistic career. (God required sacrifices in the Old Testament of the Bible) The meaning therefore of the phrase is that there can sometimes be an 'out' for a difficult situation, and presumably; God supplied it. The horn of the ram caught in the thicket reflects that even Israel, the nation chosen by God and the glory of creation, can become entangled. by Fred Sanders on January 8, 2021. Behold the ram in the thicket; Behold the man. Isaac asked his father the whereabouts of the sacrificial lamb and Abraham replied, “God will see the lamb for Himself,” (Gen. 22:8 Masoretic Text), meaning to perceive something apart from seeing it with one’s eyes. The god Utu is often pictured with horns. The image is not so much that of a ram, goat or young bull that appears to be caught in a thicket, but is actually more a picture of a horned animal standing on its hind legs eating something at the top of a bush. The goat is rendered in impressive detail, as it reaches up to eat leaves on high branches – a common sight along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Entangle means to wrap or twist together, to interweave, and to ensnare (Merriam-Webster, 2005). As indicated earlier, many children were sacrificed to this god during this time of draught and famine in hopes that the young bull of Utu would provide rain. He saw the image of Marduk or as it is known in the Akkadian language Amar-utu which means the calf of Utu (the sun god) or the young bull of the sun. Sweat poured down his forehead. It may not be a natural-born predator like lions and tigers, but it is something that you can’t mess with. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. By that time, Persia was no longer a world power. Mount that hill with praise and worship! The origin of the English word for provide comes from the Latin providere, which means to foresee, before seeing, to take measures with due foresight, to get ready beforehand, look after, and so on. Upon this remarkable resolution to the trial of Abraham’s faith, he looked up and saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket. In contrast to the ram in the thicket, Abraham was not entangled or confused. Intimacy With God Whom My Soul Loveth Bundle, HEBREW WORD STUDY – BRIBERY – ‘AVEN עבן   Ayin Beth Nun, ARAMAIC WORD STUDY – RICH IN LOVE –  DA’ATIR BARACHAMUHI, HEBREW WORD STUDY – GOD LOVES ME AND I LOVE GOD. Another idea, which I think is more logical, is that the horned animal reaching up a thicket trying to get the last morsel of food was a picture of the struggle to survive during this 300 year draught. This one sure has an especially large pumpkin! Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Years after the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham of a son, Abraham experienced a test that squeezed his faith to the max in the most frightening of all ways for any parent. Isaac was set free and the ram was sacrificed instead. but the word of God stands forever. Whatever your need is today, be encouraged, there is a "ram" going up the other side of the mountain for you. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Lynn Mosher lives with her hubby (since 1966) in their Kentucky nest, emptied now of three chicklets and embracing two giggly grand-chicklets. English Standard Version And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. He held his breath in anticipation of committing the most horrifying act for a parent and, instead, heard, “Abraham! Abraham lived or was born about 1815 BC so he would have been born during this draught and more significantly when this symbol of a horned animal reaching high on a branch to feed was a known symbol. Not specifically a baby sheep. Ram In The Thicket. The word thicket in the Hebrew is savek which means to entwine, or an entwining vine, tree or brush. Thank you for sharing! Please take a moment to review my edit. Abraham raised his tear-filled eyes, turned, and saw the ram in the thicket. His words are found in Genesis 22: 14, NIV, where it reads: “So… Then we read: So Abraham called that place, The Lord Will Provide. It was a common practice to offer a human sacrifice i.e., child to this god in return for food, and water to sustain physical life as well as to obtain eternal life. He passes a test of loyalty through absolute obedience, a willingness to go through with even so hideous an act, out of allegiance to his God.vii The Sunday school lesson is that he is the model of faith. His hill of sacrifice became his pinnacle of obedience and his summit of provision. No one really knows what the symbol represents. Just then a ram was heard bleating in a bush nearby and there was the animal for the sacrifice. It could be a goat, deer, ram or horned bull. art, the "Ram in a Thicket" (also known as "Ram Caught in a Thicket") is actually one of an identical pair of figures, excavated from the city of Ur in ancient Iraq in 1928, by the renowned British archeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. Looking and finding the ram in the thicket is rather about persistence in the constant struggle to make meaning in our lives; one of the primary tasks of religious and spiritual existence. Some time ago, as financial woes hounded us, I wrote this on it: Faith is not moved by what it sees. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The shofar, made from a ram’s horn and sounding the call of redemption, teaches that the process is not simple. I never really considered the significance of the ram being caught in the thicket. And Abraham went and took the ram and went up to make a whole burnt offering of it instead of his son.” (Genesis 22:13) Substitution is perhaps the word for the day when it comes to the redemptive work of God. Jesus is the ram. Once they reached the top, Abraham laid all on the altar, all that was valuable and precious to him, his only son, trusting that God would raise him up again. Jesus is called "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world". This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In making these sacrifices of our time and finances we may expect to God think: “Oy, what this person is willing to give up for me, surely I must provide what he wants.” Instead he may be telling us to look behind us and see his aval (ram, young bull) in the thicket.” Where the gods of this world demands a sacrifice of what is most dear to us (time, health, time with family etc.) Amar-utu would fit the Hebrew word aval which translators render as a ram but could also be rendered as a young horned bull. No! An entanglement is a condition of being confused. "The grass withers, Abraham then called that place “The-Lord-Will-Provide.” (Gen. 22:14 NKJV) "Abraham looked and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This was a beautifully spoken word, just for me, this morning. Up the hill of sacrifice they went to worship! I made the following changes: The horned animal reaching for that last morsel of food symbolizes Amar-utu  providing out of the scarcity of the land. Then, God said, “For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Gen. 22:12 NKJV). Sir Leonard Woolley dubbed this statuette the “ram caught in a thicket” as an allusion to the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing a ram. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. God provided the lamb of rescue for Abraham. by Chaim & Laura | Sep 23, 2013 | Devotionals, Genesis 22:13:  “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.”. The ram’s purpose is to present an alternative to sacrificing Isaac. The ram is a bullish creature with a considerable frame and brute strength to boast with. Considering the words for ram and thicket and looking at the picture of the Mesopotamian god guarding the Death Pit I would not be surprised that when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, God told him to look behind him where he saw an image similar to one he may have seen as a child growing up in the land of Ur to which many children were similarly sacrificed. Our call to savor the Lord close in our hearts is taken from the praise given to God by his servant Abraham after God provided a sacrifice in place of Abraham’s only son Isaac. This ram was a prophetic picture of Yeshua’s death on the cross for man’s sins. Then, up in one corner, I wrote: There’s a ram in the thicket! In Genesis 22, Isaac was about to die, but the ram caught in the thicket that YHVH provided was a prophetic picture of Yeshua (a Hebrew word meaning “salvation”) that became a substitute sacrifice for Isaac.