LAMB
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go . . .
This nursery rhyme, first published in 1830, was inspired by a true incident of a Massachusetts schoolgirl who had a constant companion in her pet. The lamb is a cultural icon for innocent compliance and vulnerability; for example, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film “Lamb to the Slaughter” appropriated the theme of victimization, and an October 2011 article in Forbes magazine coined the term “the lion lying down with the lamb” to illustrate an economic point—both phrases originating in Scripture (Jer. 51:40; Isa. 11:6).
Liturgical tradition has for many centuries included the symbol of agnus dei (“Lamb of God”) in formulaic chant and religious art, but tracing the biblical usage of the word for oneself can be personally enlightening. Certain pictures come readily to mind: the Good Shepherd gathering the lambs into His bosom; the prophet Nathan’s parable of the lamb, which convicted David of murderous greed; Jesus sending His disciples out into the world as lambs into the midst of wolves (Isa. 40:11; 2 Sam. 12:1ff; Luke 10:3).
But an exciting redemptive theme emerges when we look a little more deeply.
Of course, the nomadic Hebrews depended on sheep for meat, milk, and wool. For this reason we see hundreds of biblical references to the animal, beginning with the story of Abel—history’s first murder victim and keeper of flocks—who pleased God by his faith but suffered his brother’s jealous rage (Gen. 4:2; cf., Heb. 11:4). However, the explicit employment of the word “lamb” (as distinct from the greater category of “sheep” or “shepherd”) first appears later in Genesis, when Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from his herd as a gift to seal a treaty agreement, securing his legal right to dwell in the land God had provided (Gen. 21:28).
From that point on, God’s gracious provision becomes the characterizing factor of the image, as evident almost immediately in the testing of Abraham’s faith, when God instructed him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering:
Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, “My father?” He said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (Gen. 22:7-8).
And God did indeed provide a “ram” (male sheep), caught by its horns in a nearby thicket, as a substitutionary sacrifice (Gen. 22:13).
Next we read of Isaac’s son, Jacob, greatly prospering due to his genetic manipulation of his father-in-law’s flocks and the direct intervention of God (who soon thereafter renamed Jacob “Israel”—father of His chosen people; Gen. 30:40; Gen. 32:28).
The very next mention of a lamb in the Bible is in the context of the Passover, a pivotal event in Israel’s history. The Jews, long enslaved in Egypt and crying out for their freedom, had watched as nine plagues wracked the country. Now Moses instructed each Israelite family to kill a lamb and eat its roasted flesh, then sprinkle its blood on the household doorposts to provide protection from death when God killed their captors’ firstborn in the final plague, which “passed over” the Israelites (Exod. 12:3-5ff). The Lord delivered His people to freedom, and thereafter—throughout the Old Testament in a continuous and elaborate cycle of sacrifice—a year-old male lamb without spot or blemish acted as a substitution for sin, its flesh consumed by the people for sustenance, its blood thrown against the altar for atonement (2 Chron. 29:22).
But God despised the persistent rebellion of His children and eventually told them that He “did not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats” offered in hypocrisy. Instead He wanted “obedience” (that is, positive volition accompanying informed willingness) and a contrite heart (Isa. 1:11; Isa. 1:19; Ps. 51:16-17). In a picture all red and white, He spoke through His prophet Isaiah to promise a coming redemption that would once-for-all satisfy His demand for the shedding of blood necessary for forgiveness:
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isa. 1:18)
The prophesied Servant-Messiah was further described by Isaiah:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isa. 53:7)
Seven centuries later the Saviour-Lamb was announced clearly by John the Baptist in the early words of his gospel, as he one day watched Jesus walking towards him:
“Behold [calling special attention] , the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
The religious leaders, steeped in Old Testament tradition and Scripture, would have known exactly what John meant in referring to Isaiah’s description: Jesus was Messiah—the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and of the whole sacrificial system. Indeed, it was during the Passover that they crucified Him—perhaps during the same hour that the blood flowed from the lambs being slaughtered for the yearly festivity on the Temple Mount.
Then, after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the words of Isaiah about the lamb led to slaughter—read by the Ethiopian eunuch sitting in his chariot on a desert roadside between Jerusalem and Gaza—were expounded by Philip to bring about that court official’s salvation (Isa. 53:7-8; Acts 8:32-35).“He is our Passover Lamb,” Paul declared, and Peter reiterated that Christ was the “Lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:19).
Most New Testament occurrences of the image of Christ as the Lamb occur in Revelation—the culmination of all biblical books bringing to a conclusion every prophecy in a grand unveiling of Jesus as Lord. Someday all creatures “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea” will raise their voices in praise to the worthy “Lamb who was slain” (Rev. 5:12). This heavenly scene is very different from the scenario to happen on earth during the end times, when God’s enemies will “make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them” (Rev. 17: 14).
Meanwhile, the Church—the Bride of Christ—must today prepare herself for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, for Jesus is coming to take us to our wedding feast with Him (Rev. 19:7). In the closing act of God’s Word, all believers—whose names are written in the “Lamb’s book of life”—will worship and serve the Lamb on the throne of God forever (Rev. 21:27; Rev. 22:1-3).
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These short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., “scroll” is sometimes interchangeable with “book”); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder. I recommend the website of Dr. Grant C. Richison for thorough expository Bible study: www.versebyversecommentary.com.
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