Abraham and Isaac
| The time came when God put Abraham to the
test. "Abraham," he called, and Abraham
replied, "Here I am." God said, "Take your
son, Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the
land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a sacrifice
on one of the hills which I will show you. "So
Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his ass,
and took with him two of his men and his son Isaac; and
he split the firewood for the sacrifice, and set out for
the place of which God had spoken. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his men, "Stay here with the ass while I and the boy go over there; and when we have worshipped we will come back to you." So Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulder; he himself carried the fire and the knife, and the two of them went on together. Isaac said to Abraham, "Father," and he answered, "What is it, my son?" Isaac said, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the young beast for a sacrifice?" Abraham answered, "God will provide himself with a young beast for a sacrifice, my son." And the two ot them went on together and came to the place of which God had spoken. There Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son; but the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham." He answered, "Here I am." The angel of the LORD said, "Do not raise your hand against the boy; do not touch him. Now I know you are a God-fearing man. You have not withheld from me your one, your only son." Abraham looked up, and there he saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a sacrifice instead of his son. Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, and to this day the saying is: "In the mountain of the LORD, it was provided. "Then the angel of the LORD called from heaven a second time to Abraham, "This is the word of the LORD; By my own self I swear: inasmuch as you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will bless you abundantly and greatly multiply your descendants until they are as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the sea-shore. Your descendants shall possess the cities of their enemies. All nations on earth shall pray to be blessed as your descendants are blessed, and this because you have obeyed me." |