The Story of the Bible

After this, Hagar did not go down to Egypt. She found a place near this spring, where she lived and brought up her son in the wilderness, far from other people. And God was with Ishmael, and cared for him. And Ishmael grew up in the desert, and learned to shoot with the bow and arrow. He became a wild man, and his children after him grew up to be wild men also. They were the Arabians of the desert, who even to this day have never been ruled by any other people, but wander through the desert and live as they please. So Ishmael came to be the father of many people, and his descendants, the wild Arabians of the desert, are living unto this day in that land, just as the Jews, who are the descendants of Isaac, are living all over the world.

How an Angel's Voice Saved a Boy's Life

Genesis xxii: 1, to xxiii: 20.

You remember that in those times of which we are telling, when men worshipped God, they built an altar of earth or of stone, and laid an offering upon it, as a gift to God. The offering was generally a sheep, or a goat, or a young ox, some animal that was used for food. Such an offering was called "a sacrifice."

But the people who worshipped idols often did what seems to us very strange and very terrible. They thought that it would please their gods, if they would offer as a sacrifice the most precious living things that were their own: and they would take their own little children and kill them upon their altars as offerings to the gods of wood and stone, that were no real gods, but only images.

God wished to show to Abraham, and all his descendants, those who should come after him, that he was not pleased with such offerings as those of living people, killed on the altars. And God took a way to teach Abraham, so that he and his children after him would never forget it. Then at the same time he wished to see how faithful and obedient Abraham would be to his commands; how fully Abraham would trust in God, or as we should say, how great was Abraham's faith in God.

So God gave to Abraham a command which he did not mean to have obeyed, though this he did not tell to Abraham. He said:

"Take now you son, your only son Isaac, whom you love so greatly, and go to the land of Moriah; and there, on a mountain that I will show you, offer him for a burnt offering to me."

Though this command filled Abraham's heart with pain, yet he would not be as surprised to receive it as a father would in our day; for such offerings were very common among all those people in the land where Abraham lived. Abraham never for one moment doubted or disobeyed God's word. He knew that Isaac was the child whom God had promised, and that God had promised, too, that Isaac should have children, and that those coming from Isaac should be a great nation. He did not see how God could keep his promise with regard to Isaac, if Isaac should be killed as an offering: unless, indeed, God should raise him up from the dead afterward. But Abraham undertook at once to obey God's command. He took two young men with him, and an ass laden with wood for the fire; and he went toward the mountain in the north, Isaac his son walking by his side. For two days they walked, sleeping under the trees at night in the open country. And on the third day, Abraham saw the mountain far away. And as they drew near to the mountain, Abraham said to the young men:

"Stay here with the ass, while I go up yonder mountain with Isaac to worship; and when we have worshipped, we will come back to you."

For Abraham believed that in some way God would bring back Isaac to life. He took the wood from the ass, and placed it on Isaac, and the two walked up the mountain together. As they were walking Isaac said, "Father, here is the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself the lamb."

And they came to the place on the top of the mountain. There Abraham built an altar of stones and earth heaped up, and on it he placed the wood. Then he tied the hands and the feet of Isaac, and laid him on the wood on the altar. And Abraham lifted up his hand, holding a knife to kill his son. A moment longer, and Isaac would be slain by his own father's hand. But just at that moment the angel of the Lord out of heaven called to Abraham, and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" And Abraham answered, "Here I am, Lord." Then the angel of the Lord said:

"ABRAHAM! ABRAHAM!"