1 Now it came to pass after these things that aGod tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, ayour only son Isaac, whom you blove, and go cto the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a dburnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the1 lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will acome back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and alaid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.
7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the1 lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the alamb for a bburnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and alaid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the aAngel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, a“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for bnow I know that you fear God, since you have not cwithheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind himwas a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of the place,1 The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,
16 and said: a“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—
17 blessing I will abless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants bas the stars of the heaven cand as the sand which is on the seashore; and dyour descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18aIn your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, bbecause you have obeyed My voice.”
19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to aBeersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
The Family of Nahor
20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed aMilcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21aHuz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father bof Aram,
Notice how God phrases this: "your only son [the only legitimate son] . . . whom you love." It is not that Abraham does not love Ishmael, but Isaac is the son of promise, the son of his old age, a very special son. God is tender in His phrasing, for what he commands Abraham to do foreshadows Christ's own sacrifice later and so has special meaning to God.
There was absolutely nothing wrong in Abraham loving Isaac deeply, as long as his love did not become worship. We often say we "adore" those whom we love. The first definition of adore is "to worship with divine honors," while the second is "to love deeply," which is perfectly acceptable to do. It is important to understand the distinction.
God tells Abraham, "Go to the land of Moriah," and He promises to tell him exactly which peak he should ascend. "Moriah" refers to an area of land in what is now Jerusalem that contains several mountains or small peaks. Abraham lived in Beersheba, more than 40 miles from Moriah.
God also tells him to sacrifice Isaac "as a burnt offering." We can only imagine the thoughts that must have raced through Abraham's mind! How can the promises be fulfilled if Isaac is dead? Is this not human sacrifice, such as was practiced by the heathen nations? Would this not be murder? How will it look to Sarah, his servants, the Egyptians, and others? Even so, his obedience was absolute.
