By Ashlee Price
Abraham was a very old man. He was 100 years old! He had served God all his life, and God wanted to bless him with a child, a baby boy. When God told Abraham that he and his wife, Sarah, would have a son, they did not believe Him. “I am far too old to have children!” Sarah laughed. But God was serious about His promise, and before long, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy, and they called him Isaac.
Abraham and Sarah loved their newborn son very much. As Isaac grew up, Abraham taught him to love others and to love God. Isaac was just like any other child; he liked to explore the outdoors and run and play games with his friends. He was kind and liked to help his mother around the home. But he especially liked helping his father Abraham to look after the sheep outside. Abraham showed him how to lead the flock to the cool streams of water so they could drink. Abraham taught him to take special care for the little lambs. Isaac liked to stroke their woolly coats and carry them in his arms.
As the years went by, Isaac got older, and his father Abraham gave him more important jobs to do. Isaac learnt how to prepare the wood for the evening fires, and how to lead the flock of sheep all by himself. Everything seemed to be going well for him, but one night, it all changed.
Isaac was sleeping soundly on the mat in his tent home, when God spoke to his father Abraham.
“Abraham,” God called.
Abraham said, “Here I am, Lord.”
“Take your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Build an altar there and offer Isaac on it as a burnt sacrifice to Me.”
Abraham could not believe his ears. Abraham had waited many years for this promised child. He did not understand why God now wanted him to sacrifice his precious son.
But Abraham had learnt to obey God’s commandments, and so he got out of bed and walked over to where Isaac lay asleep. Abraham wept as he looked at his son. They would not have very much time left to spend together. Abraham dried his tears as best he could, then shook Isaac. Isaac opened his eyes sleepily.
“What is it, my father?” he asked.
“My son, God told me in the night that He wants us to go and make a sacrifice to Him in the land of Moriah,” Abraham said. “We must be on our way before the sun gets too high in the sky.” Abraham did not tell Isaac that he would be the one to be offered as the sacrifice.
Isaac obeyed and got out of bed. Abraham and Isaac helped two servants load a donkey with some wood for the sacrifice and they began their journey.
It was a very long journey. It took Abraham and Isaac three days to climb the mountain. While they were walking side by side, Abraham did not say a word. Perhaps it had all been a dream, and God hadn’t asked him to sacrifice his son. Abraham shook his head. No, God had told him to do this, and he would do it, no matter what.
Isaac did not know what was about to happen when they got to the top of the mountain, but he did know that there was no lamb for the sacrifice. “My father, there is wood for the altar, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” he asked Abraham.
Abraham sighed sadly. “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for the offering.”
Abraham and Isaac soon reached the top of Mount Moriah. Isaac looked out over the edge and saw the family tent way down on the ground below. He could see the sheep he had been looking after just a few days before. They looked like small white dots.
Abraham was too sad to look at the view. He began to take the wood off the donkey and laid it on the altar made of stones. Then Abraham looked at Isaac with tears in his eyes. “My son, there will be no lamb for the offering. God has said that you are to be the sacrifice on this altar.”
Isaac was so very very sad. But he wanted to obey God, so he let Abraham tie his hands together and put him on the cold stone altar.
“My son, I love you very much,” Abraham said, looking down at his son.
“I love you too, Father.” Isaac whispered.
Abraham and Isaac wept together. The terrible moment had come. Abraham raised the knife in his hand and closed his eyes. He did not want to look as he killed his beloved son, Isaac. Suddenly, a loud voice sounded through the air.
“Abraham, Abraham!” It was an angel speaking to him!
“Here I am,” Abraham whispered.
The angel said, “Do not hurt your son Isaac. Now I know that you love God, because you did not keep even your only son from Me.”
Abraham was overjoyed. He quickly put down the knife and untied the ropes on Isaac’s hands. Isaac jumped off the altar and gave his father the biggest hug. Isaac did not have to die! Abraham and Isaac wept tears of joy. “Praise be to the Lord!” they sang.
Isaac pointed to something caught in a bush a little way away. It was a ram!
Abraham went to the ram and brought it to the altar. He killed the ram and offered it as a burnt sacrifice to God, instead of his son, Isaac.
Abraham had passed the test! God had told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Even though it was very very hard for Abraham to imagine doing something so terrible, he was willing to do what God had said. Sometimes God asks us to do things to see if we will obey Him. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense why He would ask us to do these things. But God always has a plan for everything. May we always be willing to do what He tells us to do.
PICTURE CREDIT – Free Bible Images
HAVE YOU JOINED THE GIGI STORY CLUB YET? DON’T FORGET OUR SUBSCRIPTIONS CLOSE ON DECEMBER 24TH. JOIN TODAY TO BE PART OF THE GIGI COMMUNITY! JOIN HERE
