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to look up at the night sky: his
descendants would be as numerous
as the stars. Abraham’s belief in
God is firm, but when there is no
child, in desperation, Sarah
proposes her maidservant Hagar
as a surrogate. Through this union,
Abraham gains a son—Ishmael—
but Sarah remains childless.
Then, at long last, with Sarah
well past normal childbearing age,
the miracle happens: Isaac is born.
This is the child through whom the
whole world would be blessed.The child Isaac
When Isaac is old enough to carry
heavy loads and ask questions, God
makes an astonishing demand of
Abraham. God calls Abraham, who
replies, “Here I am,” the usual reply
to a divine call in the Bible. God
says, “Take your son, your only son,GENESIS
Sarah presents Hagar, her Egyptian
maidservant, to Abraham, in a 1743
painting of the event by Louis-Joseph
Le Lorrain. Sarah hopes Hagar will
conceive a child by Abraham.See also: Origin of Prayer 38–39 ■ The Raising of Lazarus 226–27 ■ The Nature of Faith 236–41 ■
The Crucifixion 258–65 ■ Salvation through Faith 301whom you love—Isaac—and go
to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice
him there as a burnt offering on a
mountain I will show you” (Genesis
22:2). The description of Isaac as
Abraham’s “only son,” even though
he has another son, Ishmael,
underlines Isaac’s role as the
inheritor of Abraham’s covenant
with God. For Christians, God
asking Abraham to kill his “only
son” mirrors God’s later sacrifice
of His own son, Jesus.
God’s use of the imperative
“go” occurs in only one other
place in the Bible: when God tells
Abraham to “go” from his father’s
house and country to the land of
Canaan (12:1)—a huge personal
sacrifice. The now elderly Abraham
(according to Genesis, he is 100
years old when Isaac is born) is
being asked to perform anotheract of faith and set out on another
journey into the unknown by
making this second sacrifice.
As before, Abraham is prompt
to obey God. Rising early the next
morning, he saddles his donkey,
cuts some wood to make a fire
for the burnt offering, chooses
two young followers to accompany
him and Isaac, and sets off from
Beersheba. After three days’
traveling, they see in the distance
the place chosen by God for the
sacrifice. Father and son bid
farewell to the two followers and
set out on the last lap of their
journey alone. The two of them
“went on together” (22:6).
In a touching gesture of fatherly
care, Abraham gives Isaac the
wood to carry, while he himself
takes the more dangerous flame
torch (or perhaps firestone) and
knife. The silence as they walk is ❯❯By faith Abraham, when
God tested him, offered
Isaac as a sacrifice. He who
had received the promises
was about to sacrifice his
one and only son.
Hebrews 11:17US_050-053_Abraham_and_Isaac.indd 51 21/09/17 11:26 am