God kept His promise and gave a son, Isaac to his father and mother.   How they loved that boy who was so precious in their old age.  Every day they were grateful to God and thanked Him because He had given them such a wonderful son.

When Isaac became a young man, God tested Abraham and called to him, "Abraham!"  Abraham replied, "Here I am."  Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah.   Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering to Me on one of the mountains that I will tell you about."

Wow!  What would your Daddy have done, if God told him to build a fire, lay you on it, and burn you up?  Well, Abraham did not shout and scream and run away from God.

Why, he loved God and knew that God was very wise, powerful and loving, and knew that God would not make a mistake.  He had great faith and believed that God would make Isaac live again, so that he would have all the descendants that God had promised him.

So early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.  He cut enough wood for the burnt offering, and set out with two of his servants and Isaac, for the place God had told him about.  On the third day of travel, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

Abraham said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then come back to you."   Next morning, Abraham rose very early and took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on Isaac's back, while he carried the fire and the knife.

As they walked along, Isaac spoke to his father.  "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.  "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

You see, Isaac didn't know that he was to be the sacrifice, because his father hadn't told him.  And so the two of them went on until finally they came to the place where the sacrifice was to be made on a high mountain called Mount Moriah.  Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Abraham now told Isaac that he was to be the sacrifice!  Isaac loved God and knew that God didn't make mistakes.  He knew also that his father wanted to do just what God asked him to, so Isaac didn't run away.  He let his father tie his hands and feet and lay him on the altar on top of the wood, ready to be sacrificed.

You see, God wanted to prove whether Abraham would obey him, even though he could not understand why God wanted him to do such a horrible thing.   Abraham took the knife to take the life of his son, but the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," replied Abraham.  "Do not lay a hand on the boy and do anything to him," commanded the angel, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket, so he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called that place: "The Lord Will Provide".

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time, "Because you did not withhold your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as the sand on the seashore.  Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me."

After this, Abraham and Isaac returned to their servants, and they then journeyed to Beersheba, where Abraham stayed.  What a time they had telling Sarah all about their sacrifice!

Abraham obeyed God and did just what God asked him to.  Ans God blessed him and he was the friend of God.  God wants us to obey Him and do what He tells us to do in the Bible.  If we do this, God will also bless us wherever we are, wherever we go, and in whatever we do!

God bless.