Abraham and sarah were getting old but they did not have any children
they prayed hard to God to grant them a child and finally, God heard their prayers you are a good man Abraham
and I know you love me don't worry you will have a child and many descendants as well
as God had promised Abraham and Sarah were soon blessed with a beautiful baby boy
both of them were overjoyed and named the baby Isaac
oh lord I have no words to express my gratitude to you for this precious gift you have given us
Abraham and his wife Sarah watched with pride and joy as their son grew up into an obedient and loving son
Abraham taught his son to love and worship the Lord just as he did
he made it known to him that he was a very very special child who God had promised to Abraham and Sarah
Isaac learned his lessons well and made his parents proud of him
one day God decided to test Abraham's faith in him and visited him one night
Abraham
who.. who.. is it? it is me, Abraham your lord
I have come to ask you something
tell me, do you really love me?
how can you even ask me such a question, my lord?
there is nothing and no one that I love more than you
well then will you do as I tell you to without questioning me
of course god I don't even know why you even doubt that I will disobey any command you give me
I have spent my entire life loving worshiping and obeying you
I know I know
but this will be a very difficult test for you
I am willing to undergo any test you have for me
your wish is my command o' lord
good that is what I expected to hear from you
now listen carefully
tomorrow morning as the sun starts rising I want you to take your son Isaac to a mountain
I will direct you to and there I want you to offer him as a burnt sacrifice to me
in those days burnt sacrifices were made of animals which were tied to an altar made of wood and stones and then burnt
Abraham couldn't believe what he was hearing offer his son to god the child that God himself had given him
but then he thought about what god had told him earlier about having many descendants
God has promised me descendants but how will I have descendants unless I have a son
I cannot question God for he knows best it is a very tough test that god wants me to take
I don't know how I will be able to kill my own son
what is the matter Abraham?
is it too difficult to task for you to obey
your love for your son means more than doing what I am asking you to do
no no god my son is after all your gift to me so if you want him back how can I refuse
Good
so now listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you
tomorrow morning I will guide you to the place where you must sacrifice your son
it is in the land of Moriah
I will do as you say, god
the next morning Abraham called for his two servants
and told them to saddle up and load the donkey with wood and prepare to go on a journey
he then called his son Isaac my son god wants me to make a burnt sacrifice
and you have to come along with me for this yes father but where do we have to go
we have to go to Mariah son though I too do not know the exact place
God will show us the way to get there so Abraham along with his son and two servants
set off to where god wanted him to make a sacrifice of his son
the thought of killing his beloved son made his heart very heavy but he did not show his feelings to his son
they walked for two whole days eating the food they were carrying and sleeping on the road
finally, on the third day, Abraham saw in the distance the mountain where God wanted him to make the sacrifice
on reaching there Abraham told his servants to wait with the donkey
while he and Isaac went up Isaac you carry the wood and I will carry the knife and coal
the coal is too hot for you to carry
as they were climbing up Isaac looked questioningly at Abraham
father, yes my dear child?
you said that God had asked you to make a burnt sacrifice
yes we are only carrying the wood for the altar but where is the animal that has to be sacrificed
Abraham didn't know what reply to give his son, so he just looked away tell me, father
where is the animal? son, I have full faith in my lord he will provide the animal to be sacrificed
Abraham and Isaac proceeded to the top
and when they reached there Abraham set about to make the altar with stones and wood
as he was doing so tears were streaming down his face why are you crying father what is the matter
Abraham quickly wiped away his tears and looked at his beloved son with a sad smile
nothing my child, nothing, though Abraham had full faith in his lord and couldn't think of disobeying him
he still dreaded the thought of plunging a knife into his only and most loved son
however the thought of not doing what God wanted him to do never crossed his mind
he slowly started gathering big rocks and placed them one on top of the other and then placed the wood over them
when the altar was ready he gently tied his son's arms and led him to it
Isaac was horrified but did not utter a word my son I cannot tell you how much it pains me to do this
but I must do it it is my word to god please son never ever doubt my love for you
with a deep breath, Abraham raised the knife high above his head
but before he could bring it down and kill his son an urgent voice called out to him stop Abraham
in the name of the lord stop, you will not hurt your son what Abraham looked up and saw an angel standing there
the angel looked at Abraham with a gentle smile god is very happy with you
to obey his order you were willing to sacrifice your beloved son who means so much to you
you have proved that your love for God is above everything and everybody but now you do not have to sacrifice your son
Abraham could not believe his eyes he breathed the deep sigh of relief
and knelt down with his arms outstretched praise be to my lord the master
the Lord will grant you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky
as there are grains of sand on the beaches you are the lord's blessed one
glory be to you o god I thank you from the bottom of my heart
Abraham got up and went to his son and untied him come to me my precious child
I hope you know that Abraham you dearly but I had to do what I did as I could not disobey my lord
I know father and I never doubted your love for me even for a minute
both father and son hugged each other joyously
just then Abraham heard a sound he looked around and saw a ram that had got caught by its horns in a bush
he quickly went and killed the ram offering it as the sacrifice instead of his son
he then held his son's hand and they both turned around to make their way down
this place shall be called Jehovah Jireh which means the Lord provides
those who love him will always have his blessings so saying both father and son went down and headed back home