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Courage of Obedience Demonstrated, July 17
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any
thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Genesis 22:12
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Abraham, ... in obedience to the divine command, ... pursues his
journey with Isaac by his side. He sees before him the mountain which
God had told him He would signalize as the one upon which he was to
sacrifice. He removes the wood from the shoulder of his servant and lays
it upon Isaac, the one to be offered. He girds up his soul with firmness and
agonizing sternness, ready for the work which God requires him to do.
With a breaking heart and unnerved hand, he takes the fire, while Isaac
inquires: Father, here is the fire and the wood; but where is the offering?
But, oh, Abraham cannot tell him now! Father and son build the altar,
and the terrible moment comes for Abraham to make known to Isaac that
which had agonized his soul all that long journey, that Isaac himself is
the victim. Isaac is not a lad; he is a full-grown young man. He could
have refused to submit to his father’s design had he chosen to do so. He
does not accuse his father of insanity, nor does he even seek to change
his purpose. He submits. He believes in the love of his father and that
he would not make this terrible sacrifice of his only son if God had not
bidden him to do so.
Isaac is bound by the trembling, loving hands of his pitying father
because God has said it. The son submits to the sacrifice because he
believes in the integrity of his father. But when everything is ready, when
the faith of the father and the submission of the son are fully tested, the
angel of God stays the uplifted hand of Abraham that is about to slay his
son and tells him that it is enough
In order to obey God willingly under all circumstances, great courage
is needful
We can know Christ only by loving and obeying Him. The Lord calls
for valiant men, who will not fail or be discouraged
[206]
34
Testimonies for the Church 3:368
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35
Manuscript 146, 1902
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36
Manuscript 19, 1892
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212