Basic HTML Version
Abraham and the Promised Seed
63
Sarah was the first and only true wife of Abraham. She was entitled
to rights, as a wife and mother, which no other could have in the
family. She reverenced her husband, calling him lord, but she was
jealous lest his affections should be divided with Hagar. God did not
rebuke Sarah for the course she pursued. Abraham was reproved by
the angels for distrusting God’s power, which had led him to take
Hagar as his wife and to think that through her the promise would
be fulfilled.
The Supreme Test of Faith
Again the Lord saw fit to test the faith of Abraham by a most
fearful trial. If he had endured the first test and had patiently waited
for the promise to be fulfilled in Sarah, and had not taken Hagar as
his wife, he would not have been subjected to the closest test that
was ever required of man. The Lord bade Abraham, “Take now thy
son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of
the mountains which I will tell thee of.”
Abraham did not disbelieve God and hesitate, but early in the
[81]
morning he took two of his servants and Isaac, his son, and the wood
for the burnt offering, and went unto the place of which God had
told him. He did not reveal the true nature of his journey to Sarah,
knowing that her affection for Isaac would lead her to distrust God
and withhold her son. Abraham did not suffer paternal feelings to
control him and lead him to rebel against God. The command of
God was calculated to stir the depths of his soul. “Take now thy
son.” Then, as though to probe the heart a little deeper, He added,
“Thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest”; that is, the only son of
promise, “and offer him ... for a burnt offering.”
Three days this father traveled with his son, having sufficient
time to reason and doubt God if he was disposed to doubt. But he
did not distrust God. He did not now reason that the promise would
be fulfilled through Ishmael, for God plainly told him that through
Isaac should the promise be fulfilled.
Abraham believed that Isaac was the son of promise. He also
believed that God meant just what He said when He bade him to go
offer him as a burnt offering. He staggered not at the promise of