(Written
by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
“After Abraham and Isaac together offered up the
mysterious ram that was caught in the thicket, they again heard a voice calling
out to Abraham. The words that Abraham
heard from God were: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not
withheld your son, 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.”
Even
with all the mistakes that Abraham had made in his life, he had passed this
final and last test from God! God was
pleased and he gave Abraham the desires of his heart; the promise of many
descendants to carry on his family line.
Abraham must have been very, very happy.
Do you think he tried to guess at how many stars were in the sky or how
many grains of sand were on the seashore?
God might as well have said, I will make you into a multitude of
uncountable people who will fill the earth.
This was all Abraham had ever hoped for.
Most of all he had wanted to please God, and his heart must have been
singing as they parted and he left the mountain that day.
Many
think that Abraham left Isaac up on the mountain with Shem to learn more of the
mysteries of God. Isaac too had passed
the test of total obedience and he had shown that he was willing to lay down
his life if God so commanded him. Isaac
was now ready and prepared to receive more of the truth of God, and what better
man to learn it from than Shem; who was the high family priest that had passed
the Order of Melchizedek on to Abraham. Abraham too had learned the scriptures
from Shem. Abraham’s legacy would now be safe with Isaac. One day Abraham would pass the family priesthood ordination on to Isaac. He must be taught all he needed to know for this important position. There
was much for both men to celebrate! So
they left one another with joy, Isaac staying with Shem for schooling, and Abraham
returning back down from The Mountain Of God to his servants.
How
much of the story do you think Abraham told Ishmael and Eliezer when he
returned? They must have been curious
about what had happened on the mountain. Do you think they asked questions? They must have
wondered where Isaac was. Shem’s school
was probably hidden from the rest of the world for safety and security.
Abraham might not have wanted to reveal its location to anyone
else. Do you think he let them think he had sacrificed Isaac? There is much left to
the imagination here and no one really knows.
At
any rate, they would have known he was joyful and not sad. I doubt there was a prouder father anywhere
in the land. Perhaps, with Isaac settled
into such a good place for a while in order to learn more of the mysteries of God, it might be time for Abraham to
spend some quality time with Ishmael.
The scriptures tell us that they set off together for Beersheba and
Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
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