But Abraham did not hesitate. If God told him to do a thing, he obeyed. He knew that God could even raise Isaac from the dead, if He thought good. At any rate he had nothing to do, but to obey!
So he got up very early in the morning and saddled his ass, and took two young men with him, and his son, and the wood for the burnt offering, and set out on his journey to the place God had told him of.
The most precious thing Abraham had was that son who was walking beside him. And besides his love for his boy, God had promised that Isaac should live to have a son, and that by and by the Saviour should come into the world as one of Isaac's great-great-great-great-grandchildren!
Isaac was now grown into a strong young man, but he went with his father; and though he asked him on the way, Where was the lamb for the burnt offering? He was satisfied with his father's answer, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering."
When they reached the place which God had told him of, Abraham bound Isaac his son, and laid him upon the altar; and then he stretched out his hand with the knife in it, to offer up his son as God had told him.
But as quickly as the knife was raised, so quickly an angel of God called out of heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!"
Oh, how glad Abraham was to draw back that dreadful knife and answer, "Here am I!"
And God said, "Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything to him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from ME."
And when Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught by his horns in a bush; and he took him and offered him up instead of his son.
So Isaac was given back to his loving father, and God was very pleased with Abraham's obedience, and He told him that in Isaac's children, by and by, all the nations of the world should be blessed.