“From walking to and fro upon the face of the earth,” he replied.
“And what hast thou beheld there of the doings of the sons of men?”
The accuser answered, “I saw that the sons of earth no longer praise Thee, and adore Thee; when they have obtained their petition, then they forget to give Thee thanks. I saw that Abraham, the son of Terah, as long as he was childless, built altars and proclaimed Thy name to all the world: now he has been given a son at the age of a hundred, and he forgets Thee. I went to his door as a beggar, on the day that Isaac was weaned, and I was turned away without an alms. I have seen him strike alliance with the king of the Philistines, a nation that knows Thee not, and to him has he given seven lambs. He has built a large house and he gives to strangers, but to Thee he gives no sacrifice of value. Ask of him any sacrifice that is costly, and he will refuse it.”
“What shall I ask?” inquired the Almighty.
“Ask of him now his son, and he will refuse him to Thy face.”
“I will do so, and thou shalt be confounded,” answered the Holy One.
The self-same night God appeared to Abraham, and addressed him gently so as not to alarm him, and He said to him, “Abraham!”
The patriarch in deep humility answered, “Here am I, Lord what willest Thou of Thy servant?”
The Lord answered, “I have come to ask of thee something. I have saved thee in all dangers; I delivered thee out of the furnace of Babylon; I rescued thee from the army of Nimrod; I brought thee into this land, and gave thee men-servants and maid-servants and cattle and sheep and horses, and I have given thee a son in thine old age, and victory over all thine enemies, and new temptations await thee, for I must prove thee, and see if thou art grateful in thy heart, and that thy righteousness may be manifest unto all, and that thy obedience may be perfected. Take therefore thy son—”
Abraham answered trembling, “Which son? I have two.”