Of all the tests of faith that Abraham faced, surely none was more difficult than the command that he sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. Yet, Abraham was obedient to God’s order.
He journeyed with his son to Mount Moriah, bound him and placed him on the altar, and was about to kill him, only to be stopped at the last minute by an angel.
The Bible identifies this son as Isaac, although in the Islamic tradition, he is thought to have been Ishmael.
On the way to Mount Moriah, Isaac’s faith was tested as much as Abraham’s. He was old enough to understand what was about to happen, yet he was determined to unite with his father’s wishes even at the cost of his life. He was an exemplary son in this regard.
Father Moon challenges us: Do we have the faith of Isaac, ready to die on God’s altar? Do we have the faith of Abraham, ready if need be to send a beloved child into the face of death for the sake of God’s will? Have we raised our children to have the faith of Isaac, ready to support their parents in faith?
Sun Myung Moon
After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”
14 Genesis 22.1-18
On their way to Mount Moriah, Abraham and Isaac met Satan disguised as an old man. “Where are you going, Abraham?” asked Satan. “I’m on my way to pray,” answered Abraham. “Why then the wood and the fire and the sacrificial knife?” “We shall be on top of Mount Moriah several days and will use them to prepare our food.” “You are an old man and you have only one son with your wife Sarah, yet you are willing to sacrifice him,” mocked Satan. “As God told me to do, so shall it be,” answered Abraham. Satan then addressed Isaac, “Where are you going, Isaac?” “To study God’s wisdom,” said Isaac. “Do you intend to study after you are dead? For your father intends to sacrifice you.”
“If God wishes to accept me as a sacrifice, I am glad to do His will.”… As they were wending their way to perform the will of God, Isaac said to his father, “O father, I am yet young, and I am fearful lest my body tremble at the sight of the knife, causing you grief; I am fearful lest the offering shall not be a perfect one, perfect as I should like it to be.”15 Genesis Rabbah 56 (Judaism)
We gave [Abraham] tidings of a gentle son. And when he was old enough to walk with him, Abraham said: O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you. So look, what do you think? He said: O my father! Do what you are commanded. God willing, you will find me of the steadfast. Then, when they had both surrendered to God, and he had flung him down on his face, We called to him: O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the vision. Lo! Thus do We reward the good. Verily this was a clear test. Then We ransomed him with a tremendous victim. And We left for him among the later folk the salutation, “Peace be to Abraham!” Thus do We reward the good. Surely he was one of Our believing servants. And We gave him tidings of the birth of Isaac, a Prophet of the righteous. And We blessed him and Isaac.16 Qur’an 37.101-107
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. Hebrews 11.17-19
Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre.17 Genesis 25.8-9
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Abraham obeyed God’s command to sacrifice as a burnt offering his precious son Isaac, who was born to Abraham in his old age.
In giving that command, God took a great risk unprecedented in history. Whether or not Abraham would comply would be the condition that represented heaven and earth; it would decide the fate of events in heaven, events on earth, and millions of lives yet to be born.
Although Abraham was ignorant of its great import, once he received the command, he made a sincere attempt to place his son Isaac on the altar and sacrifice him.
Think about the heart of Abraham as he picked up the knife to kill his beloved son. His mind truly transcended reality. In his time, who could have recognized that kind of faith?
By meeting God’s expectation at that moment of great risk, Abraham’s daring act proved that he belonged to Heaven and his family belonged to Heaven. He demonstrated that he and his family, and all their cattle, follow God’s orders.
He established this reality when he made the burnt offering of his only son.
Abraham offered Isaac with the prayer in his heart, “Although Isaac is my son, he is Thine; therefore I shall offer him to Thee.” The realistic consequences of what he was doing did not matter to him. You should learn the center of faith from the example of these historical forefathers. (1:265- 66, December 2, 1956)
After Abraham failed in the symbolic offering,18 God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. In this way God began a new dispensation, for the purpose of restoring Abraham’s earlier failure through indemnity…
Abraham’s zeal to do God’s will and his resolute actions, carried out with absolute faith, obedience and loyalty, lifted him up to the position of already having killed Isaac. Therefore, he completely separated Satan from Isaac.
God commanded Abraham not to kill Isaac because Isaac, now severed of all ties to Satan, stood on God’s side. We must also understand that when God said, “Now I know that you fear God…”
He revealed both His reproach to Abraham for his earlier failure in the symbolic offering and His joy over the successful offering of Isaac. Because Abraham succeeded in his offering of Isaac, Isaac could carry on the providence of restoration in Abraham’s family.
(Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2.2)
It is not clear how old Isaac was when Abraham offered the boy as a sacrifice. He was old enough to carry the wood for the sacrifice, and when he saw there was no lamb to be offered, he inquired of his father about it. Isaac was apparently old enough to understand his father’s intentions.
We can infer that he helped his father, even though he knew that his father was preparing to offer him as a sacrifice. If Isaac had resisted his father’s attempt to sacrifice him, God definitely would not have accepted the offering. In fact, Isaac demonstrated a faith as great as that of Abraham.
Together, their faith made the offering successful, and there was no way for Satan to retain his hold on them. In making the offering, Abraham and Isaac went through a process of death and resurrection.
As a result, Abraham succeeded in the separation of Satan, who had invaded him because of his mistake in the symbolic offering… Second, by faithfully obeying God’s will, Isaac inherited the divine mission.19 (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2.3)
We should give ourselves as offerings to Thee, Father, yet we are unable to. Therefore, even if Thou hast to drive us, even if Thou hast to drag us— please lead us to Thine altar. Abraham brought his innocent son, Isaac, on the way to Mount Moriah.
When Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” his father answered that he need not worry about it. Every time I try to fathom Abraham’s heart, every time I try to fathom that parent’s heart, I feel how sorrowful Thine heart must be as Thou leadest us. (48:57, September 5, 1971)
Sun Myung Moon