The Altar
Blood, Fire and Uncut Stones
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Genesis 22:7b
“The stones must not be hewn. Gather them here. Then press the dirt like I showed you.”
Isaac paused, weighing the stone in his hand. “Why don’t we cut the stones, Father? Shouldn’t we make them pleasing to the Lord?”
“What can we do to please the Lord? They are from the earth. Anything we do will only tarnish them. As if we could craft stones pleasing to God. My son, the altar is holy, not pretty.”
They rested briefly, looking down upon the Kidron. Abraham motioned to Isaac to gather the wood beside the lamb tied to a terebinth tree. Isaac collected the pieces and arranged them according to his father’s instructions. The wood was not to be tossed upon the altar, but measured and placed with care so that it might fully consume the offering.
Abraham gazed at Isaac silently, taking in the moment.
“The wood has been prepared, Father.”
“Come then, my son. Let us bind the lamb.”
Isaac and his father bound the lamb by its legs.
He knew the lamb. He fed it. He wouldn’t look the lamb in the eyes..
“Alright now,” said Abraham, as they lifted the bleating beast onto the logs.
Abraham paused. Everything stood still. Was he ready? He wasn’t sure. He kept the knife to himself.
With his right hand placed on the head of the lamb, all fell silent.
“Hear, O Lord. The Lord God is one.
I confess my sin. I confess the sin of my son, of my house, and of my tribe.
May this blood be acceptable to You.”
Abraham took the knife and slit the lamb’s neck. Bright red blood streamed down the rough stones, pooling in the grooves and spilling into the basin.
Isaac, finding his courage, stepped forward. Their eyes met with welcome. Abraham divided the entrails, the head, and the fat, arranging them in order. He wiped the blade clean and reached for the flame. When the blaze caught, both father and son stepped back in reverence.
OLAH
When the offering was fully consumed, they gathered their belongings and began the journey home. Isaac walked beside his father as a man. Abraham’s thoughts returned to God's promise years ago - that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore. Now, the promise was real.
Mother, Behold Your Son
“Isaac, Isaac.”
“Yes, Mother,” said Isaac.
“Bring me three meal sacks. I am preparing for tonight. I’ll begin with the cakes. Eliezer has already slaughtered and prepared a bull, and Tamar is bringing new wine. I’ll need your help today. Tonight, we celebrate the faithfulness of God.”
That evening, Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac - along with Abraham’s most trusted servants - broke bread together.
“Isaac led the flock out to pasture. He’s becoming a shepherd in his own right,” said Eliezer. “He won’t need us much longer.”
“Ishmael helped,” said Isaac, his mother looking away as Abraham’s eyes sought her lowered gaze.
“I am proud of you, my son,” said Abraham.
“One day, you will be head of all the flocks and will lead all these men. You and your offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand in the sea.”
Sarah looked up and smiled.
“More wine, Tamar,” said Sarah.
“Tonight, we celebrate family. We celebrate God, who has given us all things and blessed us with this night,” said Abraham.
Together they sang, and Abraham took the hand of his bride. Even in their old age, they danced.
This must be it, Abraham thought to himself. The promise of God even at my age. Abrham smiled, his heart was content. Looking at his wife as beautiful as ever. He finally understood the reward of faith.
“Abraham, Abraham, Abraham.”
“Eliezer, did you need something?” asked Abraham.
“Sir, I need nothing. Is everything all right?” said Eliezer.
“Yes, Eliezer, I am fine. I swear I heard a man call my name.”
“No, sir.”
“Sarah, did you hear?”
“No, my love.”
Abraham was confused, but he knew.
Abraham already knew it wasn’t Eliezer. He wanted it to be his servant. Now that all things were right, he wondered what must come. But he knew the voice. Abraham left the tent where his family was gathered. The starry night blazed, lighting the desert floor.
“Abraham, Abraham, Abraham.”
“Here I am, Lord,” said Abraham.
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:2
And the voice was gone.
Abraham’s knees buckled at the weight. He could not stand.
Abraham rose early the next day. He hoped he had drunk too much wine, that the voice wasn’t real. He told himself it wasn’t real. He had to keep this to himself. How could he let Sarah know he had to sacrifice their son?
He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
“You’re late.”
“Father?”
“Your brother Ishmael is already in the field, and you are just now out of bed.”
“But father-”
“Get out of my sight.”
Abraham felt ashamed. His son, his only son - now he must put him under the blade.
After the boy had left, Sarah emerged with disbelief.
“What is the matter with you?” said Sarah.
“The boy will run this household. He must take responsibility.”
But Sarah was smarter than this. She had been there when God called them out of Ur. She had been in Egypt and Gerar. She knew by the Word of God her womb was opened, and by the same Word, fire rained down from heaven. She knew the voice of the Lord had come to Abraham last night.
A Father’s Burden
The next day, Abraham began preparing for the journey with his chief servant, Eliezer. It’s several days to Moriah. He ordered him to prepare a donkey and two young servants. Abraham didn’t know exactly where they were going. The Lord had only said the land of Moriah.
But now the altar must hold his son. How could this be? Was it possible the Lord would raise him even after the blade had pierced and the flames consumed?
“As you may have known, the Lord has called me to make a offering, and Isaac must come.”
“So soon?” said Sarah.
“I do not dictate the will of God.”
“Must you take Isaac? Take Ishmael instead.”
“I would take Ishmael, but the Lord has called Isaac.”
None of this made sense to Sarah. Why, within a matter of days, would the Lord call Abraham to sacrifice and again take Isaac? It might have been the instincts of a mother. Mothers know when their children are in danger. She saw Abraham the night of the feast and again after he entered the tent from receiving the Word of the Lord. He was not the same. She knew.
Isaac woke early. He met the two servants and together prepared the donkey.
Abraham approached, examining the load.
“Good work, son.”
Eliezer had also come. Abraham charged him with his entire household. Then Sarah came.
Abraham looked down and away, then up again, and she knew. Decades with the same man - she knew as she had known when fire consumed Sodom.
Grabbing Isaac, she scolded Abraham. “You will not take my son. Take the other boy, take Ishmael!”
“Mother, I will be okay. Father and I must sacrifice to the Lord.”
“Isaac, you know not what you speak. You are to come with me.”
Isaac ripped his hand away. Abraham pointed to Eliezer, he grabbed Sarah, and held her back.
Abraham turned from her and walked on without a word. Isaac and the two servants followed.
The journey from Beersheba to Moriah was about three days. What could he say to his son? The God who delivered him from the hand of kings, fought his battles, bestowed upon him riches and power, and promised the world, swore an oath and made a covenant. What other choice did he have but to obey?
They headed north to Hebron. Towards evening, they stopped, prepared their tents and set up camp for the night. Jerusalem was still a ways off. Even tonight, Abraham thought he could separate himself from the actions soon to come. He put the journey ahead out of mind, if only for a few hours. They prepared a meal. Isaac and the servants sat around the fire and ate.
“Tell me, how is the altar prepared?”
“With unhewn stones, father, and earth. The wood then arranged evenly so the entire offering is consumed.”
“Well said.”
“Anything more would defile the sacred space,” said Isaac.
“You remembered.”
“Soon you will build your own altars, one day bringing your own children.”
“Let’s hope the Lord gives you children before He did me. I am getting too old for these journeys.”
Abraham and Isaac talked long into the night. They spoke of family, cattle, women, and his wife, Sarah.
“Your mother loves you more than life itself.”
“She might love me too much.”
“When you wait for someone as long as she waited for you.”
The next day, they would head to Hebron, still to the north.
Hebron is rugged land - Canaanite country. They did not bring wood with them. Abraham instructed Isaac to gather the wood for the altar among Hebron’s oaks.
When evening came, they once again set up camp. Isaac took the branches he had gathered and began to size them. He wanted to impress his father, hoping for a greater role.
Abraham had little to say. Isaac sat alone, hoping his father attention. But he found himself alone. The servants had gone into the woods. Isaac thought they would find an offering for the Lord, as they still had none.
The next day, Abraham arose early. He woke the servants and Isaac, and they quickly began their march towards Salem, the Jebusite stronghold. This was his opportunity to turn around. Maybe he could build an altar right here. Maybe the whole thing was nothing but his imagination. None of it was real. But it was. God had spoken, and while he did not understand, he would obey.
Abraham placed himself at the mercy of God. He would do as the Lord commanded him. But maybe Melchizedek, the King of Salem, would intervene. Abraham had given this great priest-king a tenth of everything. A man such as Melchizedek holds great favor with the Lord. But no encounter with the king was had, and Moriah was before them.
“On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.” Genesis 22:4
When they reached the mountain's edge, he ordered his servants to stay with the donkey and the supplies.
“He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’” Genesis 22:5
Moriah
Abraham and Isaac began their ascent of Mount Moriah. Abraham carried the torch, the blade, and a small sack of provisions. Upon Isaac’s back was the bundle.
Yet still no beast to be burned. Isaac was aware of this, and his silence spoke. Isaac adored his father. He trusted him. He believed that an animal would be provided. Isaac believed God, the God of his father, would bring forth a lamb from the dirt if need be.
The journey to Moriah had ignited a passion that had previously lain behind a veil. He now saw through his father’s eye, with eyes of faith. Filled with passion, he was willing to be consumed by flames for God Most High. Lamb or no lamb, the Lord would provide.
Released from his silence, Abraham spoke of the earth's creation - of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, the garden, and the flood. All the knowledge passed down to him, he imparted. He told of his calling out of the land of Ur and the importance of unwavering faith.
“God, our Father, Creator of heaven and earth—who are we to question?” said Abraham.
“Are we right? Who gave us a say? The very one who commands gave us a say. It is God who decides. We only obey.”
“What are our lives then? Are we not clay? Why do we hold onto them?”
“We are afraid, my son. We fear what we do not know.”
“Here we are,” said Abraham.
“I will gather the stones,” said Isaac.
The top of the mountain was rocky, with limestone scattered upon the plateau and patches of vegetation. To the north and south stood the city of Salem. Isaac gathered the stones carefully- raw, unhewn stones. At the direction of his father, Isaac built the altar to the Lord.
“Come now, the wood,” said Abraham.
Isaac placed the wood upon the altar as he had done before. When this was complete, he stepped back, staring at his father.
“Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’
‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.
‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’” Genesis 22:7
With eyes filled with compassion, Abraham stood looking at his son. Reaching into his sack, he pulled out the rope. Isaac, filled with grace, stepped forward, hands outstretched, and submitted.
After he was bound, he placed him upon the altar. Isaac said not a word.
Looking into the heavens, Abraham cried out. He placed his hand upon his son’s head and prayed to the Lord.
Pulling the blade from its sheath, he readied to end the boy’s life quickly, then light.
But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Genesis22:11-12
Upon hearing the command of the angel of the Lord, Abraham took the knife and cut the rope. They heard a ram caught in the thicket.
Abraham and Isaac then secured the ram, bound it, lifted it, killed it, and burnt the animal as an offering of joy. Abraham proclaimed the Lord’s provision:
Jehovah Jireh. OLAH.
So Abraham and Isaac worshiped together. As Father and son, they worshiped.
