12 ISAAC

much he loved Him, and so he trusted in God and did the right. What asad morning it.
must have been when he set out with Isaac his son and the two young men leading ‘the
ass on which they had placed the logs of wood. How his father’s loving heart must have —
ached when they came to the foot of Mount Moriah and leaving the ass and the young
men there he set out with Isaac to climb the mountain, carrying ‘between them the fire and
the wood. What pain it must have been to him when Isaac asked him where the lamb
was which they were to offer on the altar. And when they reached the top and made an
altar of stones and put the wood upon it, how his hands must have trembled as he bound
the hands of his loved son and took the knife to slay him.

But have you ever thought how wonderful it was of Isaac to let his father do this? He
could easily have prevented him, for Abraham was an old man, while he was young and
strong. But no, he was patient and obedient and did not resist his father. Why? I think
there were two reasons. . First, he loved his father and was sure he would only do what he
thought was right, although he could not understand why he did it. Secondly, he trusted
in God and knew he was safe in His hands.

And he was not mistaken. ‘ For just as Abraham was going to kill him his hand was
stayed, God’s Angel told him he had done enough to show he believed in God, and lo, close
by, with his horns caught.in a thicket, there was a ram for him to offer as a sacrifice
instead of his son.

We do not wonder when we are told how dearly Isaac loved his mother, mourning for
her when she died for many years.

We do not wonder that he was always a faithful and loving husband to Rebekah his
wife and a good kind-hearted father to his two sons, Esau and Jacob:

We do not wonder that God’s blessing went with him and that his enemies were
changed into his friends.

We do not wonder that his name was held in honour by the Jews, and that hundreds
of years after his death they loved to talk of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the great men
of the long ago whose names they held in honour.

How much he can teach all of us, boys and men.

We have been brought into the Christian covenant in our baptism. We were each of
us made the child of God and given our Christian name. The sign of the cross was signed on
our foreheads to show we belonged to Him. And we promised “to keep God’s holy will
and commandments and walk in the same all the days of our life.”

Are we trying to be like Isaac, obedient to our parents and God- fearing ? We often ©
cannot understand why father'and mother tell us to do things we do not like or why God
sends us things that make us sad. But we must try like Isaac to do what we are told and
trust in God,.and all ‘will come right if we are only patient.