to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.” Yet with the reproof there were
mingled words of comfort. “The Lord hath heard thy affliction.” “I will multiply thy
seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” And as a perpetual
reminder of his mercy, she was bidden to call her child Ishmael, “God shall hear.”
When Abraham was nearly one hundred years old, the promise of a son was
repeated to him, with the assurance that the future heir should be the child of Sarah.
But Abraham did not yet understand the promise. His mind at once turned to
Ishmael, clinging to the belief that through him God’s gracious purposes were to be
accomplished. In his affection for his son he exclaimed, “O that Ishmael might live
before Thee!” Again the promise was given, in words that could not be mistaken:
“Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and
I will establish My covenant with him.” Yet God was not unmindful of the father’s
prayer. “As for Ishmael,” he said, “I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him,
...and I will make him a great nation.”
The birth of Isaac, bringing, after a lifelong waiting, the fulfillment of their dearest
hopes, filled the tents of Abraham and Sarah with gladness. But to Hagar this event
was the overthrow of her fondly cherished ambitions. Ishmael, now a youth, had
been regarded by all in the encampment as the heir of Abraham’s wealth and the
inheritor of the blessings promised to his descendants. Now he was suddenly set
aside; and in their disappointment, mother and son hated the child of Sarah. The
general rejoicing increased their jealousy, until Ishmael dared openly to mock the heir
of God’s promise. Sarah saw in Ishmael’s turbulent disposition a perpetual source of
discord, and she appealed to Abraham, urging that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away
from the encampment. The patriarch was thrown into great distress. How could he
banish Ishmael his son, still dearly beloved? In his perplexity he pleaded for divine
guidance. The Lord, through a holy angel, directed him to grant Sarah’s desire; his
love for Ishmael or Hagar ought not to stand in the way, for only thus could he restore
harmony and happiness to his family. And the angel gave him the consoling promise
that though separated from his father’s home, Ishmael should not be forsaken by God;
his life should be preserved, and he should become the father of a great
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nation. Abraham obeyed the angel’s word, but it was not without keen suffering. The
father’s heart was heavy with unspoken grief as he sent away Hagar and his son.
The instruction given to Abraham touching the sacredness of the marriage relation
was to be a lesson for all ages. It declares that the rights and happiness of this relation
are to be carefully guarded, even at a great sacrifice. Sarah was the only true wife
of Abraham. Her rights as a wife and mother no other person was entitled to share.
She reverenced her husband, and in this she is presented in the New Testament as a
worthy example. But she was unwilling that Abraham’s affections should be given to
another, and the Lord did not reprove her for requiring the banishment of her rival.
Both Abraham and Sarah distrusted the power of God, and it was this error that led to
the marriage with Hagar.
God had called Abraham to be the father of the faithful, and his life was to stand
as an example of faith to succeeding generations. But his faith had not been perfect.
He had shown distrust of God in concealing the fact that Sarah was his wife, and again
in his marriage with Hagar. That he might reach the highest standard, God subjected
him to another test, the closest which man was ever called to endure. In a vision of
the night he was directed to repair to the land of Moriah, and there offer up his son as
a burnt offering upon a mountain that should be shown him.
At the time of receiving this command, Abraham had reached the age of a hundred
and twenty years. He was regarded as an old man, even in his generation. In his earlier
years he had been strong to endure hardship and to brave danger, but now the ardor
of his youth had passed away. One in the vigor of manhood may with courage meet
difficulties and afflictions that would cause his heart to fail later in life, when his feet
are faltering toward the grave. But God had reserved his last, most trying test for
Abraham until the burden of years was heavy upon him, and he longed for rest from
anxiety and toil.
The patriarch was dwelling at Beersheba, surrounded by prosperity and honor. He
was very rich, and was honored as a mighty prince by the rulers of the land. Thousands
of sheep and cattle covered the plains that spread out beyond his encampment. On
every side were the tents of his retainers, the home of hundreds of faithful servants.
The son of promise had grown up to manhood by his side. Heaven seemed to have
crowned with its
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blessing a life of sacrifice in patient endurance of hope deferred.
In the obedience of faith, Abraham had forsaken his native country—had turned
away from the graves of his fathers and the home of his kindred. He had wandered
as a stranger in the land of his inheritance. He had waited long for the birth of the
promised heir. At the command of God he had sent away his son Ishmael. And now,
when the child so long desired was entering upon manhood, and the patriarch seemed
able to discern the fruition of his hopes, a trial greater than all others was before him.
The command was expressed in words that must have wrung with anguish that
father’s heart: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, ...and offer
him there for a burnt offering.” Isaac was the light of his home, the solace of his old
age, above all else the inheritor of the promised blessing. The loss of such a son by
accident or disease would have been heart rending to the fond father; it would have
bowed down his whitened head with grief; but he was commanded to shed the blood
of that son with his own hand. It seemed to him a fearful impossibility.
Satan was at hand to suggest that he must be deceived, for the divine law
commands, “Thou shalt not kill,” and God would not require what he had once
forbidden. Going outside his tent, Abraham looked up to the calm brightness of the
unclouded heavens, and recalled the promise made nearly fifty years before, that his
seed should be innumerable as the stars. If this promise was to be fulfilled through
Isaac, how could he be put to death? Abraham was tempted to believe that he might be
under a delusion. In his doubt and anguish he bowed upon the earth, and prayed, as he
had never prayed before, for some confirmation of the command if he must perform
this terrible duty. He remembered the angels sent to reveal to him God’s purpose to
destroy Sodom, and who bore to him the promise of this same son Isaac, and he went
to the place where he had several times met the heavenly messengers, hoping to meet
them again, and receive some further direction; but none came to his relief. Darkness
seemed to shut him in; but the command of God was sounding in his ears, “Take now
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” That command must be obeyed, and
he dared not delay. Day was approaching, and he must be on his journey.
Returning to his tent, he went to the place where Isaac lay sleeping the deep,
untroubled sleep of youth and innocence. For
