Глава 22

And again, “God tempted Abraham and said to him... take your son... and go to the land of Mori, and offer him up... as a burnt offering, one of the mountains where the river is” (Gen. 22:1-2). So as not to say that Abraham was in a frenzy, the execution was postponed for three days. “Abraham rose in the morning... grew wood... and watered... with him the two boys and Isaac... and went” (Gen. 22:3). Sarah did not reveal why she was going, because she was not commanded to open it, for, of course, she would have decided to go and participate in the sacrifice, as she participated in the promise of the birth of Isaac. Abraham did not open it either so that his household would not hinder him and cause strife in his tabernacle, so that the inhabitants of the country would not gather and take the boy away from him or force him to postpone the sacrifice for several days. If Abraham was afraid to tell those two youths whom he took with him to the mountain, then all the more he should have been afraid of many. And the one who, out of fear, did not want to reveal his intentions to the two youths, when they had already ascended the mountain and Isaac asked about the sacrifice, he prophesied to him, as he prophesied to the slaves left below by the mountain. “And having bound Isaac... laid him on the altar... and... drew out a knife” (Gen. 22:9–10), but the Angel of the Lord held his hand. And so that Abraham would not think that due to some shortcoming his sacrifice was rejected, he told him that, behold, you have shown your reverence for God, and through the one who is most dear to you, your love for the Lord of all has been revealed. So, Abraham became famous both because he had already slain his son in his heart, although he did not actually slay him, and because he believed that his son would rise after death and return with him, for he did not doubt the truth of what was said to him: “For in Isaac your seed shall be called” (Gen. 21:12). “And Abraham saw the ram by the tree, and he took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son Isaac” (Gen. 22:13). That there was no ram before is evidenced by Isaac’s question, and that there was no tree there is evidenced by the firewood laid on Isaac’s ramen. The mountain gave from itself a tree, and the tree a ram, so that the ram, hanging on the tree, and then slain in place of the son of Abraham, would represent the day of Him who, like a sheep, was nailed to the tree and tasted death for the whole world. “And I called... to him a second time from heaven... By myself, saith the Lord, I swore... by multiplying I will multiply your seed... and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in your seed, that is, in Christ” (Gen. 22:15-18). You might be interested in: