12. The Sacrifice of Abraham - حضرت ابراہیمؑ کی قربانی
written by Grandma Ida
told by teacher Arosa
The original story is written by the prophet Moses in the Book of God - the Bible - Genesis 22
Do you have something you love so much that you would never give it away?
Do you have an animal that you love dearly?
Why am I asking that?
Because you will need to think about that when you hear this new story.
Last time, I told you that a baby boy was born to Abraham and Sarah, even though they were already very old. There was also an older boy living in Abraham’s household, along with his mother. That boy’s name was Ishmael. But Ishmael was very jealous of that new little brother. Then God said they had to send Ishmael and his mother away. So that is what they did. But oh, how Abraham... ...saddened by that. Ishmael was his son, too.
Now, years have passed. Isaac has grown up. So, a big boy—or rather, a young man—is living with Abraham and Sarah again. Abraham and Sarah love him dearly. And they know that Isaac will marry and have children. God has even promised that many nations will arise with Abraham as their grandfather and Sarah as their grandmother. But the waiting always takes so long. Abraham and Sarah know that God keeps His promises, even when you have to wait a long time for them to come true.
One day, God calls Abraham and says: “Take your son, the only one you love so dearly. Go to one of the mountains I will point out to you, and sacrifice your son on the altar to Me.” You can be sure Abraham was shocked when he heard that.
His dear Isaac, whom he loved so much. The child of his wife Sarah and himself. Born of their marriage—that marriage God had said He would bless, and through which Isaac would become a great nation. All the people on earth would be blessed through him.
Surely God cannot ask this of him? That would mean God is not keeping His promises. For if Isaac is to be sacrificed, he will no longer exist, and there can be no descendants. Yet Abraham understands that he simply needs to do what God says; things will work out in the end. He simply has to go to the mountain God will point out. He previously made a journey to the land of Canaan—a place God indicated to him—and things turned out well then, too.
It will be a long journey. They are setting out early in the morning. They will have to sleep along the way. That is why servants are coming along to carry clothing, food, and the items needed for sacrifices. They are traveling together on donkeys.
On the third day, Abraham knew he had to go to that mountain. Abraham looked at his son. Was he supposed to sacrifice him? Did God really want that?
How, then, would all those nations come to be—the ones of which he was to be the grandfather? And all those people who would be blessed because of it, who would be so happy? Abraham loved his boy so much. But God had truly said that Abraham had to do this. He would simply do what God had said.
They had to climb the mountain. Abraham said to Isaac, "You carry the wood—the wood that must burn for the sacrifice." Isaac looked around. "Papa, you have the fire and I have the wood, but where is the lamb we are going to sacrifice?"
Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide for that, my boy."
Abraham told the servants to wait at the foot of the mountain with their donkeys and the supplies. He said, "After we have worshipped God, we will come back to you." What was that Abraham said? "WE will come back to you"? Shouldn't he have said, "THEN I will come back to you"? Abraham thought to himself: "If I really have to sacrifice him, then God can bring him back to life from the dead" (Hebrews 11:18).
Oh, how difficult the climb up that mountain was! What a hard task God had given him. Abraham knew that children or people were never to be sacrificed to God. Why, then? He did not understand. But he did understand that God had a special plan.
With difficulty, Abraham builds an altar of stones and arranges the wood upon it. He prepares the fire; the knife lies ready...
then he looks at Isaac... and Isaac understands... he is the sacrificial lamb. He allows himself to be bound... he trusts... he believes...
Abraham’s hand reaches for the knife... and then?
A voice: “Abraham!” Abraham says: “Here I am, LORD!”... “Abraham, do not lay a hand on the boy! Don''t harm him! Now I know that you are willing to give Me even the son you love so dearly! I also know that you obey Me in everything.”
Abraham looks around and suddenly sees a ram (a male lamb) with its horns caught in the bushes. And instead of Isaac, he sacrifices this animal. He had told Isaac, “God will provide a lamb.” And that is exactly what God did.
God looked at Abraham and said, "Abraham, I'm making a promise to you that will never be broken. Because you trust Me so deeply and were willing to give up everything for Me, I'm going to do something wonderful for you.
*Just look up at the sky. Can you count all the stars?
*No, there are far too many!
*And look at the ground, at the sand. Can you count all the grains of sand?
*Impossible!
Well, that is how large your family will become. You will have so many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that no one will be able to count them. No one will be able to stop them or overpower them, because I will be with them. And listen closely: through your family, a blessing—a wonderful gift—will eventually come to all people across the whole world. Because you listened to Me."
Abraham looks around and suddenly sees a ram (a male lamb) with its horns caught in the bushes. And instead of Isaac, he sacrifices this animal. He had told Isaac, “God will provide a lamb.” And that is exactly what God did.
God looked at Abraham and said, "Abraham, I'm making a promise to you that will never be broken. Because you trust Me so deeply and were willing to give up everything for Me, I'm going to do something wonderful for you.
**** Tip: When asking the question "Can you count the stars?", hold up your index finger and look up (the children will likely do the same).
When asking the question "Can you count all the grains of sand?", point your finger at the ground and look down.
More similarities:
- The Father was involved in the sacrifice of the son.
- Jesus and Isaac were the same age at the time of the sacrifice.
- The lamb dies in the place of man. The Lamb of God died in the place of men.
- Jesus and Isaac were, just like Jesus, willing to obey the Father's will; they did not protest. "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter; like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, He did not open His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7).
Questions
- What strange thing did God tell Abraham to do? To offer Isaac as a burnt offering.
- How do you think Abraham must have felt about that? Very, very sad. Confused.
- Think of the thing that you treasure the most. Now think about it being taken from you or destroyed. How would you feel? Abraham must have felt that way, too.
- Remember how long Abraham and Sarah had waited for Isaac to be born? Until Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.
- It was a miracle that Isaac was born in the first place. Now God was asking Abraham to sacrifice him? What about the promise that his children would be as many as the stars and the sand on the sea? How could that happen if Isaac died?
- But, did Abraham obey God? Yes.
- Why do you think Abraham was able to be so obedient? God had made a promise about his descendants through Isaac, and he trusted God to keep his promise and work that out. He may have thought that God would raise him from the dead. Hebrews 11:17 -19 says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”
- Has God ever allowed you to go through something very hard? How does God want us to respond to hard things that we don’t understand? Obey him and trust him.
- How long did it take for Abraham, Isaac and the servants to get to the mountain? Three days.
- Did the servants go all the way up the mountain? No. They stayed with the donkey.
- Who carried the wood for the alter? Isaac
- What question did Isaac ask his father? “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
- What did Abraham tell him? “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
- When Abraham put Isaac on the alter, what happened? An angel told him to not hurt Isaac.
- Why did God have Abraham go through this? He was testing him. He wanted to know if he loved God more than his own son.
- Do you think that you could give up everything for God like Abraham did?
- Now I want you to understand that this was the only time that God asked a human father to go through this kind of a test. Abraham was to be the father of a great nation, and He wanted to know that Abraham loved Him enough to be that special father. God would NEVER ask your parents to sacrifice you. And Abraham didn’t end up having to sacrifice Isaac in the end either, did he.
- What did Abraham see when he looked up? A ram caught in the thicket by it’s horns.
- So, Abraham offered the ram for the sacrifice instead of Isaac.
- What did he name that place? “The-Lord-Will-Provide” رب دے گا۔
- There was one Father in the Bible who did sacrifice his Son. Can you think of who that was? God the Father! This story foreshadows how God provided his own son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
- How sad do you think God must have been to have to give his Son? Very, very sad
- Why did God give up his only Son, Jesus, if it made Him as sad as Abraham was to give up his son? Because He also loved us, too!
- John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Think of that. God must love us all very much!
- Who’s place did Jesus take on the cross? Ours
- What did the Lord do then? He promised to bless Abraham with as many descendants as the stars and that the nations of the earth would be blessed because he obeyed God. This blessing came true because one of his descendants was Jesus!
- Let’s pray and thank the Lord for giving his son, Jesus, to be the lamb who took our place when he died on the cross…
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