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grace, the divine command.— C. Ô. M. Went to the place. He knew that God’s honor and faithfulness were involved in the preservation or renewal of the life of Isaac, for he had been promised that “ in Isaac shall thy seed be blessed.” He reposed confidence in that fact.— Gray. v. 5. Abide ye here. -Abraham’s assurance that he would return with Isaac indicates his hope that God would in some way preserve his son to him. “ He accounted that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him, in a fig ure.” Heb. 11 :19,-fiDummelow. v. 8. God will provide a lamb. There was a deeper meaning than he himself realized in Abraham’s words. Jn. 1:29. ^ —Torrey. A beautiful foreshadowing of the substitutionary work of Christ. — Gray. That is the very climax of faith to trust God so absolutely, even when His ways seem contradictionary, as to be more willing to believe appar ent impossibilities than to doubt Him, and to be therefore ready for thé hard est trial of obedience.— Maclaren. Christ did not come and die to, make God love ns. It was because God loved us that Christ came and died. The cause of God’s grace is in Himself. He provided the lamb.S-Marsh. v. 9. Laid upon the altar. Isaac, type of Christ “ obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:5-8) Abraham, type of the Father who “ spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). The ram, a type of substitution, -Christ offered as a burnt offering in our stead. (Heb. 10:5-10)— Scofield. v. 10. Took the knife. Take away faith and Abraham appears on Moriah as a murderer and a madman. Take faith into account and he appears as a devoted worshipper, a God-fearing, jus tified man.—C. H. M. The intuitions of faith are safer than the conclusions of logic.-—Sel. v. 12. Lay not thy hand. The bind ing upon the altar foreshadowed His
sacrifice in Him, He rose above men, out of the realm of mere humanity, into the higher Sonship of God, with a name supreme above every name.” v. 1. God did tempt Abraham. ' Lit. “ prove.” If the Lord gives us a spec ial blessing, He will test our apprecia tion of it.:—Marsh. Life is a succession of tests, for character COMMENT is only p o s s i b l e FROM MANY through discipline.— SOURCES Thomas. There is trial from the hand of Satan, trial from surrounding circum stances, but the highest character of trial is that which comes directly from the hand of God, when He puts ^His dear child into the furnace to test the reality of his faith.— McIntosh. If. 2. Take now thy son. Jehovah did not command Abraham to KILL his son but to OFFER him.—Torrey. Trials that are put upon us with no reason given at the time are the sever est tests of all. They call for absolute, unquestioning faith and when respon ded to in this spirit invariably lead the soul higher and nearer to God.— Thomas. The friend of God must hold all other love as less than His and must be ready to yield up the dearest at His bidding.—Maclaren. Whom thou lov- 6st. This is the first time that the word “ love” occurs in the Bible and it is suggestive of that greater love that God had for Christ, of which He Speaks in John 3:35.— Marsh. Land of Moriah. Christ was crucified also on one of these' mountains. Matt. 27:33.— Compan. Bible. v. 3. Abraham rose up early. He neither consulted with his wife, nor with his own reason. She might have haply hung upon him and hindered him. He rises early to show prompt and present obedience.— Trapp. The moment we confer with flesh and blood our testimony and service a.re marred, for flesh and blood can never obey. We must rise early and carry out, through
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