Hebrews 11:8: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.“
The moon had risen and the stars appeared in the sky. It was evening in the Negev Desert and the ground still radiated heat of a bygone day. A solitary figure traveled the desert trail and stopped at a well. It was Abraham. He had come to the Well of the Oath to pray. Near his freshly planted Tamarisk tree he settled down.
Abraham hadn’t seen his son Ishmael ever since the day he had sent him and his mother away; but the memory of him remained vivid. Unbeknownst to him, Ishmael not only survived the expulsion from Abraham’s tribe, he thrived. Meanwhile, Abraham’s second son Isaac had grown like a Palm tree. “Oh Lord”, he prayed “Thank you for my son Isaac. He is such a delight! Everything I teach him he picks up so quickly. How I love this boy! Please continue to bless him.” His thoughts went back to his firstborn son and added, “You have promised to take care of my son Ishmael, so I trust He is still alive. Please be with him and send your guardian angels to protect him. Bless him wherever he goes.”
The leaves rustled as a wind picked up coming from the west, sending a nice breeze through the valley. In the stillness of night he heard the old-familiar voice calling him by name: “Abraham!” He prostrated himself before the Lord and said: “Here I am!”
And then it happened. His worst nightmare was about to come true.
Having lost his son Ishmael, from this point forward Abraham had been haunted by bad dreams. In dark and desperate night visions he saw his son Isaac fighting for his life. However, as much as he fought for his son, he could do nothing to save his life. Afterwards he would wake up, bathed in sweat.
Now it looked like his dreams were of a prophetic nature – he was going to lose his second son in addition to his firstborn. The Lord spoke to him and said [Genesis 22:2]:
“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Abraham didn’t move. He continued to lie on the ground, face-down beneath the Tamarisk tree, motionless like a dead man. In many ways he wished he truly was dead. Certainly, he would have loved to give his life for his son, but that was not what the Lord had requested. Apparently, He wanted him to kill his own son, the only son he had left. He got up from the ground a broken man, bereft of his future, bereft of his heir. “Why?” he asked; and the Lord chose to answer his question with a question of His own.
“Who can understand the wind and know from where it comes and where it is headed?” God asked, but Abraham was too distressed to follow His line of thought. And so the Lord spoke more plainly and said: “I am Spirit and right now you cannot tell where I am going with this. But you have to trust me.” Bowing low before Him Abraham cried: “I believe”, and with tears running down his cheeks he added: “But please help my unbelief.”
As Abraham headed back to the camp he decided to give God the benefit of a doubt. He doubted that the Lord Most High would sink down to the level of foreign gods and demand a child sacrifice. Had He ever failed him in the past? Abraham shook his head as he walked towards the softly lit tent where Sarah awaited him. Never! God had never failed him and He certainly would not fail him now.
Abraham refused to listen to his worst fears and suspicions and decided to hold on to his belief. For the sake of his sanity, he had to rely on what was true and sacred to him.
In dark times, faith shows its true colors.