The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1901-08-22
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson I'm the International Series
for August rs, 10O1-Abrahna
and Isaac.
THE LESSON TEXT.
Genesis 22:l-Ii)

| 4. anu III came 10 pass dIteT tnese tnlnks,
hat God did tempt Abraham and said un-
| to him, Abraham; and he said, Behold, here
l am.
2 And He said. Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom thou lowest. and get
thee into the land of M/riah: and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which l will tell thee of.
3. And Abraham rose up early in the
morning. and saddled his ass, and took tw o
OF his young men with him. and Isaac HIS
son. and clave the wood for the burnt Of
fering. and rose up. and went unto the
place Of which God had tsld him.
4. Then on the third day Abraham lifted
up his eyes, and saw the place sfar of.
And Abraham said unto his young men.
Abide ye here with the ass; and and the
lad will 60 yonder and worship, and come
again to you.
g. And Abraham took the wood Of the
burnt offering, and laid 1t upon Isaac his
son; and he took the fire In his hand. and
knife; and they went both of them to-
gether.
Z; And Isaac spake unto Abraham his
father. and said, My father; and he said,
Here am i. my son. And he said, Behold
the fire and the wood; but where Is the
lamb for burnt offering?
.. And Abraham said, My son, God will
provide Himself lamb for a burnt offer
ing; SO they went both OF them together.
>. And they came TO the place which God
| had told him of; and Abraham built an
altar there. and laid the wood in order. and
bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the
alter upon the wood.
TO- And Abraham stretched forth his
hand. and took the knife to slay his son.
II. And tho sangei of the Lord called unto
him out of Sieaven. and said, Abraham,
Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
H. And He said. Lay not thine hand upon
the lad, neither do thou any thing unit 10
him: for now know that thou fearest God,
seeing thou hast not withheld thy SON,
thine only son from me.
49, And Abraham lifted up his eyes and
looked. and behold. behind him a ram
caught In a thicket by hts horns; and Abra-
ham went and took the ram and offered him
up for burnt Offering In the stead Of his
son.
II. And Abraham called the name Of that
place Jehovah -jireh: as II Is said to this
day. In the mount OF the Lord 1t shall be
seen.
GOLDEN TEXT.-By faith Abraham,
when he was tried, offered mn Isaac.
Heb. 11i17.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Continuing the story of &c nesis, read
chapters 10. II and 22 The story of
chief interest and conveying the most
Important teaching is that which cen.
!ers in the lesson text proper.
Birth Of fIsaac.-Isaac means ''iaugh.
ter" and the name wac given because
Sarah had Knocked inwardly at the
promise (ls:i2, 13) and because her
delight in the birth of her son was so
great
Hagar and Ishmael.-Ishmaers con.
duct at the time of the feast was prob
ably not only irreverent, but made
Sarah fear that his influence over
Isaac would bs bad. Abraham did
what he could TO make tho sending
away less harsh than Il otherwise
would h&vs 9been. lIshmael was NOT
the child Of promiss but was born
after the flesh" (Gal. 4:2s.) How
sharply God drvw the line between
that which ss OF the spiritual, and
that which - Of the flesh.
: Abrsham and Abimelech.--Chapter
20 10 probably misplaced in the chrono.
logical order, as a woman over 80 years
old would scarcely have such charms
as to endanger her husbands life.
Abraham's sin at Gerar was even
worse than that he had committed in
Egypt. .' ....
The Offering of Isaac.-There is an
instructive feeling among men that
they ought to offer the best they have
to their gods; and they have nothing
more precious than their children.
The proving, rather than the tempt
ing, OF Abraham was based upon this
feeling, which no doubt the patriarch
shared. It's purpose was to develop
the character of both Abraham and
Isaac, not merely though chiefly in the
matter Of confiding obedience to God.
but also in correcting his understand
ing Of the nature Of God and His re.
qmrements. Abraham sacrificed Isaac
in what he did as truly as though he
had actually put him to death. From
Beersheba to Mount Moriah, where
afterwards Solomon's temple was
built, was about GO miles. The subjec-
ton of the son to the father in the
patriarchal household was SO com.
plete that Isaac would not think Of
contending with his father even for
his lfe. The words of verse 12 do not
Of course hint that God did not know
Abraham's heart without putting him
to the outward test. But an outward
test often strengthens the inner pur.
pose. Abraham had given up kindred,
homo, ease, that he might do Gods
will; but it did not follow from that
that he would give up even the child
on whose life the fulfillment Of Gods
promise depended. 1t seems prepos.
ferrous to think that God intended the
sacrifice, or that He should have
judged Abraham's faith insufficient
unless he was willing to kill his boy.
Abraham may have interpreted Gods
voice to him in the light Of the prac-
tice of his day. The command not to
slay the lad was the most significant
thing in the whole transaction. The
provision Of wild ram for the offer
ing was an indication that God de-
sired beast and not boy for such
sacrifice. Abraham's words, t"God will