The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-06-30

The Lord hath required a oe'teE Sao'
rifce!"
And stopping down Abraham took the
knife which had slipped from his land
earlier In the afternoon, and cutting
the thongs which bound the patient crea'
ture, rubbed its stifened limbs, andtuen
placing it 0 n the ground, let it go.
Tomorrow morning, my sou, we VII
20 to the land OF Moriah, to a pace
the Lord will show US, to offer up
burnt Offering to the Lord there, salc
Abraham, as they walked slowly home
ward,
Isaac understood not the full imp2r'
Of his fathers words, but he felt the
deep fervor, and the intense pathos OF
his fathers voice, and as his father DIRE"
him to himself in tender embrace, his
heart stirred with a devout longing tc
be in Gloss fellowship and sympatt
with him in this new call to worship
and service. Returning his father s
pressure, he said, earnestly:
"All that God hath said unto thee, do!
Thy God is my God! Let me WORSHIP;
and serve Him with theel"
Yea, that thou wilt, my son, for II
is the only way of blessing, responded
the father with a Cody fervor which
sought to stifle and still the agony OF
his breaking heart.
No other word was spoken, and the
young man as he walked by his fathers
side pondered deeply over all these
things. They found Sarah waiting i'm
patiently their coming in the tent door,
and to her questions as to what had de-
tanned him, Abraham returned reluct-
ant reply. A new conflict was raging
within his heart. Could he tell her
all? He had been so deeply absorbed
in Gods command and of IsaaC's part
therein that be had not taken any
thought as to what explanation he
should make his wife, or how much he
should tell her of what God had said
to him. She noted his evident confu-
sion and pressed him eagerly for an
swer.
But could he tell her? Could he tell
her? With great effort to control his
feelings and hide from her the great
sacrifice which God had called upon him
to make, he related to her the incidents
Of the afternoon, telling her how God
had spoken to him and had called him
to otfer burnt Offering upon a noun
tain in the land Of Moriah. He told
her all, save that Isaac, their only be-
gotten and well-beloved son, was the
Offering which God required,
'Well," she exclaimed, somewhat i'm
patiently, when lie had concluded. q
see nothing in this that should cause
you such confusion and reluctance in
the telling Of it. Should not God call
You to worship Him in the land where
we %sojourned so many years. and where
Gods messengers renewed the promise
'f the coming Of our son Isaac?"
She paused to take breath after her
rapid speech. and then continued. little
realizing what her words meant:
God has maryelously prospered us,
the son of promise is with us to-day TO
comfort our hearts, and fill all the flu
ture with the brightness of hope. and
should We withhold anything from Him
OF all that He has given us? Nav. 90
serve thy God whittier He has called
thee, and let Isaac go with thee that
he too may be one with thee in wor-
ship!"
Abraham bowed his head In assent
to his wife's words, but spake not. and
Isaac, who had listened to his moth
er's speech with sympathetic approval
turned and left the tent. saying to
himself:
I will get things in readiness, that
we may get started early in the morn,
ing"
lie sought out Eliezer. his counsel
Tor in all plans, for the faithful sery.
ant of his father had guarded and
cared for him from the time he vas
Old enough to toddle out among the
hocks and herds. He told him of his
fathers experience Of the afternoon.
and Of the call to worship God on a
mountain IN the Land of Moriah. and
then planned with him for the trim
'Jerah, who came in but TODAY Is
a devout soul. and shall go with us
and | am minded to take the young
mai Aram, for he has often spoken
Of a desire to have a part in our serv-
ice Of sacrifice"
And the lamb?' questioned EIiezer,
have you selected It to take with
your"
Il was going to ask you to go with
me and help me choose the likeIiest
one in the flock" eagerly rejoined
Isaac.
And suiting the action to the words
he took the older man by the arm and
together they walked out into tha
beautiful moonlit night, and went
hither and thither among the gentle
sheep seeking a goodly offering for the
Lord.
And Abraham sitting silent and
alone before his tent looked out into
the night and pondered over the of.
fering which the Lord had asked
What could it mean? Earnestly he
CROPPED in the darkness of mystery for
the answer Could it be that the Lord
required more than the blood of a
lamb for acceptance with Him. A
new thought in the worship Of Cod
was coming to him, and what Ahro