A FICTIONAL PORTRAIT OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

BASED ON TRUTHS THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH TIME 

Written By Gail Landgraf

He was born laughing. It is said that his parents laughed when they conceived him. Even his beautiful mother had to ask God’s forgiveness about her laughter over him, but he never thought any of the laughter was wrong. He loved the laughter!

It was the meaning of his name – laughter. He felt the laughter did not happen often enough, and life for Isaac was sometimes very serious and very hard, so when the laughter came it was always timely and welcomed. It was always good to him, and it was as refreshing as cool water in the desert.

He constantly longed for more of the laughter. He sought after it and he was always looking for ways to make it happen again. This was easy with his mother; not quite so easy with his father. He had learned there was a proper time to bring it forth, and a proper time to let it alone. This was a day to keep silent. It was not a day for laughter.

There was no laughter in his father’s voice as he told him to gather the wood they would be taking on their journey. Isaac obediently gathered the wood into his bag. This wood was for the sacrifice they would be taking with them when they left tomorrow. Abraham had insisted on cutting all of the wood himself. He cut it from some of the branches of the terebinth tree he had planted right outside his tent many, many years ago. This tree had grown large, strong and tall and had spread its branches in such a way that it shaded Abraham as he gazed upon it from the door of his tent.

Abraham had lived many happy days under the generous shade of this huge old twisted tree. It had been under the shade of this tree that the three men of God had visited Abraham and Sarah nine months before Isaac’s birth. Abraham had often told Isaac the story. God had promised Abraham a nation would be his heritage, but Abraham and Sarah had grown old without a child between them.

On that same day of the visit, when Sarah’s laughter came at the announcement of Isaac’s birth, the same Three Men of God had been on their way to Sodom to destroy the whole town because every single person living there was wicked. Angels had reported this to Heaven and the prayers of the nearby town’s people had risen up to the ears of The Lord over and over again. Abraham pleaded with God to spare any godly men from the destruction of Sodom; and Isaac’s cousin Lot and his family had been spared, except for Lot’s wife; who had turned back to remember the carnal things of that city just one last time.

When she turned to look back she instantly became a pillar of salt. Isaac had been shown the place where she had been changed. The story had always horrified him, and he shuttered each time he thought of it. But it had happened the day that God Himself, in the form of three men, stopped in to visit with Abraham under the tree on His way to this mission. They all sat together and shared a meal under the very branches of the terebinth tree that Abraham was now using for firewood.

Funny how things happened sometimes, Isaac thought to himself as he gathered the wood. On their way to put an end to something evil, they had stopped to proclaim something good. They told Abraham that Isaac would soon be born. Sarah had heard from inside the tent and that was when she laughed. Isaac had heard the story over and over again as he grew up. He didn’t mind though. He always loved hearing it. He often thought of this story and smiled, even now that he had grown into a man 37 years of age.

Isaac marveled at his father’s actions in cutting the branches of the sacred tree. He did not fully understand, but he had learned to wait for understanding. Abraham had taught Isaac this virtue long before he grew into a man. In time Abraham would share his heart with Isaac, and Isaac knew Abraham only did what God instructed him to do. So Isaac did not ask why. If God told Abraham to use the branches of the terebinth tree, Abraham would be obedient. This Isaac was sure of. Abraham was always obedient, at all costs, and so was Isaac. This trait also had been instilled in Isaac’s character from the first day of his birth. Isaac knew he was a promise fulfilled, and he must stay true to God because of this blessing.

Abraham had been careful to carry out the covenant promise of circumcision when Isaac was only eight days old. Everything about Isaac’s upbringing had been carefully planned and well thought out by his parents. So careful even that his mother had insisted he not be allowed to play with his older brother Ishmael when the two were growing up together. It seemed that Ishmael liked to taunt Isaac, even when he was just a toddler, perhaps their mutual jealousy had started way back then. This had certainly continued on, and Isaac had seen Ishmael only in short visits with Abraham since that day that Sarah got upset with Ishmael.

Ishmael was thirteen and Abraham had given him a bow and arrow. He was quite good with it and very precise when he shot. He had begun a game of shooting his arrows to land just inches away from Isaac as he lay in his crib. This had happened more than once and it horrified Sarah. She had insisted that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. It was a long time after that before Isaac was allowed to visit with Abraham when he took supplies to Hagar and Ishmael.

Isaac remembered one visit with his half-brother when he had just grown to be a teenager. Ishmael had taunted him again over the issue of circumcision which made them both a part of the covenant with God and Abraham. This was the very covenant that kept Abraham from severing ties completely with Hagar and Ishmael. The adults were off tending to some other business and the two boys, Isaac a young teen and Ishmael a young man, were sitting around the fire talking. The usual happened; they began to compare themselves as the future heirs to Abraham’s covenant with God.

Ishmael had proclaimed he was most loved since he was circumcised when he was thirteen and Isaac was circumcised as a baby. Ishmael had noted that Isaac could not refuse as he was only a helpless infant, yet he, Ishmael had made a brave conscious decision to perform the covenant act and had done it in a time of life that was much more painful; so he reasoned that his sacrifice to God was greater and more deliberate than Isaac’s.

Isaac had calmly looked at his half-brother and replied if God desired of him to be slaughtered he would not refuse even to offer up his whole life as a sacrifice. This was a common practice for the pagans in Ishmael’s hometown. Isaac could still remember the sneer on his half-brother’s face upon hearing these words. Isaac knew Ishmael would never make such a statement, because he would not be brave enough to carry through with it. Isaac’s heart and intent were true. He truly would lay down his life if God should demand such a thing from him. From time to time those words haunted Isaac in his dreams.

As Isaac gathered up the wood he continued thinking of the interesting traits of the terebinth tree. The tree was a very strong and sturdy oak. It had deep, deep roots. It had remained green through all of the droughts of the land. That tree had provided shade for many a sojourner. It was a resilient tree. If one of these trees should die or be cut down, it was known that the stump that was left would sprout up and grow new life again.

The tree was so large that it could be seen from a distance for miles and miles. It had become a landmark; a way that Abraham used for telling people how to locate his tents. He had used the tree to mark this place of his home after so many years of wondering. It was very close to the cave where he had reverently and thoughtfully decided would be the future burial plot for his family. He was glad the cave was so close to the tree that he had grown to love and admire.

It had actually been Sarah’s idea, to buy the caves at Machpelah. She had purchased them herself with some of the money that came from her own dowry, explaining to Abraham that she felt sure she had found the very site where Adam and Eve had been buried by God. Abraham had patiently listened to his wife when she spoke of this. Other husbands might have ignored this farfetched tale from a wife, but Abraham knew that sometimes Sarah just knew things. It defied all logic, but always proved out. Over the years he too came to believe this story was true.

Just as a double-check, Abraham had asked God to confirm this fact to him as well as Sarah. On the day that the Three Men of God came calling Abraham had run out to kill the fatted calf for their dinner. The calf had gotten away and ran from him and Abraham chased the calf through the land. The chase led him right up to the caves where Abraham beheld Adam and Eve’s burial sites with his very own eyes. He instantly knew God had shown it to him too, and after that he knew the cave was a very sacred place.

When Sarah had first expressed her desire to be buried in this spot beside him one day, he remembered looking at his charming wife and noting that she was the most beautiful woman in all the land. He had taken in her innocence, her ability to make the world feel right and perfect and her deep wisdom. The thought of her not being alive was very painful to him. He had realized long ago that she was blessed with the gift of prophecy and this incident with the cave was yet another proof of it. He had seen how the glory of God surrounded the tent where she prepared their meals each day. Her dough never ran out. She hospitably gave portions of it away to people as blessings as they came and went through the home of Abraham and enjoyed many meals prepared by Sarah.

Abraham had seen how the lamps lit during Sarah’s prayers lasted from Sabbath to Sabbath, never going out during the week, providing light for their home day after day after day. How was it that God had blessed him with such a wife? He always marveled at it, even now, in their old age. He had completely agreed that he and Sarah were to be laid to rest together in the cave near the Terebinth tree of their tent where God had finally established them a permanent home together.

Isaac did not yet understand how significant the cave was, but he did understand the importance of the tree. This strong tree stood for everything that God had promised to Abraham. It was an ever-present reminder. The roots were deep and old. The branches were fruitful and many. The leaves were full of life. Abraham had often told Isaac that the tree was sacred. Yet, just yesterday Abraham had raised his ax to some of the branches of this tree for firewood. He had chosen it deliberately to provide the fuel for their sacrifice. He had chosen something of the best from this place of blessings from God and taken something from it to give back to God. Isaac understood that much of his father’s thinking as he carefully filled his bag with the wood and then moved on to help load the donkey.

Abraham had carried a branch of this tree to the land where Ishmael lived and he had planted it beside the well where Hagar worked. Ishmael had brought some of the wood from that tree too and he began to mix it with the wood that Isaac was hauling. “Stop!” Isaac almost panicked as he saw what he was doing, but Abraham had come and stood between the two men and allowed the wood to be mixed together. Isaac was amazed at this, but he said nothing.

Abraham carefully gathered up the fire-pots and the knife for slaughtering the sacrifice. Eliezer and Ishmael helped with the food supplies. They gathered all the necessities they would need to sustain them on the long six-day journey. Hagar had come with Ishmael as he had not wanted her to be alone in his absence. She had reluctantly submitted to this, hating every minute that she would be stuck in the tent with her former mistress, Sarah while they were away.

Isaac wished just he and Abraham were going alone. He did not get along well with his older half-brother, and he knew his mother would not be pleased to be spending the time away with this former slave women. Ishmael had often reminded Isaac that his mother had been a princes of Pharaoh before she had volunteered to be his mother’s handmaiden. Isaac wished she had not been so hasty. Former princess or not, she always brought trouble to the camp.

When Abraham and Sarah had sent Hagar and Ishmael away when Ishmael was thirteen a miracle had happened. They had found a pure well in the desert and had established their home there. Hagar had provided for them by selling the pure refreshing spring water to people passing through the land. They had been quite prosperous from this.

Hagar had no need for Sarah’s pity now. She no longer was a slave and she made quite a good living for herself. Ishmael managed her wealth for her. She would be there only for a quick visit and then she would be heading right back to their home again. She longed to be going with Ishmael and Abraham instead of staying behind while they journeyed off together.

Both mothers gazed longingly at their sons as they prepared to leave them behind.

Both boys had grown up constantly seeking Abraham’s full undivided attention. One was always trying to please him above the other, in hunting, in fishing, in building, in growing crops. Their lives had been one long competition for Abraham’s affection.

Now they were both grown men and this situation had not changed. It never went away. Perhaps this very competitive spirit had been handed down from their mothers. Each of these women were also constantly seeking Abraham’s undivided attention.

The women did not have room for one another and they despised each other, so much so that Sarah had convinced Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away, but Abraham had maintained a long distance relationship with them off and on and had always looked after them in spite of the fact that God had made it clear to him that Isaac was the son of promise.

This was something that Sarah had learned to bear quietly in her heart. Sarah was smart enough to understand that anger and jealousy did not make a woman beautiful or cherished.

Hagar seemed incapable of learning this lesson. When Abraham moved Hagar and Ishmael away, Sarah bore this grief against them all alone and tried not to share it with anyone. She knew of the times Abraham went to them with supplies and she secretly wondered what went on between them, but she said nothing. She had her cherished Isaac. She lavished him with all the love that a mother had for a son, and she ignored that Abraham was not always in her tent.

She accepted that this whole situation was her own fault and she had asked God to forgive her for it long ago. Sarah knew in her heart of hearts that Abraham cherished her above all women. She had tried to make her peace with this situation, but if she was not careful it would always rise up against her.

Now Sarah knew her son was going away and that woman’s son – Ishmael – would be going on the journey too. This did not please her one bit. Abraham had tried to prepare Sarah for Ishmael’s presence here by explaining the necessity of having good and trusted servants on this journey. That is what he told Sarah, but Abraham had other thoughts about this too.

He had also told Sarah that he was taking Isaac to the school established by Shem (son of Noah) on Moriah so that he could study Torah and learn all the ways of God from the masters in Shem’s school.

It was said that Shem’s school carefully guarded the mysteries of God and taught them to only very trusted blessed men. As much as she knew this would be a good thing for her son, she had an unexplained apprehension about it. She realized these teachings were necessary in order to fulfill the calling and purpose of his life, but she had not been able to rest well because of it.

For some reason she sensed a deep sadness in Abraham’s voice that did not sound like the excitement of a father taking his son to learn from the great masters. Did he not realize how many years this would take Isaac away from her? She wondered if her husband was telling her everything. Abraham had been very silent, very quiet and was going off to pray by himself a lot these days.

When evening came Sarah could not rest. She rumbled through her tent and found the lavish, beautiful garments and turban containing a special stone. This had been given to her by King Abimelech. She had saved them for Isaac one day. She took them to Isaac and told him to dress himself in them as he appeared before the masters in the land of Moriah.

Isaac, astonished at their beauty, took them and hugged her expressing his sincere thanks. It was another case in Sarah’s life where something good had come from something wrong. King Abimelech had not touched her and had honored her marriage to Abraham when he had learned the truth. He had sent her away with lavish gifts.

After she had given him presents from her greatest treasures, Sarah wept and told Isaac how much she did not want him to go away. Neither of them could sleep that night and they spent the night just talking of Isaac’s childhood and expressing their fond memories of all the good times God had granted them with one another as he grew up.

She would not deny him the special time he was to spend with God which would truly make him a better man; but why was Abraham making this journey so mysterious?

Why did she catch her beloved husband gazing at her with what seemed to be a tinge of tender sorrow. He had always been so protective of her heart, and she sensed he was somehow wanting to be protective of something yet again; she knew not what. She dared not ask.

Sarah had learned to let life happen as it happened. This had been a hard lesson for her to learn. She had learned not to question, though it was not her true nature. After the horrid mistake she had made with that Egyptian slave named Hagar, she had learned to let God fulfill His own blessings in His own way in His own time.

She was sad in her soul about this journey, and she was not excited about this parting, even if it was for a noble cause in Isaac’s life. Even if the study of the Torah would help to fulfill his destiny, she would miss him terribly! She would also miss Abraham. Would he come home only to leave again to take Ishmael and Hagar back? She hoped Abraham would give that task to Eliezer.

Sarah knew so much could happen in six days, so much!

A whole world had been created in six days!

It would take them six days altogether to make the journey, three days to climb the mountain where Abraham would leave her beloved son to be schooled, and three days for Abraham to return to her, leaving Isaac behind. Sarah began to petition her great God to look after them both, her beloved husband and her blessed son. She reminded God, as she often did, of His promises to Isaac and Abraham. She prayed that God would provide everything that they needed in every minute of this journey.

She felt the salty tears from the Holy Spirit trickle down her face as she prayed and prayed and she knew God had heard her. Just that He listened to an old woman like her gave her hope and courage. She reminded herself of how God had kept His promise to them even when it had seemed impossible. She smiled sweetly at her husband and her beloved son as they prepared for their long journey.

“Perhaps I should go with you,” she remarked to Abraham as they sat around the fire that night.

Because of the dark she had not seen the terror that presented itself in his face. He could not bear to explain all of this to her. “No, my princess, you must stay behind this time.” Sarah was silent.

As the fire danced before them she leaned on her husband’s chest and pondered how she might walk a way behind them without their noticing her presence. Yes she was old and frail, but she was also courageous and determined. Had she not waited 25 years for Isaac to be born? She had seen God’s miracle then and she knew he would protect her now. After Abraham went to sleep she hastened to pack some food and water for herself, then she lay down beside him to rest for a few hours.

The men left early, even before Sarah woke. It distressed her that she had not been able to tell her son goodbye again as he departed. She walked outside the tent only to see the face of Hagar staring at her from the shade of the tree. It was the last thing she wanted to see today.

Sarah quickly gathered her things. She would not be too far behind them. The first time that Hagar turned her back Sarah was gone down the road. She knew the general direction toward Moriah. It took a few hours before she caught up with the men.

They were shocked to see her and amazed that she had followed them so far. She ran toward Isaac and hugged him close. “My son! Who knows when I will see you again? I could not let you go without saying another goodbye!”

That is when the tears poured forth. She wept and Abraham wept and Isaac wept, each of them for their own reasons, each of them in deep pain and agony.

After much weeping Abraham and Isaac convinced Sarah to turn back and wait at home. She stood in the road watching everything that mattered to her walk away to a place where she could not go.

She had never felt so much pain, as if a knife were cutting into her throat and bleeding all of the life out of her. Finally she could not see them anymore and she turned back toward Hebron.

As she approached her tent she noticed an old man walking behind her. He saw that she had seen him. She wondered who he was and why he seemed to be following her. She stopped, though much afraid and faced him.

He bowed low to her and proclaimed that he had come from the school in which her son was to be a pupil. She drew a deep breath of relief and asked what his business was.

“I am a prophet and I have come to declare the truth to you that your husband and your son have not told you, I fear you will be terribly upset when I tell you, but your husband has gone to build an altar and there he will sacrifice your son to God. You will not be able to reach them in time to stop it. I am sorry to have to tell you this.”

Sarah screamed the loudest scram ever heard in any land. It was the wail of a mother with a broken heart.

As she felt the strength of her life leaving her body she thought she saw a vision of her son cut and bleeding and tied to an altar. She was too weak to walk back to the tent. Sarah could not bear this horrible news. She could not bear to think that Abraham would do such a thing. Her scream was heard by Hagar, who despite their past came running to her side.

The next words from Hagar shocked Sarah again. “They have told you, haven’t they?”

Sarah’s eyes looked an answer for the rest of the sentence. “

“They have told you that Isaac is to be the sacrifice at Moriah!”

Sarah fainted and Hagar was afraid that she would be blamed for her death. She panicked and ran away.

The old man had also mysteriously disappeared from the road.

Sarah was left there alone and unconscious for hours until some friends of Abraham passed by and recognized her and took her to their tent and tried to nurse her back to life.

They watched anxiously as Sarah faded in and out of consciousness, and she talked to them about what God was showing her in a dream. She mentioned how Abraham would only do God’s will and that Isaac would only do what God had required of him.

She once again, even in her dream state, confessed that everything God did was always good, even when she did not understand.

The people were astonished at her testimony and admired her courage as she lay dying of grief. They knew they had cared for a true prophetess.

Finally, in peace and the hope of God, Sarah having lost all reason for living now, gave up her spirit and passed into the other world.

The people of the village preserved her body and waited for Abraham to pass back through the land so they could give him the sad news that the wife he dearly loved had died.

It was several days before they heard his footsteps on the road.

Men were watching and waiting on Abraham, dreading what they had to say to him. Abraham was deep in thought as he approached alone. He was still in awe of what God had done for him and Isaac. He had painfully walked up to Moriah, Isaac at his side. Isaac had asked the obvious question; “Father, where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham had answered “My son, God will provide the lamb.”

It was when he had spoken this that Abraham knew that Isaac knew and understood his destiny. He had moved on willingly and had not resisted one thing that was done to him. He only asked that his father bind him tightly so that he would not be tempted in a moment of weakness to jump away.

As Isaac lay down on the altar he remembered his words to Ishmael that day. They played over and over through his mind. He heard those words as Abraham raised the knife to slay him and perhaps Abraham had been slow because of another sound that he heard.

A long loud blast from a ram’s horn sounded forth.

In the midst of that sound Abraham had thought he also heard Sarah screaming and he hesitated for only a moment, but a moment was just enough time for him to hear the Angel say “Stop!”

And the Angel assured Abraham that everything that God had required of him had been proven and he need not sacrifice the boy.

Suddenly he saw a ram caught in the thicket. He quickly untied Isaac and together they sacrificed the lamb that God had provided.

A day of sadness had become instantly a day of joy.

Abraham had left Isaac with the great Masters to learn the secrets of Torah and he had hurried home to Sarah and he was full of thankfulness and excitement. He could not wait to share this story with his beloved wife.

Abraham’s countenance quickly changed as the men stopped him with the tragic news of Sarah’s death.

Only hours ago Abraham had escaped the greatest grief he thought he would ever know, but now he realized that Sarah’s death would leave him only half a person.

He was not sure how he would go on living without her.

The men who had met him in the road saw him age 20 years in his appearance from the short walk from where they found him to the place where they had laid Sarah.

Abraham took his beloved wife and buried her in the cave at Macphelah, just as they had discussed when Sarah was living. He knew God would look after her there and it was a way for him to fulfill one last wish from her.

With a broken heart he went to sit alone under the terebinth tree and he mourned for days.

Finally he lifted his head and rode out toward the dessert.

It would be a long time before Isaac returned, and Abraham could not bear to stay in Hebron without him.