2. abraham

Abraham had Isaac placed on an altar atop a hill designed for this purpose. He was bent on proving his faith to his God. He had had this urge for a long time now. A good way to show his devotion to his God, was by offering his first born on the altar, as was the custom in the region. Now he was prepared for this task. The wood was ready for lighting a fire, but first he had to slaughter the babe. Isaac was tied up and ready to be sacrificed on top of the stone altar.

Abraham prepared himself a long time mentally by meditating on his God and the task that lay ahead. He strengthened his will in this way. He had sacrificed a few goats and sheep previously in similar fashion. When he felt he had enough courage he approached the sacrifice and hoisted his knife above his head, ready to slay the infant. The knife was sharp with a curved blade and handle. The steel glistened in the sunlight.

As the knife was held above his head, he thought to himself, ‘No, I can’t do this. But I must…Should I…Should I,’ he asks himself as he prepares to do the sacrifice, ‘Should I?’ The infant looked up with innocent eyes. The knife trembled in his hand and the time passed slowly. The moments seemed like an eternity. A trickle of sweat passed down his brow.

Then he lowers the knife and thinks to himself, ‘No I can’t do this. Think of all the blood and guts and screaming. What a gory job. Is this really what I should do? Is this really what the Lord wants me to do? No, well I can’t now, anyhow. It wouldn’t be right. But I must. But I can’t get myself so far as to actually do it.’

So he puts away the knife, back into its scabbard on his belt. ‘Oh well, this was a waste of time,’ he thinks to himself, ‘Better tote him back down again. What will I tell everyone? Geuss I'll just make something up...'