“亚伯拉罕给那地方起名叫“耶和华以勒”（就是耶和华必预备的意思），直到今日人还说：‘在耶和华的山上必有预备。’” – 创 22:14
一天早上，我离开了弗吉尼亚州阿巴拉契亚山道上的哥尼流溪（Cornelius Creek），开始了通往果园山的漫长而陡峭山径的攀登。我经常需要停下来，靠在树上喘口气。当我费力地上山时，我想起了亚伯拉罕和以撒一起上山的情景。
神吩咐亚伯拉罕把他儿子以撒带到摩利亚地去，在那里的山上献为燔祭。亚伯拉罕就听从了这吩咐。到了山上，他们缓缓地爬到“神指示他的地方”。以撒注意到他们没有羊羔作为燔祭。亚伯拉罕说：“我儿，神必自己预备作燔祭的羊羔。”接着，亚伯拉罕把他儿子捆起来，放在坛上。但当亚伯拉罕拿起刀要杀他的儿子献祭时，神阻止了他，实际上祂在对亚伯拉罕说：“现在我知道你对我的信靠超过其他一切。”
多么可怕的一幕！我们可能会问：“亚伯拉罕是怎样的一位父亲？上帝又是怎样的一位神呢？”或者我们应该问，“神在这里的计划和启示是什么？”再继续看，我们发现亚伯拉罕即使受试炼的时候，也依然信靠神会预备羔羊代替他的儿子。再后来，我们看到神亲自预备了祂的儿子耶稣，作为神的羔羊，替我们受死，为我们的罪付上代价，并赐给我们永生（约1:29; 3:16）！
祷告
父啊，我们很难理解亚伯拉罕所经历的考验，求你引导我们靠信心而活，知道你的爱子为我们舍了生命。阿们。
创世记 22:1-14
1这些事以后，神要试验亚伯拉罕，就呼叫他说：“亚伯拉罕！”他说：“我在这里。”
2神说：“你带着你的儿子，就是你独生的儿子，你所爱的以撒，往摩利亚地去，在我所要指示你的山上，把他献为燔祭。”
3亚伯拉罕清早起来，备上驴，带着两个仆人和他儿子以撒，也劈好了燔祭的柴，就起身往神所指示他的地方去了。
4到了第三日，亚伯拉罕举目远远地看见那地方。
5亚伯拉罕对他的仆人说：“你们和驴在此等候，我与童子往那里去拜一拜，就回到你们这里来。”
6亚伯拉罕把燔祭的柴放在他儿子以撒身上，自己手里拿着火与刀，于是二人同行。
7以撒对他父亲亚伯拉罕说：“父亲哪！”亚伯拉罕说：“我儿，我在这里。”以撒说：“请看，火与柴都有了，但燔祭的羊羔在哪里呢？”
8亚伯拉罕说：“我儿，神必自己预备做燔祭的羊羔。”于是二人同行。
9他们到了神所指示的地方，亚伯拉罕在那里筑坛，把柴摆好，捆绑他的儿子以撒，放在坛的柴上。
10亚伯拉罕就伸手拿刀，要杀他的儿子。
11耶和华的使者从天上呼叫他说：“亚伯拉罕！亚伯拉罕！”他说：“我在这里。”
12天使说：“你不可在这童子身上下手，一点不可害他。现在我知道你是敬畏神的了，因为你没有将你的儿子，就是你独生的儿子，留下不给我。”
13亚伯拉罕举目观看，不料，有一只公羊，两角扣在稠密的小树中。亚伯拉罕就取了那只公羊来，献为燔祭，代替他的儿子。
14亚伯拉罕给那地方起名叫耶和华以勒，直到今日人还说：“在耶和华的山上必有预备。”
Walking Into The Unknown
“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.” – Genesis 22:14
Leaving Cornelius Creek on the Appalachian Trail one morning in Virginia, I began the long, steep climb to Apple Orchard Mountain. Stopping frequently, I leaned against trees to catch my breath. As I struggled up the mountain, I thought about Abraham’s hike into the mountains with Isaac.
God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to the region of Moriah and to sacrifice him as a burnt offering on a mountain there. So Abraham obeyed. Reaching the mountain, they slowly climbed to “the place God had told him about.” Isaac noted that they had no lamb for the burnt offering, but Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Abraham then bound his son and placed him on the altar. But as Abraham took the knife to sacrifice his son, God stopped him, saying, in effect, “Now I know that you trust me above all else.”
What a horrifying scene! We might ask, “What kind of father is Abraham? And what kind of God is this?” Or perhaps we should ask, “What was God actually planning and revealing here?” Looking back, we see that while Abraham was being tested, he also trusted God to provide the lamb in place of his son. And looking ahead, we see that God provided his own Son, Jesus, as the Lamb of God, who died in our place to pay for our sin and give us eternal life (John 1:29; 3:16)!
Prayer
Father, while we struggle to understand this test of Abraham, guide us to live by faith, knowing that your own Son gave up his life for us. Amen.
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