2 And he ſaid, Take now thy ſon, thine only ſor Haac,wjiom thou loveſt 4, and getthee into the land of Moriah e ; and 6ffer him there for a burnt-offering upon
one of the mountains f which I will tell thee of g.
d Not a word here but might pierce an heart of ſtone, mucly more 1o tender a Father as Abraham was. Take now, without de= murring or delay ; I allow thee no time for conſideration : thy, own prope: 0, not a Beaft, not an Enemy, not a Stranger, tho that had been very difficult to one ſo kind to all Strangers ; not a dear Servant, not a Friend or Familiar : thine only Son, not by Bi:th, for ſo he had another, 1hmael ; but this was his only Son by Sarah, his firſt and legitimate Wife ; who only had the right of Succeſſion borh ro his Inheritance, and to his Covenant and Promiles ; and this only was now left to him, for 1bmael was abandoned and gone from him : and this muſt be ſuch a Son as Iſaac, once matter of Laughter and great Joy, now cauſe of unexpreſſible Sorrow ; thy Renoni ; a Son of the Promiſe, of ſo great Hopes, and ſuch preg« nant Vertue and Picty,as this Story ſhews ; whom thou loveſt ; pecus liarly and Superlatively, even as thy own Soul : and get thee into the Land of Mvriah ; a place at a great diſtance, and to u hich thou ſhalt
while fixed upon that bloody A&, which other Mens minds can ſcarce once think of withour horror ; and ſo thou mayeſt offer him in aſort ten thouſand times over before thou giveſt the fatal blow 5 and offer him there with thine own hands, and cruelly take away the Life which thou haſc in ſome ſort given him : For a burnt-offer= img, wherein by the Law of the burnt-offering then known to 4bra-= ham, afterwards, publiſhed to all 7rael, his Throat was to be cur, his Body difleQted into Quarters, his Bowels taken our,as if he had been ſome notorious Traytor, and vile Malefa&or and Miſcreant, and afterwards he was to be burnt to Aſhes, thar if poſſible there might be nothing left of him ; And this muſt be done por: one of the Mountains, which T ſhall tell thee of, not ſecretly in a Corner, as if it were a work of Darkneſs, and thou wert aſh:med or afraid to own 1t ; but in a publick and open Place, in. the view of Heaven, Earth, God, Angels, and Men. Which horrid and ſtupendious Att it may be eaſily conje&tu ed what Reproach and Blaſphemy it would have occaſioned againſt rhe Name and Worſhip of God and.
from his own ſelf-accuſing Mind, from the' clamours of his Wife, dangerous and miſe
theſe ſeven ew-lambs, which thou haſt ſet by them- ſelves ? A 20 And he ſaid, For theſe ſeven ew-lambs ſhalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witneſs unto me, , that -have digged this well 9. | q That this care of Abraham's was not ſuperfluous may appear / => from Gen: 26: .15. | {4 That is « 32: Wherefore he called that place + Beer-ſheba r, the well of becauſe there they ſware both of them. the Oath. r Which name'was communicated unto a City adjoyning : Of which ſee.Gen: 26: 23. Joſ: 15: 28. 2 Sam. 17. 11.and 24: 2.
22 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-iÞeba : then Abimelech roſe up, and Phicol the chief captain of his hoſt, and they returned into the land of the Philiſtines s.
s (i.e. ) Into their part of that Land, to wit, Gerar, which was not far from this place. Ir is an uſual Synecdoche, whereby the whole Land is pur for a part of it : Otherwiſe they were at this tinic in that Land, ;
33 And Abraham planted a + grove 7 in Beer-ſheba, and called there on the name of the LORD «, the everiaſting God. |
# Not ſo much for ſhade, which yet was pleaſarfpgnd neceffary in theſe hor Regions, as for Religious Uſe, that he might retire thi- ther from-the noiſe of Worldly Buſineſs, and freely converſe with his Maker. © Which praftice of his was afterwards abuſed to Super-
ſtiction and Idolatry,for which reaſon Groves were commanded to .be cur down, See Devt; 12: 2. and 16: 27 « Thankfully acknow- ledging God's great Goodneſs in giving him the Favour and Fricnd-
-* Or, Tree.
ons. That Faith that could ſurmount thefe and many more dif- ficulties, and could readily and chearfully reſt upon God in the diſcharge of ſuch a Duty, no wonder it 1s ſo honoured by God, and celebrated by all Men, yea, even by the Heathens, who have tranſlared this Hiſtory into their Fables. e Which ſignifies the Viſion of God, the Place where God would be ſeen and manifeſted. And ſo it is here called by way of Anticipation, becauſe it was ſo
chievous Example this would have been 4 and man Generati-
there for Jſaac's Deliverance ; though it may alſo have a further reſpe& unto Chriſt, becauſe in that place God was manifeſted in the Fleſh, f For there were divers Mountains there, as is evident from Pſalm 125. 2, and particularly there were two eminert Hills. or rather tops or parts of the fame Mountain, $07, where David's Palace was ; and Moriah, where the Temple was builr, and whence the adjoyning Countrey afterwards received it's name. g By ſome viſible Sign, or ſecret Admonition which I ſhall give thee.
2 And Abraham roſe up carly in the morning 5, and fadled his afs 3, and took two of his young men
with him, and Ifaac his ſon; and clave the wood for
the burnt offering,and roſe up,and went unto the place of which God had told him, ©
b That he might execute God's Command without doubt or delay. ; For greater Expedition, not waiting for his Servant to do it.
4 Then on the third day + Abraham life up his eyes, and ſaw the place afar off, |
+ Probably on the beginning of the third day. It is true, Me- riah was not three days Journey from Beer-ſbeba. But it muſt be conſidered that the. Aſs, upon which he rid, is a dull and flow Creature, and that Abraham went no faſter than the reſt of his Cowpany, who for ought appears, were on foot ; and that tlie
hip of ſo great and worthy a Prince and Neighbour,
7,
Provitons
go bur leiſurely, werſe 4. that thou mayeſt have thy mind all that '
the true Religion, and what Shame and; Torment to Abraham, _
called afterwards, verſe 14. in regard of God's eminent Appearance þ.
ND it came to paſs after theſe things a, that * God *Heb: ir.
did tempt b Abraham, and ſaid unto him, Abra- 17. + Heb: 6e«
hold me,
&»
XA WIS TIEEL
EE LE > a En
A—_—
CE AR hae hed + CS
| ESA jo <®
6
Pooyiions which they carryed along with them, both for their 97:2 32d the Affes ſubtiltance, and for ſacrifice, muſt needs retard TLiCin, 4 ;
© And Abjaham ſaid unto his young men, Abide ye here with the aſs&, and I and the lad will go yonder