(no subject)
I
And God tempted Abraham and said to him, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell thee of.
It was early morning, Abraham arose and had the asses saddled, he left the tent and Isaac with him, but Sara watched from the casement as they went down the valley until they disappeared from sight. For three days they rode in silence and on the morning of the fourth day Abraham said not a word but lifted up his eyes and saw Mount Moriah afar off. He left his servants behind and led Isaac by the hand as they climbed the mountain alone. But Abraham said to himself, 'I cannot hide from Isaac where this path is leading him.' He stood still, he laid his hand on Isaac's head in blessing and Isaac bowed down to receive the blessing. and Abraham's countenance was that of a father, his eyes gentle, his voice encouraging. But Isaac could not understand him, his soul could not rise to him; he embraced Abraham's knees, he prayed at his feet, implored him to save his young life for the bright promise of the future, reminded him of the joy in Abraham's tent, spoke of sorrow and loneliness. Then Abraham lifted him up and led him by the hand and his words were full of consolation and encouragement. But Isaac could not understand him. Abraham climbed Mount Moriah, but Isaac did not understand him. For a moment Abraham turned his face away from his son and when Isaac saw his face again, it had changed, his eyes were wild and he was terrible to look upon. He seized Isaac by the shoulders and threw him to the ground and said, 'Foolish youth, do you believe that I am your father? I am an idol-worshipper. Do you believe it is God's command? No, it is my own pleasure!' Then Isaac trembled and cried out in terror, 'God in Heaven, have mercy on me! God of Abraham, be thou my father!' And Abraham said softly to himself, 'Father in Heaven, I thank thee. It is better that he should believe me inhuman than he should lose his faith in thee.'
granted, for some reason in my mind just after this i see abrahm slitting isaac's throat, which makes the whole thing even worse (although it obviously doesn't happen and it's not said to be happening).
i think this will prove to be a rather challenging read.