A few years later his faith is to be tested once again.

Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am].

2 And he said, 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 will tell thee of.

His impicit faith is manifested again. No delay. He did not argue with God.

Gen 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

Now Isaac asks a question:

Gen 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?

What was going on in Abraham's mind? We can only guess... but, look at his response:

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

This response could qualify as the John 3:16 of the Old Testament. God will provide!

He also believed the promise of a Saviour and the ressuraction from the dead. We can see how his hope was developed. 'If God promised me a son and by this son I will be the father of many nation, and now God is asking me to kill him, God must raise him from the dead, so that His promise will be fullfield.'

Hbr 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son],

18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

19 Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Laurent de la Hyre - Abraham Sacrificing Isaac c1650

He saw Christ, The Lamb of God, as God's provision.

Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

He saw Christ, in his substitution for us, and that was what Jesus was reffering when he talked to the Pharisees:

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad.

We know from the previous verse that God was pleased by this obedience but lets look further what The Most High says:

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

He did please God because it is written:

Hbr 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The God of all eternity was so pleased to call Himself:

Psa 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, [even] the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth [belong] unto God: he is greatly exalted.

Exd 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this [is] my name for ever, and this [is] my memorial unto all generations.

and to be called:

Isa 41:8 But thou, Israel, [art] my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

One of the few "good" kings, Jehoshaphat, when praying to God, made reference to that.

2Ch 20:7 [Art] not thou our God, [who] didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

James states the fact once again:

Jam 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Now this is an honour! To be called the friend of God, the friend of the one that made the heavens and the earth, a friend of the creator and holder of the universe, what a priviledge!

After giving careful thought to the verses we can conclude that the man Abraham was indeed a great man of God and a great man of faith.

May we follow his example of obedience and let obedience to the Word be our fruit of faith.