Genesis 22:2

Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest.

It would seem as if the divine word sought to probe the utmost depths of the heart. It is, 1. "Thy son"--the heart of the Father is appealed to; 2. "Thine only son"--the heir of his name, estate, and of the promise--the long hoped for son, whose death would leave him childless, since Ishmael had taken to the desert; 3. "Whom thou lovest"--the deep, doting affection of old age lavishing its affection on. single object is next noted.

Get thee into the land of Moriah.

The land of Moriah is. general phrase for the mountainous district of Jerusalem. This Moriah is supposed by most commentators to be the same as the site upon which Solomon built the temple, and was so called. See 2 Chronicles 3:1, and compare with 2 Samuel 24:16. It is improbable that there were two Moriahs, and the site of Jerusalem was distant from Beersheba just about the distance that Abraham would travel in the time indicated in verse 4.

Offer him there for. burnt offering.

It has been objected by some that this command was immoral, but we must read the whole story. God did not permit nor intend for him to offer his son, but his purpose was to try him. Had he suffered the sacrifice to be made, then there might be some ground for such. view; but it is clear that this was Dot the divine purpose. "Abraham stands before us as the special type of. trustful, obedient, loving faith. He believed that all which God commanded must be right, and all he promised must be true. Hence he knew that when the command was clear, obedience must be undoubting. The wisdom, the justice, and the goodness of God were such that, though he did not understand the reason of the dispensation, he must reverently and patiently submit to it. The command, therefore, strange as it was, and his obedience to that command, testified that the faith was intelligent, as well as unconditional and unwavering."-- Browne.