A Story of God and All of Us - By Roma Downey Page 0,16

phrase meaning, "The Lord will provide."

When the time comes to do what he must do, Abraham powerfully grips his son's hands and begins tying them together with rope. Isaac struggles, but only for a moment. Abraham fixes the boy with a gaze that freezes Isaac on the spot, making him too scared to disobey.

"You must trust God," Abraham says, choking in anguish on the words.

Isaac, in all his confusion, nods. Abraham continues binding Isaac's hands.

He then lifts Isaac and sets him down upon the altar. A fierce wind blows at Abraham. Isaac looks at the knife in his father's hand, terrified. Abraham looks to the sky, uncertain of why he must do what he is about to do. He lifts his knife with two hands, and raises it high above his head. He pauses, knowing he is about to plunge the blade deep into his son's throat.

Isaac looks up, breathing in short, sharp gasps. His eyes are open wide in horror.

Abraham feels his hands tighten around the knife handle. He wants this to be over quickly and painlessly. Isaac must not suffer.

He takes a deep breath and plunges the knife downward.

"Abraham!" a voice calls out to him.

He stops midstrike, the knife precariously frozen a few inches above Isaac.

The voice is that of an angel, whom Abraham sees standing off to one side of the altar, near a bush. "Do not hurt your son," the angel tells him. "You have proved that you have faith in God. The Lord will bless you with descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens."

Abraham turns from the angel to look at Isaac. Father and son are both crying as he unties the ropes. Isaac looks off to where the angel stood. But the angel is not there anymore.

Instead, as Isaac and Abraham stare in disbelief at the bush, they are stunned to see a small white lamb tangled in its branches. God has delivered the sacrificial lamb.

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Sarah, meanwhile, is racing up the mountain to try and stop Abraham before it is too late. But she is old, and her pace is not fast. In her heart, she fears that the outcome is inevitable, and that she will never see her beloved Isaac again. Her beloved boy, for whom she waited one hundred long years, will be no more. Yet she pushes onward, never once stopping to rest. She breathes heavily and prays for the life of her child. Finally, she takes one final step and reaches the top.

Sarah sees the head, the eyes, and then the beautiful beaming smile of her Isaac. He is alive. Isaac runs to his mother, followed by Abraham. Sarah envelops her boy in her arms, all the while sobbing and shouting praise to God.

Abraham joins in the embrace. His faith in God has been tested, but he has most definitely passed that test.

Years after his death, Abraham's grandsons will found the twelve tribes of Israel--so called because their father, Jacob, is also known as Israel. This does not ensure harmony throughout the land, or even a powerful kingdom, for there is great bitterness and rivalry among the brothers. The greatest portion of that interfamily envy is directed at Joseph, the eleventh son. Jacob makes no secret of that fact that seventeen-year-old Joseph is his favorite.

The other brothers are secretly plotting ways to edge him out.

A symbol of Jacob's love for Joseph is a splendid and expensive

multicolored robe. Jacob lacks the sense to treat all his sons equally. Just as Abraham once discovered, every group, large or small, needs wise

leadership--and this is where Jacob is found wanting. Given to Joseph as a gift, the robe has come to signify all that the brothers loathe about him. It would be wise for Joseph not to wear the robe at all, but he cannot help himself. This only makes his brothers more furious.

Now, in the fields outside the family estate, the brothers gather around 41

Joseph. They trip him, and then circle around him as he lies in the dust.

Simeon, one of the older brothers, angrily pulls at the elaborate coat.

"We'll have that," he demands.

"No," Joseph answers defiantly.

This is followed by the sound of fabric being ripped. All the brothers laugh and pull eagerly at the coat as Joseph cries out in anguish. They push his face down into the dirt. Their sandaled feet kick dust upon him. The situation is rapidly spinning out of control as it becomes obvious that Joseph's brothers mean to do him even greater harm. "I'm going