As one stands to the West of the temple area in the old city of Jerusalem and gazes upon the remains of the Temple of Herod now spoken of as the "wailing wall," then looks beyond to the domineering Dome of the Rock, it is to recall the great epochs of history and tradition associated with the place called "Mount Moriah." How much of human history and the traditions of the "people of God" is linked to that spot!

One of the most moving and poignant of those traditions is the story of Abraham’s ultimate temptation recorded in Genesis 22.

The heart of the story for us today is to be found in the question of Isaac. "And Isaac said to his father ... Behold the fire and wood, but where is the lamb?" (Genesis 22:7b, 8) Then comes the insightful answer of Abraham, "God will provide himself a lamb…