The Restoration of Isaac to His Father Abraham 2013 (oil on canvas)

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless? Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “One who will come forth from your own body shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Gen 15:1-2, 4- 5 When God called Abram, whom He renamed Abraham, He made a covenant with him regarding his descendants which would finally be fulfilled as a miracle. Abraham was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 when the child was born. The ultimate test of Abraham’s faith would come when God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son. He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” Genesis 22:2 Isaac, who is described as “your son, your only son whom you love” is a “type” or symbol of Jesus Christ. God would later describe Jesus as His only Son. With knife raised in the air, an angel suddenly stopped Abraham, and in that very moment, he saw that God provided a ram to sacrifice as an offering in place of his precious son Isaac. The painting is called “The Restoration of Isaac” because essentially, in the mind of the father, the decision had already been made to give up his child; he was willing to give up everything and anything God required of him. Yet Isaac was restored, and Abraham was richly rewarded with countless descendants, and was called “the friend of God.”