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It is truly unthinkable to take a human life. Unthinkable to consider, for even a moment, taking the life of your own child, the promised son on which the future of a nation rested.
In Genesis 22, Abraham found himself wrestling with this. God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” There is really something wonderful about hearing from the Lord. This was a tough thing to hear.
When I was asked to do this painting, I was wondering what to focus on. I considered the strength of Abraham. The “halt” from the angel, and the provision of the ram in the bushes, but it was the son lying on the pyre that intrigued me. It was Isaac’s willingness to provide himself, knowingly for this act, that I wanted to be the focal point. As the story of sacrifice was told — the unthinkable offering of the only son that he loved — the painting was started, with in an hour it would be done.
At first I struggled with the structure of the painting, but then I got a flow, a rhythm of motion that allowed the picture to develop into something that resembled what I intended. Once I got the main figure of Isaac in place, I painted in the arm of Abraham, with bold colors of his intent. He was ready to do the thing. What he must have been feeling is indescribable. He was fully committed, and only then was the hand of God moved to stop this act and he sent in his angel with a message of relief. When I got to this part of the image, something remarkable was happening. I painted with such intent, with purpose, that the hand of the angel simply showed up at the end of my brush, literally in 90 seconds. What a wonder it was to see it appear in front of my eyes. I then added a few more strokes beyond the knee of Isaac and a ram was ready for the dagger.
I am looking forward to the next time I can share a story in paint.
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