Abraham and Isaac

1
Abraham and Isaac
Genesis 221-19
God came to Abraham and said, take your beloved
son Isaac to the land of Moriah and set him on
fire for me up in the mountains. Abraham did not
think twice and set out early the next morning.
After 3 days of traveling Abraham found the
mountain where he was supposed to sacrifice his
son for God. Abraham did not tell Isaac that he
was sacrificing him, and Isaac was confused
because there werent any animals to sacrifice,
and when he asked his father about it, Abraham
replied, Im sure God will find us something to
burn. Later, just as Abraham pulled his knife to
kill his son, an Angel appeared and said
Abraham, Abraham, dont kill your son, Now that
God sees that you will obey him, you dont have
to sacrifice your son. Then a ram appeared in the
bushes, and Abraham and his son sacrificed it for
God. Abraham was rewarded very greatly because of
his obedience to God.
2
Sword of Damocles
Damocles was a very high strung courtier in the
court of Dionysius the 2nd of a Syracuse, a
fourth century BC tyrant. Damocles exclaimed that
any man of great power and authority was truly
fortunate. Dionysius offered to switch places
with Damocles for a day, so he could understand
how fortunate, or not so fortunate Dionysius was.
That night a banquet was held where Damocles
loved being treated like a King. He was served
all the best food, had the best seat, and could
talk to anyone he wanted. But, at the end of the
meal, Damocles finally noticed a sword hanging by
a single piece of horsehair dangling above his
head. Immediately he lost all taste for the high
class food, and asked the tyrant if he could
leave, because he no longer cared to have such
power and authority.
The sword of Damocles is used as an allusion,
because is it shows the present danger faced by
those in positions of great power. It also can be
seen as a lesson in which one should understand
anothers experiences, and background.