Hebrews 11:17-22

This morning's text is Hebrews chapter 11 verses 17 through 22, where we will observe once again the faith of Abraham and his descendants.

Hebrews 11:17–22

!

Do you ever feel that way?

Do you ever think, why are we spending so much time in one book and therefore on one theme?

This feeling was punctuated by my nine-year-old Cade, who asked me last night,

Dad, are you preaching from Hebrews tomorrow?

And when I responded, yeah, he said, oh, in a slightly disappointed voice.

So I wanted to understand that, and I probed further, and I pressed a bit,

and he told me that it feels like he can only remember us ever studying the book of Hebrews.

I asked him what he thought the book of Hebrews is supposed to teach us,

and his stumbling with an answer, although he didn't totally miss the point,

but he stumbled around to answer me, reminded me why long expositions can be of some value to the church.

Now, most of us are not nine, but then I thought about my week, and I thought about likely your week,

and considered how many opportunities were presented to us to not persevere by faith,

to grow cold and listless, to forget the glorious truth of the supremacy of Jesus Christ,

to forget that we who are in Christ were once desperately lost, but now have been found,

to forget and to think, right, all the pleasures the world has to offer us are temporal and fleeting,

but we have an eternal reward in Jesus.

We should not grow tired of learning the lesson of Hebrews, because we are always in need of it.

The ESV Study Bible Introduction to Hebrews defines the book's theme this way,

Christ is greater than any angel, priest, or old covenant institution.

Thus, each reader, rather than leaving such a great salvation,

is summoned to hold on by faith to the true rest found in Christ,

and to encourage others in the church to persevere.

And I will give you a bit shorter version, and then we will get to work.

Followers of Jesus Christ need to persevere by faith in the absolute supremacy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 17,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Beloved, this is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it, in order to believe its promises, and to obey its commands.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.

And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead,

from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph,

bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites,

and gave directions concerning his bones.

So this morning, a very simple outline for our text.

Number one, Abraham's legendary faith.

And number two, Abraham's legacy of faith.

And then finally, I'll ask us some questions concerning our faith.

So Abraham's legendary faith, Abraham's legacy of faith.

And then I'll ask some questions concerning our faith.

So number one, Abraham's legendary faith.

We're going to break this down into some pieces as we kind of walk through a bit of this story.

And I want to read much of it to you from Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

The author of Hebrews is not trying to make a very complex point.

It's a simple point that he's making.

It's just a point that must be worked out in our lives.

And he's using the life of Abraham, particularly this episode,

to show us this very thing.

So we can see first, at the beginning of verse 17, the calling of faith to Abraham.

God asked something of him.

Asked him to do a very difficult something.

Beginning of verse 17 says,

By faith Abraham, when he was tested.

So if you will, keep your finger marking Hebrews chapter 11,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

but turn with me to Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

And we'll pick up and read a bit of it and jump back into Hebrews and back and forth just a tad this morning.

So we see first the testing of Abraham's faith.

God is saying,

Do you really believe?

I've made a promise.

Do you really believe that I will bring the promise to pass?

Genesis chapter 22, beginning in verse 1.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

God tested Abraham and said to him,

Abraham, and he said,

Here I am.

He said,

Take 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.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey,

and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.

And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Now, I think that we too quickly read these stories.

I don't know that we often really take the time to have some imagination for what it must have been like.

The overarching point of what the author of Hebrews is talking about here is the promise being fulfilled in Isaac.

It was said of him,

Through Isaac, your offspring will be named.

This is the large idea that he's speaking about here.

But just imagine for a moment,

God asking you to take your son, your only son,

the son that you love,

and offer him as a sacrifice.

I have sons.

And it is difficult to imagine what it must have been like for Abraham.

He's very eager, we see.

Genesis chapter 22 and verse 1, right?

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

God says to him,

Abraham, and he says,

Here I am.

And we don't get any clue as to the emotions that he's feeling following that,

but I have to imagine he's not nearly as eager as he's told what he is to do.

Travel to a place and offer your son as a sacrifice.

But we see that he goes, right?

He rises in the morning, saddles his donkey,

takes young men and his son.

He even does the proper preparation to go and to be obedient for this great sacrifice.

As we read on, we can see the journeying faith of Abraham.

This isn't a short trip that he takes.

We read on in verse 4,

On the third day,

Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

Then Abraham said to his young men,

Stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son.

And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.

And so they went both of them together.

And Isaac said to his father, Abraham,

My father.

And he said,

Here I am, my son.

He said,

Behold the fire and the wood,

but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Abraham said,

God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

So they went both of them together.

So again, imagine for a moment what the Lord was asking of Abraham.

They traveled.

They went on a journey.

And they did this with time.

And he has not yet informed his son of what's going to happen at this.

Can you just imagine?

What are they going to do to make a sacrifice?

He's aware of this, Isaac is,

because he asked the question.

I see the supplies except for the lamb.

And the type of faith it must have taken.

The type of perseverance in the promise of God

to travel this distance,

knowing what was coming at the end of that journey.

And then we see the sacrificing faith of Abraham.

We begin in verse 9.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order

and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Now we don't know exactly the age of Isaac.

There's much guess to this.

I'm going to tend toward him being younger

because of kind of the naivety of his questions in the previous verses.

But surely he was faster than his dad.

His dad was getting extremely old at this point.

So Isaac seems to be a willing participant,

trusting in his father,

even as he's laying him on an altar to be burned.

Verse 10.

Then Abraham reached out his hand

and took the knife to slaughter his son.

And I have a hard time reading that

and not shuddering at the thought,

the measure of faith,

to say, right,

this is the Lord's will,

that I would sacrifice my son

and I'm believing in the promise.

So when you look in Hebrews 11, 17 and 18,

it says,

There was a specific promise

that it was through this son,

this son that he is now raising the dagger

in order to slaughter,

that all these promises of God

would come to pass.

It defies logic,

natural reasoning.

It makes no sense whatsoever.

And yet,

he is willing to act.

Not willy-nilly,

but because of what the Lord had said.

So we see him here at the end of verse 10,

ready.

He's taking the knife.

He's ready to slaughter his son.

And in verse 11,

But the angel of the Lord

called to him from heaven and said,

Abraham, Abraham.

And he said,

I imagine eagerly,

Here I am.

He said, the angel,

Do not lay your hand on the boy

or do anything to him.

For now I know that you fear God.

Seeing you have not withheld your son,

your only son,

from me.

Proving of his faith.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes

and looked,

and behold,

behind him was a ram

caught in a thicket by his thorns.

And Abraham went and took the ram

and offered it up

as a burnt offering

instead of his son.

So Abraham called the name of that place.

The Lord will provide.

As it is said to this day,

on the mount of the Lord,

it shall be provided.

This is an astounding picture.

And the author of Hebrews

places this in Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

as an encouragement to us

to persevere in faith.

Don't miss that.

Don't lose that.

We are meant to also believe

in the promises of God.

God likely won't.

I highly doubt.

He's going to ask you

to offer your son.

We should have a good conversation

if you think or are convinced

that he's doing so.

I'd have words for you.

But he's going to ask us

to do things

that are weighty

and are sacrificial,

believing in his promises.

So how is it

that Abraham was able

to have such faith?

It's given to him

as a gift from the Lord.

But it's not an unreasoning faith.

It's a reasoning faith.

And we see this back

in Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

and verse 19.

We see that Abraham

considered

his reasoning.

He's thinking this through.

He's given a command.

He's traveling a distance.

He's got to be in turmoil over it.

But wait a second.

God made a promise.

He made a promise

to bless all the nations.

He made a promise

that my descendants

would be as many as the stars.

He made a promise

that it would happen

through Isaac.

How does this make sense?

He considered

that God was able

even to raise him

from the dead.

He knew

that God would be sure

to his promise.

He knew somehow

God is going to work this through.

And certainly,

God did.

Instead of having him

sacrifice Isaac,

which he certainly could have

raised from the dead,

he provides

an alternate sacrifice

in the form

of a ram.

And the author says,

from which,

figuratively speaking,

he did receive him back.

Isaac was as good

as dead

to Abraham.

He had come to the place

where he was willing

to sacrifice

his own son

in obedience

to God.

And he did,

in fact,

receive him back,

figuratively,

from the dead.

Abraham's reasoning

was audacious.

It was audacious.

But it went something

like this.

God promised to make

of me

a great nation.

Therefore,

he gave me

a son

when I was

as good as dead.

Far too old

to father a son,

and my wife Sarah

far too old

to mother.

Therefore,

God has now

asked me

to sacrifice

my son

the only

reasonable way

that God

can fulfill

his promise.

Therefore,

God is not a liar,

and God

will make

a way

to keep

his promise.

What faith.

What astounding

faith

in God's

spoken

word.

God has said it.

It will come

to pass.

God promised it.

Therefore,

I believe it.

This is the type

of faith

that we are

asked to have

in our God.

This is the type

of faith

that the author

of Hebrews

is encouraging

and encouraging

and encouraging

and encouraging.

Did you have

that kind of faith

in this past

week?

Did God

ask you

to do anything

that was

difficult

but consistent

with his promises

that you failed

to do?

You just said,

I just don't

believe the promise.

Functionally,

I'm not so sure.

Cognitively,

I ascend

to these promises,

but functionally,

eh.

And as a result

of Abraham's

faithfulness,

God restates

the promises

of his covenant

with Abraham

and with his

descendants.

He says again,

lest anyone

forget in the

reading of this

story,

the promise

that came

and is coming.

Verse 15

down through 18

of Genesis 22.

And the angel

of the Lord

called to Abraham

a second time

from heaven

and said,

By myself

I have sworn,

declares the Lord.

Because you have

done this

and have not

withheld your son,

your only son,

I will surely

bless you

and I will surely

multiply your offspring

as the stars

of heaven

and as the sand

that is on the seashore.

And your offspring

shall possess

the gate

of his enemies.

And in your offspring

shall all the nations

of the earth

be blessed

because you

have obeyed

my voice.

Abraham's

faithfulness,

his willingness

to sacrifice

his only son,

because of God's

promise to him

made possible

another son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

His willingness

to sacrifice

his son

prefigures

God the Father

sacrificing

his only son,

actually sacrificing

his only son,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

that all the promises

of the Abrahamic covenant

would be fulfilled.

And they are

being fulfilled

to this day.

It's an astounding

faith.

So Abraham

has this

legendary

faith,

but he also has

a legacy

of faith.

And the author

of Hebrews

gives that to us

kind of in rapid

succession

in the next

three verses

20,

21,

and 22.

We won't spend

much time on these

at all,

although we could

spend a whole week

on each and every

one of them.

But we want to get

to the beginning

of chapter 12

at some point,

don't we?

So first,

Isaac's faith.

Verse 20,

By faith,

Isaac invoked

future blessings

on Jacob

and Esau.

The story of Isaac's

blessing of his sons

is quite the debacle.

I'll encourage you

to read it from

Genesis chapter 27,

Genesis 27 · chapter mention

the whole chapter,

and through the

beginning of chapter

20,

but the point is,

the point that the

author of Hebrews

is making is that

he believed

that the blessings

given to his sons,

particularly the

blessing of Jacob,

would come to be

realized.

The continuing

blessing of the

promise to Abraham.

All that was said

would come to pass

through this lineage

of Jacob.

So we see this

example of Isaac's

faith.

We also see the

example of Jacob's

faith.

Verse 21,

By faith,

Jacob,

when dying,

blessed each

of the sons of

Joseph,

bowing in worship

over the head

of his staff.

So when Jacob

was very old,

the sons of

Joseph were

brought to him.

And when Jacob's

sons came to be

blessed,

excuse me,

Joseph's sons

came to be

blessed,

the older brother

Manasseh was

placed on his

right hand to

receive the

greater blessing,

the younger

brother,

Ephraim,

on his left,

or Ephraim.

But Jacob,

responding to

the direction of

God,

crossed his

hands and

gave the

greater blessing

to Ephraim.

Right?

He believed

what God

said.

Against the

tradition of

giving the

greatest blessing

to the

eldest son,

he instead

gave it to

the next

in order.

We also

see the

example of

Joseph's

faith.

Verse 22,

By faith,

Joseph,

at the end

of his

life,

made mention

of the

exodus of

the Israelites

and gave

directions

concerning his

bones.

Joseph was

confident that

nothing could

thwart God's

promise that

his people

would possess

the land

of Canaan.

He believed

in the

Abrahamic

covenant.

He had once

dwelt in

that land

and had

left that

land out

ahead of his

brothers because

of famine.

He was quite

forced to do

so at the

age of 17

to go to

Egypt.

He became

the precursor

to his

family and

the Israelites

all ending

up in

Egypt prior

to the

exodus.

and yet

he was

still

holding

this

promise.

Israel

will

leave

Egypt.

They

will

be

settled

in

the

land

that

God

has

promised

them.

And again,

just imagine

the faith.

He went to

Egypt at

the age

of 17.

He left

this land

that was

promised

to his

people and

he lived

there until

he died

at 110.

Do you

sometimes feel

like the

promises of

God are

tearing?

Look at

the examples

of these

people,

this great

hall of

faith,

these witnesses

that have

gone before

us.

God's

word is

sure.

And he

was so

confident of

this that

before he

died he

spoke of

the exodus

and he

gave them

instructions

to take

his body

with and

bury it

in that

place.

He said

it's going

to happen

so when

it happens

be sure

to take

me there.

I want

my body

to be

laid to

rest

in there.

And then

in fulfillment

of his

directive

Moses carried

his body

out of

Egypt,

Exodus

13,

and was

buried in

Shechem by

Joshua when

Canaan was

conquered in

Joshua chapter

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

24.

So you see

what the author

of Hebrews is

doing.

Last week we

looked at the

text prior and

this week the

great confidence

in the promise

God made in

the Abrahamic

covenant.

These things

will come to

pass.

And the way

that these

men's lives

lined up with

a great

belief in

those promises.

So these are

examples for

us of

persevering

faith.

Faith in

promises that

they had

yet to

see

fulfilled

but believed

all the

same.

The author

of Hebrews

is spurring

us this

morning on

to the

same kind

of faith.

And frankly

beloved as

we consider

the faith of

these men we

ought to have

more confidence

because we

have seen

and we are

seeing the

promises

fulfilled.

We have a

greater

understanding of

how it is that

God is bringing

all these

promises to

pass.

We have a

greater picture

of the

revelation of

how things are

coming to

pass because

we are

chapters ahead

in the story

of redemption.

It ought to

be that much

easier for

us to see

it and to

have this

kind of

faith.

So allow

me in a few

moments to

ask some

questions

concerning our

faith.

Just two.

Well,

there's some

questions.

Number one,

has God

promised it?

Has God

promised it?

We believe in

a closed canon.

This means that

God has spoken.

We are not

adding books

to this text.

God has spoken.

It is a

completed work

and it is

God's complete

work to mankind.

It is inerrant

because God has

said it and God

cannot lie.

Is it

authoritative

book?

Because he is

the God of

the universe,

therefore what

he says

must go.

It reigns

then over

us and

it is

sufficient.

So it

contains within

it all the

promises that

we need to

know and

to believe.

So do you

do you know

the promises

of God?

He has made

some astounding

promises,

life-fulfilling

promises,

some beyond-this-world

promises.

Has God

promised it?

Secondly,

do we believe it?

Do we believe it?

Do we believe

what the Bible

says about

salvation?

John 14,

6,

as Jesus

said,

I am the

way and

the truth

and the

life.

No one

comes to the

Father except

through me.

Do we

understand,

do we live

in the light

of that

truth that

we can only

be saved

by the

life,

death,

and

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ?

Have we

thrown

ourselves

on the

mercy of

God

found in

Christ's

life and

death for

us,

his active

and passive

obedience

on our

behalf?

Do we

believe what

it says about

sanctification?

Paul wrote

to the

Philippians,

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 6,

I am sure

of this,

that he who

began a good

work in you

will bring it

to completion

at the day

of Jesus

Christ.

Do we

believe that

having been

set apart

by the

gospel,

having our

souls saved,

that we are

meant to

now be

continuing

in holiness

and that we

have the

spirit of

Christ who

uses careful

exacting

application of

the word of

Christ to

bring us to

that day.

That we can

in fact grow

in holiness

because we

have in

fact been

set free

from the

power of

sin.

Too often

we act like

we're powerless

when the

truth of

the scripture

is that we

have been

given power

to put away

sin and to

put on

righteousness.

Do we

believe what

it says about

glorification?

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:16

chapter 4

verse 16

and following

Paul writes

so we do

not lose

heart.

Whatever is

going on in

the world

around us

we do not

lose heart

though our

outer self

is wasting

away our

inner self

is being

renewed day

by day.

Paul's talking

about outer

man like

the part of

us that we

won't take

with us

and inner

man.

It's being

renewed day

by day

for this

light

momentary

affliction

is preparing

for us

an eternal

weight of

glory beyond

all

comparison.

as we

look not

to the

things that

are seen

but to

the things

that are

unseen

for the

things that

are seen

are transient

or passing

away but

the things

that are

unseen

are eternal.

Do we

live in

that way

as Abraham

and his

descendants

lived in

tents

awaiting

the promise?

Do we

live in a

transient

mindset?

Sojourners

aliens

and exiles

in a

place

that's

ultimately

not our

home?

To

recognize

that the

reason

that you

are so

unsettled

with the

way the

world

is

because

you

were

not

made

for

this

world.

You

were

made

for

a

new

world

that

is

beyond.

We

get

so

focused

on

the

mess

going

on

around

us

and

we

forget

the

glorious

truth

that

God

is

making

all

things

new.

It's

a

winding

down

of the

world.

It's

the

thing

that's

been

promised

to

us.

And

beloved,

it will

get worse.

It will

get worse

and worse

and worse

until the

end comes.

But the

kingdom of

God is

coming to

bear in

the hearts

of men

and women.

In that

sense,

the world

is winding

up.

The

gospel

is going

forth.

The

church

is being

gathered.

The

day

will

come

when

Christ

will

say

enough.

He

will

come

back.

He

will

eternally

judge

the

living

and

the

dead.

We

will

be

raised

with

him

and

we

will

reign

with

him

forever.

Do we

have

that

kind

of

faith?

Do we

live

in that

way?

On your

bulletin,

there's a

William Bates

quotations,

Puritan,

as they

typically

are.

He said,

God will

try our

faith before

he satisfies

our

sight.

Now,

I've been

reading to

our boys,

the

Chronicles of

Narnia,

I hope

you're

familiar

with

this

work

of

C.S.

Lewis.

And right

now we

are reading

my favorite

of all

the books,

which is

The Horse

and His

Boy.

And it

is my

favorite

of all

of his

books

because

it's

all about

providence.

It's

all about

the way

in which

Christ

works

in the

world.

And so

I want

to read

a little

bit of

it

to

you

because

I

think

we

often

find

ourselves

identifying

with

one of

the

primary

characters,

a young

man,

young boy

named

Shasta.

Kind of

his,

he has

this very

I'm the

most

unlucky

person

in the

world

kind

of

attitude

throughout

the

book.

And I

don't want

to totally

spoil the

entire

story for

you,

but I

got to

give you

a little

bit of

a background

for it.

Shasta

is being

raised

by a

man who

is not

his

father

in a

land that

is not

his

land,

the land

of

Calorman.

And he

discovers

a talking

horse of

Narnia,

all the

horses of

the land

of Calorman

are what

they call

dumb,

they don't

speak,

but he

discovers a

talking horse

of Narnia,

a war horse

named Bree,

and he

decides to

escape on

Bree,

and they

take off

for Narnia.

And along

the way,

they meet

a young

adult woman

named

Erebus,

and a

talking horse

named

Quinn.

And they're

brought together

through some

providence,

they travel

through a

major city

of the land

of Calorman,

where they

find out

a plot

that the

prince of

Calorman

is going

to attack

Narnia,

first by

taking a

city of

a land

called

Archenland,

called

Anvert.

And it

lies between

Calorman

and the

country of

Narnia.

So this is

kind of the

backdrop of

what's

happening.

And so

finding this

out,

they decide

to quickly

escape to

Narnia,

and to

first warn

King Loon

of this

coming

attack.

These guys

are coming,

200 horsemen,

they're coming

to attack,

we must

get across

in order

to be of

help.

And one

of the

dangers

that they

encounter

along the

way is

that they're

chased by

lions.

There's a

number of

circumstances

by which

they are

chased by

lions.

So as

the story

goes on,

they have

gotten to

this land

of Archenland,

and Shasta

has gone on

by himself

on a dumb

horse.

He's not

Umbri anymore,

he's on a

horse that

can't speak.

And he

finds King

Loon,

and he warns

King Loon,

and King

Loon and

his hunting

party that's

with him,

they take

off back

to Anver

to raise

the alarm

and bolt

the gates,

and a

deep,

deep mist,

a mist

rolls in,

it becomes

night,

so picture

this,

it's

night time,

it's dark,

it's gloomy,

and his

dumb horse

won't keep

up,

so he

loses them,

he loses

the pack.

So here

he is again,

the most

unlucky

that can

be.

And he

hears horsemen

riding up

behind him,

and this

is the

enemy coming

along,

and so he

takes an

alternate route,

so he's

going by

himself

through the

mountains

in the

dark,

and as

he's doing

so,

he begins

to sense

a creature

walking

along him,

beside him,

okay,

and this is

what I'll

start reading,

okay.

Who are

you?

he said,

scarcely

above a

whisper.

One who

has waited

long for

you to

speak,

said the

thing.

Its voice

was not

loud,

but very

large and

deep.

Are you,

are you a

giant?

asked Shasta.

Shasta?

You might

call me a

giant,

said the

voice,

but I am

not like

the creatures

you call

giants.

I can't

see you

at all,

said Shasta,

after staring

very hard.

Then,

for an even

more terrible

idea had

come out

into his

head,

he said,

almost in a

scream,

you're not

something dead,

are you?

Oh,

please do

go away.

What harm

have I ever

done you?

Oh,

I am the

unluckiest

person in

the whole

world.

Once more,

he felt the

warm breath

of the thing

on his

hand and

face.

There,

it said,

that is not

the breath

of a ghost.

Tell me

your sorrows.

Shasta was a

little reassured

by the breath,

so he told

how he had

never known

his real

father or

mother and

had been

brought up

sternly by

the fishermen.

And then he

told the story

of his escape

and how they

were chased

by lions and

forced to

swim for

their lives,

and of all

their dangers

in Tashban

and about his

night among

the tombs and

how the beast

howled at him

out of the

desert.

They told

about the

heat of the

thirst of

their desert

journey and

how they were

almost at

their goal

when another

lion chased

them and

wounded Erebus

and also how

very long it

was since he

had had

anything to

eat.

I do not

call you

unfortunate,

said the

large voice.

Don't you

think it was

bad luck to

meet so many

lions,

said Shasta?

There was

only one

lion,

said the

voice.

What on

earth do

you mean?

I just

told you

there were

at least

two the

first night

and there

was only

one,

but he

was swift

of foot.

How do

you know?

I was

the lion.

And as

Shasta

gaped with

open mouth

and said

nothing,

the voice

continued.

I was

the lion

who forced

you to

join with

Erebus.

I was

the cat

who comforted

you among

the houses

of the dead.

I was

the lion

who drove

the jackals

from you

while you

slept.

I was

the lion

who gave

the horse

the new

strength of

fear for

the last

mile so

that you

could reach

King

Loon in

time.

And I

was the

lion,

you do

not

remember,

who pushed

the boat

in which

you lay,

a child

near death,

so that it

came to shore

where a man

sat,

it was

I.

But what

for?

Child,

said the

voice,

I am

telling you

your story,

not hers.

I tell

no one

any story

but his

own.

Who

are you?

said Shasta.

Myself,

said the

voice,

very deep

and low,

and so

that the

earth

shook.

And again

myself,

loud and

clear and

happy,

and the

third time,

myself.

Whispered

so softly

you could

hardly hear

it,

and yet

it seemed

to come

from all

around you

as if

the leaves

rustled

with it.

Shasta

was no

longer

afraid

that the

voice

belonged

to

something

that

would

eat

him,

nor

that

it

!

He

knew

the

night

was

over

at

last.

He

could

see

the

mane

and

ears

and

head

of his

horse

quite easily

now.

A golden

light fell

on them

from the

left.

He thought

it was

the sun.

He

turned

and saw,

pacing

beside

him,

taller

than the

horse,

a lion.

The

horse

did not

seem

to be

afraid

of it

or else

he

could

not

see

it.

It

was

from

the

lion

that

the

!

came.

No

one

ever

saw

anything

more

terrible

or

beautiful.

Luckily,

Shasta

had lived

all his

life

far too

south

in

Calamon

to have

heard

the

tales

that

were

whispered

in

Tashpen

about

a

dreadful

Narnian

demon

that

appeared

in

the