"Abraham at last summoned his son, telling him of the command to offer sacrifice upon a distant mountain. Isaac had often gone with his father to worship at some one of the various altars that marked his wanderings, and this summons excited no surprise. The preparations for the journey were quickly completed. The wood was made ready and put upon the ass, and with two menservants they set forth. PP 151.1"
"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him."
The EGW passage closely follows the narrative details of Genesis 22:3, describing Abraham's preparations for the journey to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. The details of the ass, wood, and servants are directly drawn from the biblical account.
"Side by side the father and the son journeyed in silence. The patriarch, pondering his heavy secret, had no heart for words. His thoughts were of the proud, fond mother, and the day when he should return to her alone. Well he knew that the knife would pierce her heart when it took the life of her son. PP 151.2"
"(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
The EGW passage draws a parallel between Abraham's anticipation of Sarah's grief and the prophecy of Mary's suffering in Luke 2:35. Both involve a parent's pain related to the fate of their child.
"That day—the longest that Abraham had ever experienced—dragged slowly to its close. While his son and the young men were sleeping, he spent the night in prayer, still hoping that some heavenly messenger might come to say that the trial was enough, that the youth might return unharmed to his mother. But no relief came to his tortured soul. Another long day, another night of humiliation and prayer, while ever the command that was to leave him childless was ringing in his ears. Satan was near to whisper doubts and unbelief, but Abraham resisted his suggestions. As they were about to begin the journey of the third day, the patriarch, looking northward, saw the promised sign, a cloud of glory hovering over Mount Moriah, and he knew that the voice which had spoken to him was from heaven. PP 151.3"
"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."
Both passages describe a period of intense prayer and internal struggle in the face of a difficult and potentially devastating situation. Abraham's prayer for relief from sacrificing Isaac parallels Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane. The thematic connection is strong, focusing on submission to God's will despite personal anguish.
"Even now he did not murmur against God, but strengthened his soul by dwelling upon the evidences of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. This son had been unexpectedly given; and had not He who bestowed the precious gift a right to recall His own? Then faith repeated the promise, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called”—a seed numberless as the grains of sand upon the shore. Isaac was the child of a miracle, and could not the power that gave him life restore it? Looking beyond that which was seen, Abraham grasped the divine word, “accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” Hebrews 11:19 . PP 151.4"
"Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure."
Ellen White directly references Hebrews 11:19 in this passage.