Abraham extended his hand and took the knife to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22:10).
The Hebrew word used here for knife is “ma’achelet”. The root of this word “achl” means to eat. We use knives for eating – but that’s not the whole story here. The Hebrew word for war, “milchama” has within it “lechem” which means bread.
Mankind has always gone to war over the essential staples of life – one of our most primal needs is nourishment. But the real struggle and quest of our lives is supposed to be for the ultimate nourishment. “For man does not live by bread alone, but through that which comes from God’s word man will live (Deut.8:3).