Why does Abraham agree to the request made of him by God? (2) Is Abraham lying in 22:5 and 22:8? (3) What is the God’s intention in making Abraham go through with this ordeal? (4) Is Abraham praiseworthy? Is God?
To understand why Abraham agrees to the request made of him by God, you have to look at the context of the situation. In the present day, if God told someone randomly to sacrifice their son, it would seem crazy. However, Abraham has been through a journey guided by God. He left everything he knew including his hometown and father except Lot and Sarah. He truly was a pioneer led by God. Given that God has led him this far successfully, he has all the reason to trust God is benevolent and wants the best for him. God promised him many things thus far and has came through with all of them, so he has a solid base of credibility. To summarize, Abraham had ultimate faith in God that he would lead him even when things became difficult.
In 22:5, Abraham says “we will worship and then come back to you.” To me this is a very straightforward half-truth to avoid revealing the main purpose of his journey. He is 100 percent speaking the truth, as sacrificing Isaac would be an act of worship to God, but if he were truly telling the full tale of what he was going to do, it would be kind of important to note that he was going to sacrifice his son. The same thing goes for 22:8 in which Abraham says “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” He is completely telling the truth, as God did provide the miracle required for Isaac’s birth, however, not noting that Isaac was the lamb that God provided is leaving out a pretty important detail.
God’s intention in making Abraham go through with this is to ensure that Abraham is truly faithful to him. So far, God has fulfilled all the promises he made to Abraham, so there was no telling whether Abraham was following God for his own benefit or out of faith. Therefore, this was a sort of test. By killing Isaac, his only son, Abraham would be giving up his desire to spread his name through offspring, which is one thing God promised him. The fact that Abraham went through with the act without regard to his own interest demonstrates that he is on this journey with God for his relationship with God and not his own self interest.
I don’t really think God is praiseworthy or not praiseworthy in this case anymore than a teacher is praiseworthy or not for giving a student a test. He clearly wasn’t going to actually make Abraham go through with sacrificing his son, so he had no intent other than just making sure Abraham was faithful, which is a valid concern. The only thing I would say against this test is that it is quite deceptive. He must have put Abraham through a lot of pain all for a test. Abraham, to me, is the greatest hero in this story. To explain why I think this, I will connect this passage to the New Testament, as there are many similarities. In the New Testament Jesus is God’s only son, and he is forced to sacrifice Jesus through crucifixion much like how Abraham was forced to sacrifice his only son. In both stories the father and son went along without any disobedience. Additionally, the mountains in the two stories are the same mountain, which links the two together in a way that cannot be ignored. Therefore, Adam, by being willing to sacrifice his son, is acting very God-like in this passage.
Theology 
I really enjoy the first part of your response. When I first thought about God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, I thought it was too extreme. However, I neglected to notice what you have: Abraham has many reasons to trust and love God. He got Abraham through so much, and He was the one who gave him Isaac in the first place. Another thing I agree with is that God was acting deceptively when he asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. I think Abraham went through an inordinate amount of emotional suffering, and I believe this is one of the most important aspects of the ‘test’ Abraham was given.
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I think you did an excellent job putting the situation of Abraham into the context needed to truly understand the message of the story, especially noting that Abraham “has all the reason to trust God,” something most people gloss over in understanding why Abraham obeys without question. What I find most insightful about your analysis is the connection you make between Abraham and Jesus, drawing a parallel between the mountains, “link[ing] the two together in a way that cannot be ignored.” Although I had not yet come to realize this clear parallel, I completely agree, and I think it says a lot about the message of obedience and complete faith in God.
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I enjoyed your analysis of G-d testing Abraham through something that does not benefit him. One could certainly theorize that Abraham is only following G-d for personal gain, but his commitment to G-d’s will is shown through a willingness to sacrifice his only son. This is an excellent point that I had not considered before. This emphasizes Abraham’s faithfulness. An interesting point to note is that throughout Genesis 22, not once does Abraham show a moment of hesitation. Each verse shows Abraham carrying out G-d’s will without question, denoting his status as a loyal servant of G-d. Ultimately, Abraham does deserve G-d’s blessing.
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By explaining the fact that Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son is the completion of his journey with God instead of a standalone event, I think you get to the heart of why this action is so praiseworthy. I again agree with your statement that Abraham is telling a half-truth. However, if he is actually referring to his son as the sheep that the Lord will provide, it could be considered as the whole truth. I hadn’t realized that Abraham was acting before this event for his own benefit, so that revelation that he is now following God out of faith alone makes more sense in the narrative. The comparison of God to a teacher is a good one in understanding how praiseworthy He is. He makes Abraham go through pain, yet Abraham powers through, further revealing how praiseworthy he is.
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I liked your analysis of whether God was praiseworthy or not. You raised a new perspective in my mind by comparing God’s sacrifice to a teacher giving out a test. I agree that he is not praiseworthy, because he put Abraham through a lot of pain, and forced him to make the decision to take the life of his own son.
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