Introduction
Questions about why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son have been raised countless times, and for a number of reasons. The most common belief is that by demanding a sacrifice from Abraham, God tested his faith, will, and loyalty in such way. Even though Abraham was committed to fulfilling the task given to him, many people argue whether Abraham would really sacrifice his son without any questioning of God’s demand, and why would God order a father to kill his only beloved and long-waited son?
Explanation of the God’s action
The popular explanation of such confusing display by God is centered around his divine nature. God is not a human; he is the being of absolute power, who can give lives and take them away. Humans do no wield the power of resurrection; they cannot undo the act of murdering another person. Therefore, humans see death and react to it in a different way than God. Abraham believed in God and his power of resurrection, that is probably why he obeyed the God and sacrificed Isaac on the mountain Moriah. He thought that if the God asked him to bring his son to the sacrificial altar, he would resurrect him later, as God promised Abraham that a great nation was intended to come from his offspring.
The flaws in existing explanations
The confusing part lies in the depiction of the story itself. According to the narrator, Abraham decided to sacrifice his son without any objection, despite showing signs of doubts, arguing, and objecting to God’s decisions on numerous occasions before. It is also strange that nowhere in the story Abraham and Isaac are seen to be speaking to each other, outside of a single time when Isaac asked Abraham about where was the lamb. Was this the power of faith or just narrator selecting parts necessary for creating an image of unflinching confidence in God? Many people regard God’s decisions as ridiculous and outrageous, as how could God, who created the commandment that forbids killing, order Abraham to kill his own son?
The same son that was foretold to be the beginning of a great nation. Another problem of the common explanation of God’s demand is that if the God is truly omniscient, meaning that he had already known what Abraham would do, why did he still order Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Defenders of God’s decision say that people should not compare their love and mercy to those of the God. Apparently, God has a different meaning of things that we, as humans, will probably never understand. As God is the ultimate being, he has his own perception of reality, and we should not try to understand his deeds from our perspective. However, omniscience is not a human characteristic, so the decision of the God to demand a sacrifice from Abraham as a final test of his loyalty, despite already knowing the outcome, is still strange and confusing at the very least.
Conclusion
The true answer to the question regarding the God’s demand of Abraham will remain a mystery as only the God himself can explain the true motifs of such trial. Many people will continue to dig further in order to discover the truth; others will still perceive the God’s action as cruel and unneeded. However, no one can question the immense faith of Abraham in the God, as he was willing to sacrifice someone he loved more than anyone or anything in the world – his own son.