How can you justify God telling Abraham to kill his son to show his faith and devotion to him?

Question

Only to have an angel turn up at the last minute to say that God was merely testing his faith and didn't really want him to go through with it.

Answer 1

I could never think of harming my child... for ANYONE. But it sure gives you something to think about.

Answer 2

What was the end result! Abraham was Blessed with the promise of fathering a Great Nation. And that nation survives to this day despite being murdered by the millions, spread out all over the globe and being brought back to the promised land. I would say that obediance to god has it's rewards!! Praise the Lord!!

Answer 3

I hear ya. Its certainly bizarre.
But, I think that was the key tool that God had to test Abraham's faith. Thats where God was asking Abraham to trust him. Issac was the son of the "Promise" that God would bless him with tons of descendants. Gods relationship with Abraham was based on that promise. Abraham knew he Issac was special. God opened his wifes womb to provide him.

I would guess by the level of Abraham's faith he was thinking on the lines of "This is going to be a really cool resurrection I get to witness, cause God isn't going back on his promise".

Answer 4

Quite obviously, it's unjustifiable. If this event really took place - and it probably didn't - then it suggests that Abraham was an acute paranoid schizophrenic.

He's not alone. There was a quote recently by someone who noted that the world is still suffering today as a direct consequence of the lack, 2,000 years ago, of adequate mental care.

CD

Answer 5

Ever heard of "test".

A teacher must give his students a test to determine whether the student is eligible to become a doctor who will have people's lives determined in his hands (for instance).

The same thing goes for Abraham and all the other prophets. They were all put through tests to see if they were eligible to carry on the mission of spreading the word of God.


There is no cruelity in that, because God already knows that Abrahams son was not going to be killed.

All it takes, my friend, is to look at the purposes behind things critically.

I hope that helps.


Peace.

Answer 6

God did not test him to see him fail but to deepen his capacity to obey him.God refines us through diff cult circumstances.we can complain or we can see how God is developing us .
That morning Abraham began the greatest act of obedience in recorded history. Over the years he had learned the importance of obeying God. This time his obedience was prompt and complete. Obeying is a struggle And it may mean giving up something you truly want. We should not expect our obedience to be easy or to come naturally.(Heathen nations preformed human sacrifices but God condemned it as a terrable sin.(Leviticus 20:1-5)God did not want Isaac to die but he did want Abraham to sacrifices him in his heart so it would be clear Abraham loved him more than his promised and long waited son. And you know what God sacrificed his own son for us.I my lesson for my 5 year class at church is Abraham had F.R.O.G. FULLY RELY ON GOD! PS. take a leap of faith and fully rely on GOD!

Answer 7

Not physically but spiritually.

Did Abraham look to his son with concern for his safety?, did his son look to his father for mercy?; did they have these morals before Gods intervention?, did they have them but without Gods presence?.

Is God before a mans son and a sons father?. When the wayward sons heart corrects itself the father lays on a feast to celebrate his heart no longer lives with the desires of money and lust.

I suppose Gods actions depend on the spiritual condition of those he loves. For a man can correct his errors and return to his fathers approval and that could be considered family values and not religious values.

And if a man has higher spiritual values than his father they would be against each other (a man against his father or is it a father against his son?). Jesus was higher than Joseph one assumes to much confusion at the time.

This requires a mind to find the deeper truth, in a world only interested in casting lots for a heart to have a heart!.

Answer 8

The Bible was written by people interpreting what was happening in their lives. At that time, it was the custom for the people to sacrifice to the gods, their first born son, both of man and of beast. God never wanted human sacrifice. Abraham thought God did until God stepped in and officially stopped it. The real test of faith was returning home to the neighbors and family and having to explain why he did not sacrifice his son.

Answer 9

This whole thing was not a whim.
God was interested in teaching humanity that having a son sacrificed is an ugly thing.
God brought it down to a personal, human level with Abraham.
Of course, we are all shocked.
The account should help us feel grateful to God, since in Abraham's case ...it stopped short.
In God's case it went to the full.

Answer 10

God was testing his faithfulness. Abraham knew that God would provide but wanted to show that he was obedient to God, no matter what was asked of him. I can't imagine how horribly difficult this must have been for him. But he proved his faith to God and God blessed him, abundantly. Let's remember that God sacrificied HIS only Son for us.

Answer 11

Abraham trusted God so much that he knew he would have his son back if he died. God knew that Abraham trusted him. Abraham needed this experience more than God did. God provided the sacrificial animal for him instead.

That is the same thing with Jesus. He was the perfect sacrifice, no one have to die if we accept God's sacrifice.