How to understand the scripture about God telling Abraham to kill his son Isaac?

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By not telling God that sacrificing Isaac would be an abomination and that he refused to do that.
 
Interesting. So you think the Bible is wrong in Hebrews 11 when Abraham is commended as a man of faith for obeying and trusting God in this matter?

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

What about James 2:21-23? Is that wrong, too?

21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
 
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He didn’t know that yet. Remember, Abraham was raised in a Pagan land. He had no way to know if Yahweh demanded human sacrifice or not.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
Interesting. So you think the Bible is wrong in Hebrews 11 when Abraham is commended as a man of faith for obeying and trusting God in this matter?
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Yes.

And I wouldn’t want to be friends with anyone who demanded that I kill my son.
 
This interpretation is the minority one of which I spoke previously. That is, Abraham should have protested, debated with G-d, challenged G-d instead of showing blind obedience. Or maybe Abraham might have obeyed in the end but not without first objecting and reasoning with G-d. Thus Abraham FAILED the test. It is not a majority viewpoint in Judaism but a fascinating one nonetheless.
 
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Yep, saw that upthread - that’s a viewpoint I’ve always been sympathetic towards.
 
A rejection in the sense that G-d reveals to Abraham that He does NOT demand or want human sacrifices. Even animal sacrifices turn out to be good only for unintentional sins, and then only if accompanied by sincere repentance. What G-d DOES want is repentance toward those we have wronged and prayer when we transgress His commandments. This is made clearer in the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish people inspired by the writing of Moses, the Torah.
 
semper_catholicus said:
God is the author of life, and consequently, he can do whatever he wishes with it. He can give it and take it away and use any means to do that.
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This is a rather simplistic explanation that fails to take into account several things:
  1. God Doesn’t Change. Instead, our understanding of God changes and he reveals more of himself.
  2. God could do whatever he wishes; however, he won’t because of Free Will. He could obliterate Satan and every evil creature from existence. He could strike dead every evil person on the planet if he wanted. But he won’t because that’s not how he operates.
  3. Even when God appears to be punishing or smiting, he’s usually not. God will permit calamities to occur. For example, The Plagues of Egypt have all the hallmarks of a regional disaster. Concerning Noah and his Ark, it’s a good chance the Flood would’ve come regardless. In both cases, some people headed the warning and other did not.
 
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…and the time machine has not been invented, yet! 🙂

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Of course everyone is able to formulate their own personal opinion or support someone else’s; yet, it is not about agreeing or disagreeing with me. The context and the content support the fact that Abraham was fully cognizant that Yahweh God had asked him to offer his firstborn, Isaac, as a sacrifice. In spite of being aware of this Abraham was not candid with his son as he avoided the issue of the object of the sacrifice: Isaac.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
meltzerboy2 said:
A rejection in the sense that G-d reveals to Abraham that He does NOT demand or want human sacrifices. Even animal sacrifices turn out to be good only for unintentional sins, and then only if accompanied by sincere repentance. What G-d DOES want is repentance toward those we have wronged and prayer when we transgress His commandments. This is made clearer in the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish people inspired by the writing of Moses, the Torah.
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Why are you judging God?

Basically you are stipulating that God set Abraham up to fail.

The truth is so far from your reality…

Yahweh God made a demand on His servant.

A Demand that would extinguish His Promise.

…if you are an avid reader of the Old Covenant’s Sacred Writings you would know that God makes it plainly clear that His Word is His Bond!

Abraham passed the test with High Marks because he placed Yahweh God Above everything, himself, the Promise, and even his son.

It is the reason why Abraham’s Faith is Commended!

It is the reason why Abraham was sought out by Yahweh God:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil. (Proverbs 3)
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Maran atha!

Angel
 
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