I believe that Abraham agrees to the request made of him by God because of the rewards that came with it. Since Sarai was childless, a promise of being the father of “a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) would have been hard to pass up on. Also, Abraham was a faithful servant to God. He came from an obedient family so disobeying God was simply not something he would do.
Abraham is not lying in 22:5, but he is in 22:8. Sacrifices are a form of worshipping, so he is sacrificing his son to worship God. As for using the term “we”, Abraham knows exactly the type of worship he is doing but not Isaac. Isaac’s obliviousness does not make this a complete lie. However, Abraham is lying in 22:8. He does it with a clear conscious though. He is not aware that God is going to provide a lamb, so he tells his son a lie that turns out to be true.
God’s intention in making Abraham go through with this ordeal is to test his faith. By doing so, God will see if humanity has progressed from where they were previously. People have defied His expectations time and time again which has hindered society’s progress. God is trying to find someone that will be his delegate as he made humans to be, but not many people are proving to be up to the task. Testing Abraham’s faith not only shows God if he is capable of carrying out his commands, but also shows Abraham how obedient he must be in order to be the father of all nations. It is a learning process for both God and Abraham that shows the blueprint of what they need to do to try and ensure a better world.
Abraham is praiseworthy because he sacrificed so much, including his own son, for the greater good. He showed the lengths that people sometimes to go to so they can be great leaders. God is also praiseworthy because he kept His promises with Abraham and rewarded him with more. He made sure that those great ordeals weren’t just for his own satisfaction, but once again for the greater good.
Summer Kerksick Theology Blog 
Hi Summer,
I really like your analysis of the exchanges of praises between God and Abraham. However, I disagree with your sentiment about Genesis 22:8. I don’t think Abraham is explicitly lying to Isaac. Abraham recognizes two things. First, because Isaac is the sheep or lamb to be sacrificed, he isn’t completely wrong to say that God has provided it. God did bless Sarah and Abraham with his conception. Second, I think that Abraham knows that in the end God will save his (Abraham) only son from sacrifice. He has followed God’s plan thus far and reaped its benefits. I think Abraham truly knows and believes that God thus has provided the lamb to be sacrificed.
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Hey Summer, I really enjoyed reading your blog and agree with your arguments regarding the motives behind God in testing Abraham in this way. However, I disagree with your argument that God is praiseworthy. I feel that by testing Abraham in this way and commanding him to sacrifice his only son, God is taking a step to far in terms of understanding the trust Abraham has towards God. Abraham has obeyed every command up until this point, and by commanding Abraham to kill his only son for God’s sake seems to be sending off the wrong message.
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Hi Summer, I really like how you interpreted why God put not only Abraham to the test, but tested humanity as a whole. I thought your argument that Abraham agrees to fulfill the request made by God in Genesis is interesting. You have said that Abraham seemed to have acted out of self-interest and because of the “rewards that come with it,” I am interested to understand how you have arrived at this conclusion and if Abraham’s actions here could still be considered as praiseworthy.
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