Genesis 11-22 explains how nine generations after Shem, God calls on Abraham to make a covenant with him. In this pact, the Lord tells Abraham to “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that [He] will show thee”, and that He will also “make of thee a great nation”, and it’s because of this that Abraham agrees to the request made by God. Afterwards, not only he keeps doing what God says but he is also rewarded, and a trusting relationship towards God is built to a point in which Abraham’s infertile wife is even given a child at the old age of 90.
I think that in Genesis 22:5-8, Abraham does not lie. I think that he is softening his language, and as any father would do, he is trying not to frighten his son. Also, Isaac’s sacrifice is an arrangement between Abraham and God, and this means that it is not Isaac’s nor any of the servants business. In the case that Abraham were lying, I would argue that this would be to avoid Isaac from running away or the servants from stopping him from killing Isaac; and this way making sure that he is carrying out God’s commands without barriers.
God’s intention in making Abraham go through with this ordeal is to test if, after all this time, Abraham is still loyal to him in the way he used to or if he has become another corrupt human being now that he has obtained everything he wanted to achieve in life. Abraham ‘quietly resolves to obey God’s commands even though it was his favorite son and even though it had been so hard for them to have children in the first place – he was basically killing everything he had asked for. Regardless of the situation, Abraham passes the test as he has not “withhold his son” and “favored God”.
Overall I think both Abraham and God are praiseworthy; first of all, when Abraham puts God above his favorite son and is indeed ready to sacrifice his son, God proves to be merciful and stops him from doing so. Abraham shows absolute devotion to God and God pays him back by saving his son; and I think that the pure goodness is was makes them praiseworthy.
carlotastheoblog 
Hi Carlota, I agree with you on that fact that Abraham did not really “lie” to the people. I saw it more as he was withholding information from his son. However, I do disagree with you when you say that Abraham is praiseworthy. My question to you is: why should Abraham be praised for something that he was supposed to do? By offering up his son, Abraham showed his faith in God, which is faith that he should always have.
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Hi Odera! In response to your question, I do think Abraham should be praised because I don’t think everyone would be willing to sacrifice their favorite son, regardless of the degree of faith they have in God.
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Hi Carlota,
I totally agree with your analysis of Abraham’s statements as softenings of the truth. He does not directly lie, and in fact, his sentences seem to be truthful in a symbolic way. However, does Abraham offer any significant praise to God after God shows him mercy. Does he offer praise in other ways? Or does he just trust so much in God’s plan that he doesn’t feel the need to praise him?
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Hi Luke! I think that by actually agreeing to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham has ultimately done the most difficult thing given his situation; I therefore think that from this point onward there’s nothing more that’s left to do to praise him.
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Hi Carlota! Your response was really interesting. Do you think that lying or other sins are acceptable if they are commands from God? Is there a situation in which God might ask someone to sin?
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Hi Caroline! In response to your first question, I really think it depends… in the first place, God’s command to sacrifice Isaac is a good example of Is a situation in which God himself is asking Abraham to kill.
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