In Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to bring his son, Isaac, to a mountain and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering. It seems like a strange request, as Isaac required a miracle to come into existence and seems to have done nothing wrong. However, Abraham obliges without any hesitation, despite his love for his son. One reason why he possibly could have done this with the intention of sacrificing his son is because Abraham had met with the Lord on many occasions and had seen him to be trustworthy. God had given him so much, so he knows from his past experiences that following the Lord’s will is the best way to live. Abraham could’ve also thought that since God is omnipotent or, at least, is said to be, that Isaac could be brought back from the dead, once Abraham had proved himself loyal to God.
In Genesis 22:5 and 22:8, it does appear that Abraham is lying because of his words. If Abraham had no previous knowledge that God would stop the sacrifice, then he would, in fact, be lying to prevent conflict and to complete his duty to the Lord more efficiently. If he had known or believed that God would intervene, however, then he would not be considered lying, as God does provide the sheep for the sacrifice.
By asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God’s intention was most likely to test Abraham to see how far his loyalty would extend. After having so many humans turn their backs on God and turn to sin, it is reasonable that God would want to confirm Abraham’s loyalty and trust. Another possibility is that God, after appearing many times to Abraham, believed that he needed to reestablish his status as a dominant figure, and executed this by asking Abraham to do such a rash deed.
I personally do not believe that God or Abraham are praiseworthy solely because the deed, if executed, would have been so extreme for no positive effect. However, I can understand how others would consider them praiseworthy, because God gives the humans so much would expect compensation, and Abraham is showing severe loyalty, which is a positive quality.
Macy's Theology Blog 
I agree that God’s purpose for this request was to test Abraham’s loyalty. I like how you supported this by showing how it was reasonable since many humans had turned their backs on God. I didn’t think that Abraham was necessarily lying in verses 5 and 8, but I see your perspective and I understand why you think he did. Do you think that his lying was justified in this situation, or should he have told the truth?
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I had similar thoughts about Abraham’s reasoning for agreeing to the sacrifice being trust in God, but I thought it was really interesting how you brought up the point that God could have resurrected Isaac after the deed had been done. Do you think either of these thought processes make Abraham’s agreement to the sacrifice reasonable?
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I really like how you talked about Abraham’s faith in God, to the extent that he would sacrifice his own son. This idea of trust is so ingrained in Abraham – which is something that no other character thus far has shown. As for the praiseworthiness of God and Abraham, do you think that Abraham’s faith in God is not praiseworthy?
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I like how you decided that Abraham is outright lying. I struggled with deciding between describing Abraham as a liar or an honest man. When the Kings discover that Sarah is actually Abraham’s wife and not his sister, they become very mad. But then Abraham tells explains that through marriage, he is technically married to his sister. By the book, saying that she is his sister is not a lie. Why do you consider this a lie, instead of perhaps, an omission of the truth?
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