Abraham’s passing of the final test of obedience rests in his complete faith in God and the promise to make Abraham the father of a great people. From the beginning of the story of Abraham, God promises to make his name great, blessing him with all he may need. As the story progresses, God continues to reinforce this promise time and time again (12:16, 13:15-17, 15:4). Although these promises are not fulfilled immediately, Abraham does not lose faith in God – if anything, his trust grows stronger. This is a crucial moment in Genesis, as Abraham serves as a foil to Adam. Abraham acts for God out of pure faith and obedience; he knows he will recieve, so he feels no inclination to take. As Krass points out, Abraham has longings that only an omniscient being could have knowledge of, namely, land, food, and a name for himself and his kin, all of which God promises to give in due time. The reason Abraham blindly follows the command of God is primarily due to this longing, but also because of the undeniable fact that the intelligent being speaking to him is indeed omniscient. God is able to speak to Abraham’s deepest desires and promise him the things he longs for, which speaks to why Abraham goes to such lengths originally to obey the command of God; his desires compel him. However, I think as the story progresses and Abraham continues to follow God, he builds faith and complete trust in this being, allowing him to sacrifice his only legitimate son — he knows God will save him. Therefore, I do not think Abraham is lying completely when he tells his servants that he is going to go worship God and then come back. For Abraham, worshipping God means sacrificing his son, so either Abraham truly believes his son will be saved, as he says “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering,” or his way of showing obedience to God is by giving to God what God has given to him; in this case, a son. Therefore, I think God’s intention in making Abraham go through with the sacrifice is a final test to prove total and absolute obedience, however extreme that may be. Immediately after he passes the test, God praises Abraham for not withholding Him from his son (22:12), which could mean God was only trying to see if Abraham would be obedient enough to completely and fully submit everything he could to God. After all, everything Abraham has (land, a name, a son) has been given to him from God. This test was merely a representation of the praise we should give to God for everything we have recieved from Him. Although it is disputed whether we should praise a being that condones child sacrifice, if we believe that God as a moral authority has the right to give life, then we must also question whether that allows God the same authority to take life.
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Foundations of Theology 
Theresa, I liked what you said about how “Abraham serves as a foil to Adam.” This is something I haven’t considered before and I would love hear more about why this is. I think you are absolutely right about Abraham obeying God because of God’s omniscience as well as his desires. I too think it is important to consider the context of the journey Abraham was on to fully gain an understanding of the situation.
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Your response was very well put together, and one of the lines that caught my eye was part of your last statement: “… It is disputed whether we should praise a being that condones child sacrifice.” Every time I read this account, it brings to mind questions about God. I know God is the ultimate moral authority, but for some reason, God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son simply does not sit right with me. This causes me to wonder if God was ever truly going to have Abraham sacrifice his son or if God was just pushing Abraham to the extreme. Wholeheartedly, I believe the latter. God would not demand such a sacrifice without having an ultimate purpose in mind. In this case, it was testing Abraham’s unwavering loyalty.
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I think you raise an important concern with your last statement. You suggest that if we believe G-d has “the right to give life, then we must also question whether that allows G-d the same authority to take life.” This is an interesting topic, as G-d is the ultimate being, He who gives life to all creation. From my perspective, I would believe that G-d, as the giver of life, also has the right to take that life. This is consistent with the material we have covered in class. Humanity sins when they begin to kill each other and animals because G-d has not granted them possession of those lives. We gain the right to eat animals after the Flood. However (and for good reason), we are never given the right to take human life. This still rests in G-d’s possession, and He has the right to take that life. What is your opinion on this? Should G-d only be able to bestow life? If so, who determines when we our lives are taken in death?
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I like how you point out that Abraham blindly follows God because God is omniscient. Also, you point out that Abraham acts out of faith and obedience, so he knows he will receive at some point, unlike Eve who takes fruit from the tree of knowledge.
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