After these things God tested1 Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"2
And he said, "Here I am."
He said, "Take your son, your only son3 Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him.4
On the third day5 Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here6 with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!"
And he said, "Here I am, my son."7
He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb8 for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.9
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.10 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"
And he said, "Here I am."11
He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God12, since you have not withheld your son, your only son13, from me."
And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide14"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
The angel of the LORD15 called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.16 And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves17, because you have obeyed my voice." So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.
[1] God is explicitly testing him. Is this test for God's benefit, or for Abraham's, or for the people of Israel? From the passage, it really looks like a legit test of Abraham.
[2] Very personal.
[3] Personal again, and again. This feels like by far the most intimate passage to this point in Genesis.
[4] Abraham obeys.
[5] Plenty of time to think about it.
[6] Abraham feels he has to do it alone.
[7] The Issac-Abraham dialogue mimics the God-Abraham dialogue, bringing home the intimacy of the scene while also humanizing the relationship between God and Abraham even more.
[8] What does he mean by this? Is he just trying to answer Issac without telling him the full truth, or is he expressing his own trust in God?
[9] Personalizes it again by showing them doing it together.
[10] How important is it that Abraham is willing to do a human sacrifice, something most of us would consider abhorrent? It doesn't feel important in the passage. The fact that Abraham is willing to obey God, even to the loss of his son, is the focus. We already know that it is only a test, that God is not really calling for a human sacrifice, so I believe that aspect of the passage can be overemphasized. The point is that Abraham is obedient up to the very act of losing his most-beloved son.
[11] Third repetition of this personal exchange.
[12] The object of the act as a test of Abraham's faith is made explicit. After all those instances in which Abraham has shown a lack of faith (15:2, 16:3, 17:17, 20:2), Abraham shows that his faith in God is now complete.
[13] Again adds the "your only son" emphasis.
[14] As Abraham had predicted, though perhaps unknowingly.
[15] The fact that it's been the "angel of the Lord" calling, rather than God himself, is interesting. My study Bible says that this is a characteristic of the "Elohist"-authored passages.
[16] The test is rewarded. Does this mean that the promises were still contingent on Abraham's faith? Or is this an indication that God knew how Abraham would respond all along because he is outside time, even though the test still had to happen within time?
[17] All of the nations will gain blessing through Abraham.
Take-home: In an extremely personalized passage, God makes the ultimate test of Abraham's faith. Abraham shows his full devotion, proving that he has overcome the doubts in God that affected him earlier. God affirms his promise again, both to Abraham's line and to the nations.
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