Genesis 22 is a chapter that puzzles and offends many people. God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham is about to do it, then God steps in and stops it. Why would God be so cruel to Abraham and Isaac? What does it say about a God who would ask for such a thing, or Abraham who would do it? What would a Christian do if God asked the same of them? Do Christians think it’s noble to kill your son if God says to? Can God command anything? If we isolate the chapter from its biblical and historical context then it understandably leads to these troubling questions, but that’s not because we’ve understood what’s going on, but rather we’ve misunderstood.
