Did God Tell Abraham to Sin in Genesis 22?

I had some difficulty getting Co-pilot to generate a theme image for this post.  It seems that Microsoft considers an image depicting child-sacrifice objectionable. Shocking.

One of the intellectual dilemmas about the Genesis 22 story is the issue of human sacrifice and the command of God. On one hand, God commands Abraham to make a child sacrifice, which clearly seems immoral. Yet Abraham is commended by God for being willing to obey in such an objectionable act. Was God being insincere in His command and if so, shouldn’t Abraham have said, “No, God. Child sacrifice is evil.”

We need to unpack this question because it touches our daily walk and the temptations that we face regularly.

There is a difference between testing and temptation.

The problem is that the same words, both in Hebrew and Greek, are used for both ideas. James 1 says that we should face various trials with joy in verse 3 and then says that God does not tempt us with evil in verses 13 and 14.

Temptation usually includes three elements: the tempted person (us as the main actors), the temptation (a choice of obedience or disobedience), and a tempter (an outside character pushing us toward disobedience). In the case of Eve in the Garden the elements were Eve, eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Satan encouraging her to disobey the command of God.

Sometimes our tempters tempt us unwittingly. I think of Abram in Genesis 14. After Abram returns from rescuing Lot, the King of Sodom asks for the return of the rescued people and offers Abram all the spoils for himself. This probably seemed like a generous and reasonable offer from the King of Sodom, but Abram understood that keeping what belonged to Sodom would eventually rob God of glory and give it to another (Genesis 14:22-24).

Sometimes, for our spiritual progress or His glory, God leads us through difficulties, apart from the work of any wicked outside force—like in the case of the blind man that Jesus healed in John 9:2-3. Sometimes both God and Satan are at work—Satan influencing us to sin while at the same time God is giving us opportunity to glorify Him through obedience. Satan accuses Job in Job 1:6-12) and God allows the testing. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul’s weakness, which God uses to make Paul dependent upon God is also described as a “messenger of Satan sent to buffet.” Satan or other tempters are not always involved, but when they are, God is allowing it for His own purposes.

God never commands us to sin.

When God tests us, His purpose is for us to succeed, not fail. He never commands us to act sinfully as a test of our righteousness. That would be an impossible dilemma. It would require God to give contradictory commands and require us to decide which command is legitimate and which is not. God does not have to question our righteousness, loyalty, or faith—He already knows all things.

Satan suggests, commands, cajoles, intimates, and otherwise pushes us toward sin, but God does not.

After commanding Adam and Eve to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God did not post a sign on the tree that said “Try me!” God does not contradict Himself. He could have stopped Satan from speaking to Eve, but He does not always prevent Satan’s activities. We can be sure that if someone suggests that we violate the clear command of God, it is not God speaking. In that case, we are facing a temptation to sin prompted by some wicked one in conjunction with our flesh.

Didn’t God Command Abraham to sin?

Why is killing wrong? Some say it is because all of life is sacred, and that is true. But what does sacred mean? Sacred means it is set apart by God. All life belongs to God. He chooses whether we live or die (Job 1:21). In a very literal sense, when I die someday, it will be at the Hand of God—it certainly will not be an event contrary to His will. All our days are in His hands. He can take any life He chooses at any time He chooses—and He does so. Isaac’s life belonged to God and God alone. God did not ask Abraham to do anything that He did not have a right to ask.

God had a greater purpose in this event. It was intended to prove Abraham’s faith and even suggest the later sacrifice of Christ and the resurrection that would follow in the same location (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Abraham’s test was a one-time event.

God does not require child-sacrifice, and to make sure that was clearly understood, He subsequently gave commands—very strong commands—condemning it (Exodus 23:7, Leviticus 18:21, 20:2, Jeremiah 7:31, Psalm 106:37-38). What God did with Abraham, He did once, never to be repeated. There is a reason for that.

Theoretically, God has a right to demand child-sacrifice since all life belongs to Him, but theologically, child-sacrifice would be a cruel and pointless practice. The sacrifice of a child—no matter how experientially innocent that child might be—could do nothing to satisfy the wrath of God upon the unjust.

The justice of God can be satisfied with only one remedy—the death of a perfect and willing victim. And only one Person in all human history was qualified to be that victim—Jesus Christ Himself–the perfect Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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Audio version of this post here: Did God Tell Abraham to Sin in Genesis 22?