This passage of Scripture seems most contrary to the character of God. God tells Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. It also seems that God rewards Abraham for almost killing his child so what is this?
To understand this scripture one needs a little history in the Hebrew language. The word God uses when he tells Abraham to offer us Isaac is not a burnt offering but a raised offering. A raised offering was usually burnt so the essences of the sacrifice raised as it were to the heavens. However, most Hebrew rabbis believe that Abraham misunderstood God's command and interpreted it in light of the culture that was surrounding him. In a sense, Abraham had the right attitude but was doing the wrong thing.
We see how this can be true by reading in Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind." God said it never entered my mind that you should kill your kids and that also applies to Abraham. One may ask why did God allow it to go on so long? I don't have the answer but what we know is God didn't allow the sacrifice and also by doing so tried to teach, according to the Rabbis, that human sacrifice was something God NEVER wanted.
How does this apply to us today? Make sure we don't live out what we think is a command of God if it doesn't match the character of God. Sometimes this means there are things we don't understand at the time but if we ask God and keep studying his word he will lead us into the truth.
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