Why did god ask abraham to sacrifice his son?

Answer 1

One answer:

To prove to Abraham that he would not really kill Isaac, his son.

Additional thoughts:

Abraham demonstrated his complete faith in God by obediently offering up his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, at God's command (Genesis 22:1-18). Though he was stopped before the sacrifice was completed, the point was made....Abraham's 'willingness' to be obedient at such a high cost, proved his faithfulness and trust in God (Hebrews 11:19). It gave God someone from whom he could build a nation on earth(the nation of Israel) through whom the Messiah would come, and it prefigured what God would do for mankind through this 'Messiah' by whom 'all nations' would 'bless themselves'(Genesis 22:15-18). This happened, centuries later, when God gave HIS son as a sacrifice for us (Hebrews 11:17+18/Romans 8:32)(Acts 3:16-25) through Abraham's line, giving us a very human understanding of the depth of God's love for faithful humankind.(John 3:16)

Answer 2

The point of the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac is that God does not want human sacrifice. This point had to be made, because there have historically been other religions which practiced human sacrifice.

Answer 3

This is Genesis 22, but references to child sacrifice by parent shows up in a few other places; if you Google Moloch, you'll probably find a few.

The short form: God was testing the obedience of Abraham; there was never any intent for Isaac to be sacrificed. This becomes apparent when the angel sent to stop Abraham from killing Isaac did so in Gen 22:12, usually translated something like: "And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me."

Oddly, the command to kill Isaac came after God told Abraham that Abraham would have many decedents through Isaac (Romans 9:7). In other words, trusting the word of God, Abraham should know that Isaac would survive to have children, even if Abraham was to sacrificed Isaac to God.

There is also an odd connection with the sacrifice of Jesus, and references such as "God will provide Himself the lamb ..." (Gen 22:8)

The long form of this is actually a series of debates, ranging far and wide. For example: GEN 22:5, Abraham states the both he and Isaac will be returning from the mountain. This leads to a debate about Abraham knowing that God would not take Isaac. There is another argument that this is a test for Isaac, though I never really gave that one any respect.

Truth be told, I like to leverage the "ineffable plan" concept and claim that though we can see the results of Acts of God, we can only guess at his long term goals. Imagine a small child trying to understand hard decisions adults sometimes are forced to make; the basics may be conveyed, but that's about it.

Answer 4

God tested Abraham's faith and obedience by asking him to sacrifice his son. Through this test, Abraham demonstrated his unwavering trust in God, and God ultimately provided a ram for sacrifice instead of Abraham's son. This story is seen as a symbol of faith and obedience in many religious traditions.