- Abraham agrees to the request made of him by God because he realizes that he was chosen and he has faith in the Lord. Prior to this, when God asked Abraham to get up from Babylon and make a great nation elsewhere(Canaan), he obeyed. Abraham’s faith in the Lord is strengthened when the deepest longings in Abraham’s heart are fulfilled. From Kass’ analysis of the passage, I learned that God called on Abram with a command and promise and only LATER does God reveal himself to Abraham. Abraham’s faith is so strong in God that he understands in some way that God has a plan and will fulfill his promises. In a way, one might interpret Genesis 22:5 as a lie; in Genesis 22:5 it states “We will worship and then we will come back to you” implying that both him and his son will be returning (even when he had in mind that he would kill his son). However, this goes back to how Abraham’s faith in the Lord is so strong since he understands his son will, in fact, also be returning from the mountain with him. Abraham speaks correctly in line 8 when he says “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering…” God tests Abraham’s faith to see if he will really listen and obey his request. Prior to Genesis 22, God states in Genesis 21:12 that Abraham’s nation and offspring will be brought out through Isaac. In Abraham’s trust in God, he knew that in some way God would fulfill His promise. In many ways today, God tests our own faith. The ultimate measure of ones faith can be measured in times of challenge and controversy. In this instance, God is very praiseworthy because he looks to test Abraham in his faith while also never going back on the promises He made. It is evident that God will be with us through all trials and tribulations and walk with us in our faith. I think in the account of Abraham in Genesis, he can also be considered praiseworthy because he accepts God’s word and will and proceeds to go out and go through with killing his son. This stands in direct contrast to the actions of Adam within Genesis 3 where he willfully rebells against God’s word and alienates himself and other human beings through sin. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son as a testament of his faith similar to the way God sacrificed His only Son Jesus to save us from sin. Overall, this test proves to God that Abraham was obedient and genuine in his faith and trust in God, therefore, making him praiseworthy.
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Foundations of Theology 
I agree with your answers and analysis to the questions for 23 january. I think a deeper analysis of lines 5 and 8 would have been nice, but I see that you understand those lines. I particularly liked the part where you talked about God revealing himself. That helped my understanding of this book.
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Through your phrasing it also made it seem like Abraham did not, in fact, lie because he might have understood that his son will return spiritually, if not physically as he might have hoped he would (and had faith that God would let him to). I would like you to expand more upon the idea that God is praiseworthy for conducting tests, though. The assumption is that He always knows what is in the hearts of the human person (just as he did with Cain); therefore, is the test merely pedagogical or?
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I think the connection you made between the contrasting obedience of Adam and Abraham was really insightful and shows the continuity of certain themes throughout Genesis such as obeying God’s will vs seeking glory. However, I think that Abraham was also seeking self glorification through his covenant with the Lord since He promises Abraham land and descendants so I wonder what makes it acceptable in the case of Abraham but not in the previous stories we have discussed.
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Your insights on whether God and Abraham should be considered praiseworthy are interesting. I agree with your view on Abraham, but not on God. Is testing someone you love praiseworthy? Is God has a covenant with Abraham, is testing him a sign of love?
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