I don't think that this is even remotely a reasonable story. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, in what apparently amounts to a test. Abraham seems pretty game, so he prepares some wood for burning his son's corpse and sets off for Moriah to engage in some classic filicide. He binds his unwitting son (clearly trying to prevent him from escaping like any reasonable murderer would do). He takes the knife "to slay his son" (beautiful word choice here) but God reveals it all to be a big prank. Ashton jumps from the bushes. Abraham looks afraid and then laughs to himself, claiming he knew all along. The clip goes down in MTV history. Well, more accurately, life just goes on. God is glad to know that Abraham "fears" him (notice the word isn't "believes in" or the like). He gives him an actual offering which kind of seems to defeat the purpose of the sacrifice in the first place. Then he tells Abraham that because he was such an eager murderer, his descendants will be "as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore", which is a tall order still waiting to be filled.
True sacrifice isn't murdering someone you love. Their life was never yours to sacrifice. A true sacrifice is an act done against one's own interest in the duty of others - especially allowing oneself to die.
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