Its easy to explain, but listen up. Then you can educate your preacher next time you see him, since he should have told you this already.
- Abraham was from Ur, Chaldea, somewhere around ancient Babylon. The culture he grew up in would regularly sacrifice their children (especially their firstborn sons) to false gods for reasons of prosperity and good fortune etc..
- God called him OUT of there to the land of Canaan (Israel), a place that ALSO was full of people who sacrificed children to their gods.
- God tested Abrahams faith in his newfound religion (following Yahweh) by asking him to sacrifice his own firstborn miracle-son. This was NOT out of the ordinary for Abrahams culture, but it DID serve to prove Abrahams new faith in a new God whom his fathers did not follow.
- ISAAC would have heard of the practice of child sacrifice from surrounding peoples where he lived, so it would not have phased him very much to be considered a sacrifice to the gods, since he was the firstborn son.
- After Abraham proved his newfound faith in the true God, God let Abraham specifically know that animals ONLY would be required for sacrifice, and NEVER children. Abraham's new religion was to follow a God completely unlike those he knew of in the surrounding nations.
- Later on, God confirmed this to Moses and Joshua to warn the whole nation of Israel with:
Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
***As a side note, many Witch-Doctors of pagan cultures in those areas TODAY still practice child sacrifice in order to bring good fortune to those who offer them.
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