There are few stories in the Old Testament more alien and offensive to the modern temperament than the story of Abraham's call to sacrifice Isaac. This was a brutal trial of an old man's faith. In a simple, moving account, this venerable patriarch is commanded by God to sacrifice the child of his advanced years - the son whom he loved dearly - as a test of his faithfulness and his willingness to be obedient to the Almighty.

Modern people wonder: did God really need to go that far in order to know how faithful Abraham would be? The tearing conflict of this trial of his faith is obvious. After all, the old man's hopes for the future were set upon this son. The fulfillment of God's promise seemed possible only through this child of his old age. Therefore, what Abraham was being commanded to …