Sacrifice

Abraham is ordered by God to sacrifice his beloved eldest son, Jacob/. Abraham is a just man and follows God’s word to the letter, so he gets a knife and takes his son to the rock where such sacrifices are made, binds the boy and prepares to cut his throat in the ritual manner. At the last minute, God intervenes and orders Abraham to sacrifice a lamb instead. We read this story with a kind of horror. What possible reason could God have to make such a demand? The standard answer is that God is testing Abraham. Abraham passes the test, and God spares Jacob. However, I think there is another possible explanation.
This may be one of the oldest stories in the Five Books of Moses. Human sacrifice has been practiced by many groups all over the world. I think it is possible that the Jews practiced such sacrifice as a matter of course as did the peoples around them. In that case, such a demand would not be unusual or unexpected. One gives God the very best. In the case of Abraham, that would be his dearly loved son. There is no tone of shock or horror in the story. Abraham simply follows God’s command. The important fact is that God stops the human sacrifice and requires the sacrifice of an animal. This would be a new requirement by God, a new law. The Jews would no longer practice human sacrifice because God no longer required it. Jews sacrificed the best animals of their flocks for generations. If this is the case, the story is older than the Cain and Able story. The men sacrificed the best of their produce. Abel, the farmer, sacrificed grain, and Cain, the shepherd sacrificed his best lamb. The tradition of sacrifice is still remembered in the Communion services of many Christian faiths. God gave his only Son to die for the sins of man