The binding of Isaac is one of the most famous stories in the Torah. There is a lot of drama in the story, from G-d’s request to Abraham to sacrifice his son, to the speed with which Abraham ran to blindly follow G-d’s order without asking any questions, to Isaac’s willingness to go along, and so on.
Today, I would like to jump to the end of the story, when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, and he hears an angel of G-d call out to him and say, “Stop!”
In the exchange that follows, we read something very unusual. G-d reveals to Abraham that this is a test, and the reason for the test. G-d essentially tells Abraham that He wanted to see if Abraham was willing to put everything on the line for Him, and, G-d says, “Now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man!”
Why does G-d let Abraham in on his reasoning? It is not common for G-d to fill us in on his thinking as to why he tests us. Why is this time different, and what can we learn from it?
Abraham wondered to himself, “Does the fact that I was told to stop mean that I am a bad Jew? Is there a reason why I was told to stop? Have I failed you, G-d, in some way or another? Perhaps,” he thought, ”I am not a good person.” This self-destructive thought bothered G-d, who knew this type of thinking could destroy a person, and G-d did not want that to happen. It bothered G-d that Abraham had passed the test of his life, had put everything on the line just for G-d, yet, Abraham was not sure of himself. To lift Abraham’s spirits, He informed Abraham that not sacrificing his son had nothing to do with him; it was never the plan to actually kill Isaac. This was just a test, and Abraham passed it with flying colors.
In our lives, we, too, have to know to not look back and question every action. There are times when we do our best, and looking back and questioning our actions is not going to get us anywhere. Yes, we must ask, “Are we G-d-fearing?” And if we can answer with a resolute yes!, then we move forward, and we should know that this, too, is a test from G-d.
The point of a test is so that we can come out of the challenge as a stronger person, as a stronger Jew.