God tempted Abraham: Gen. 22:1, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am.
We are told that God did tempt Abraham. The word tempt has more than one meaning. It does not always mean to entice to do evil. God never did entice anybody to do evil. James said, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man,” James 1:13.
God did not entice Abraham to do evil; but he did test him; he proved him. God did not test Abraham for his own benefit; God already knew exactly what Abraham would do. There is nothing God does not know, and you can be sure he knew what Abraham would do, better than Abraham did. God understands us better than we understand ourselves.
But God tested Abraham, tried him, proved him for my benefit and yours. In this scene between Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah God used those two men to act out a clear and detailed preview of the grandest transaction of all time. Two thousand years later—if not on this very spot, at least in sight of this spot—the grandest transaction of time and eternity was going to take place.
“God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” hlh