Does God contradict Himself? Abraham & Isaac

Right in the middle of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13 and yet God commanded Abraham to “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.” Genesis 22:2

God DID NOT command Abraham to kill Isaac. But God DID commanded Abraham to offer Isaac for a burnt offering.

Is commanding Abraham to kill Isaac the same as commanding Abraham to offer Isaac for a burnt offering? No, because one requires Abraham to break God’s own commandment and the latter does not.

Let us take a look at the sign of Jonah to better understand this story:

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.” Jonah 1:11-16

In the above story, through prophet Jonah, the word of God to the mariners was: “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you.” However, the mariners thought the word of God was for them to kill Jonah so they cried “We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood.”

Did the mariners end up killing Jonah? No. Likewise, when Abraham obeyed God’s command to offer up Isaac for a burnt offering, he did not end up killing Isaac. This is why Abraham obeyed God and said to the two young men that were with him: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” Genesis 22:5