"I will go down and see." (Gen. 18:21)
The great commentator Rashi explains that G-d descended to see the "end" of the deeds of the Sodomites. Although the people of Sodom did indeed sin, G-d looked, so to speak, to their last deeds; would they regret them and repent, or would they remain entrenched in their evil ways. (Sefer HaMaamarim)
"Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac" (Gen. 22:2)
G-d said to Abraham, "Take your son [to be sacrificed]."
Abraham said, "I have two sons, Isaac and Ishmael."
G-d said, "Your only son."
Said Abraham, "Each one is an only son to his mother."
G-d said, "Whom you love."
"I love both of them," replied Abraham.
"Take Isaac," G-d commanded. (Sanhedrin; Rashi)
And Abram rose up early in the morning (Gen. 22:3)
The fact that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son on the altar does not in itself adequately illustrate how dedicated he was to G-d. For did G-d, Himself, not speak to Abraham, saying, "Take your son, your only son"? Throughout the generations, there has been no scarcity of Jews willing to give up their lives to sanctify the Name of G-d even when G-d did not speak directly to them.
Rather, there is another merit and issue at stake in the fact that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, and that is the speed with which he hurried to fulfill the command. In fact, all of Abraham's deeds were done with a similar liveliness and alacrity, demonstrating his great joy and desire to fulfill G-d's will and bring pleasure to the Creator. This quickness to performing a mitzva, a trait of our forefather Abraham, stands as a merit for all of us until today. (Tanya)
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayera 5763/2003 (Issue #794) email of L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Brooklyn, NY.