One of the primary reasons God in the Old Testament demanded sacrifices of animals is to prove a point. Most pagan religions, particularly the Egyptian one, either revered animals or were part animal in their visualization of their demon gods.
Christians will slaughter every cow in India one day and have beef tacos when they convert from demon worship.
No, it was a "test" by God. He asked him to. And Abraham brought him to the alter, then God basically said haha just kidding I was just testing your love and obedience to me.
It was not a test, it was a physical description of foreshadowing the Messaiah and the Father's sacrifice. The Lord was helping us understand.
And thank you for making my point for me. God was saying don't sacrifice your children, have faith in me instead.
Abraham and Isaac is an ANTI-child sacrifice story.