Genesis 30:5

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

Geneva Bible - So Bilhah conceived and bare Jacob a son.

Genesis 24:8

And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

Geneva Bible - Nevertheless if the woman will not follow thee, then shalt thou be (*) discharged of this my oath; only bring not my son thither again.
(*) Hebrew: innocent.

Genesis 24:7

The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed [descendants]will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Geneva Bible - The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land where I was born, and that spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, (*) Unto thy seed will I give this land, he shall send his Angel before thee and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
(*) Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:4 .

Genesis 24:6

And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring [take] not my son thither again.

Geneva Bible - To whom Abraham answered, Beware that thou bring not my son (d) thither again.
(d) Lest he should lose the inheritance promised.

Genesis 24:5

And the servant said unto him, Peradventure [perhaps] the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs [take] bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

Geneva Bible - And the servant said to him, What if the woman will not come with me to this
land? Shall I bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

Genesis 22:16

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son:]


Geneva Bible - And said, (*) By (h) myself have I sworn (saith the LORD) because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thine only son,
(*) Psalm 105:9; Luke 1:73; Hebrews 6:13 .
(h) Signifying, that there is no greater than he.

Genesis 22:13

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son.

Geneva Bible - And Abraham lifting up his eyes, looked, and behold, there was a ram behind him caught by the horns in a bush; then Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

My commentary:  Just as Abraham was willing to offer up his only true son, the promised seed for salvation of the world (Jesus himself would be born through the descendents of Isaac), God offered his only son once, to take on all the sins of the entire world.  Abraham was given a Ram as a substitute, which is what the Jew's would do until the day of Jesus Christ.  When he was offered as the final substitute offering on the cross at Golgatha, the veil was torn (split) in two, showing the holy of holies was no longer needed (No more sacrifice required to God for a sin offering of the entire peoples).  What God kept Abraham from doing, in his love of Abraham, he was willing to do for all of us, to this very day, in offering his Son as the last perfect, unblemished Lamb of God.

Genesis 22:12

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.


Geneva Bible - Then he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything unto him; for now I (f) know that thou fearest God, seeing for my sake (*) thou hast not spared thine (♣) only son.
(f) That is, by thy true obedience thou hast declared thy lively faith.
(*) Or, and hast not withholden thine only son from me.
(♣) Hebrew: thy son, the only son.

My commentary:  God prevents Abraham from commiting the sacrifice, as God abhors human sacrifice of any kind (This is what would cause the destruction of the peoples of Canaan when the Israelites are entering).  God was TESTING Abraham, to see if he would believe and trust God (Faith), that even though he promised him his seed would be the heir (Isaac) of the promise by God, that he would believe and trust him and sacrifice his son.  Once Abraham passed the test, God stopped him.

As to whether people today believe God was merciless or cruel in doing this, please consider that God Himself, would offer up his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who entered this world through the seed of Isaac, as the last blood sacrifice to rid the world of sin forever.  That Son would be the perfect, unblemished lamb of God, who would take on all the sin's of the world and all the agony it entailed, and be tortured and hung on a tree, ending once and for all the requirement of a blood sacrifice for the reproachment of sin.

Genesis 22:8

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.


Geneva Bible - Then Abraham answered, My son, God will (d) provide him a lamb for a burnt
offering; so they went both together.
(d) The only way to overcome all temptations, is to rest upon God's providence.

Genesis 22:7

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering? 


Geneva Bible - hen spake Isaac unto Abraham his father, and said, My father. And he answered, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Genesis 22:2

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.


Geneva Bible - And he said, Take now thy only son Isaac whom thou lovest, and get thee unto the land of (a) Moriah, and (b) offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will shew thee.
(a) Which signifieth the fear of God, in the which place he was honored, and Solomon afterward built
the Temple.
(b) Herein stood the chiefest point of his tentation, seeing he was commanded to offer up him in
whom God had promised to bless all the nations of the world.

Genesis 21:11

And the thing was very grievous [distressing] in Abraham's sight because of his son.


(Geneva Bible) - And this thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight, because of his son.

Genesis 21:9

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking [scoffing, literally laughing].

(Geneva Bible) - And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian (which she had born unto Abraham) (c) mocking.
(c) He derided God's promise made to Isaac, which the Apostle calleth persecution, Galatians 4:29 .

Genesis 21:7

And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck [nurse children]? for I have born [him] a son in his old age.

(Geneva Bible) - Again she said, (b) Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age.
(b) She accuseth herself of ingratitude, that she did not believe the Angel.

Genesis 21:3

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac [literally, "laughter"].

(Geneva Bible) - And Abraham called his son’s name that was born unto him, which Sarah bare
him, Isaac.

(Scofield ref Bible)  Sara, type of grace, free woman, and of "Jerusalem which is above"

Isaac is typical in a fourfold way:

1.  Of the church as composed of the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal iv 28

2.  Of Christ as the son "obedient unto death" Gen xxii. 1-10, Phil ii 5-8

3.  Christ as the Bridegroom of the called out bride (Gen 24)

4.  Of the new nature of the believer as "born after the spirit" (Gal IV 29)

Genesis 21:2

For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken
to him.

(Geneva Bible) - For (*) Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his (a) old age, at the same
season that God told him.
(*) Matthew 1:2; Acts 7:8; Galatians 4:23; Hebrews 11:11 .

Genesis 18:14

Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Genesis 18:10

And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall
have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him.

Genesis 17:19

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed [descendants] after him.

Genesis 17:16

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of [by] her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her.