Isaac and the Substitute

Genesis 22 along with Heb. 11:17-19 present us with an example of a key "type" (i.e., pattern, model, foreshadowing) in the Old Testament of the substitutionary sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of his people. In these passages we see the unwavering faith of Abraham that God would preserve the life of Isaac so that through him a multitude of peoples would be born. We see the quiet trust and submission of Isaac to his father's acts of presenting the burnt offering to God. Most wonderfully, we see the picture of Yahweh's gracious provision of the ram (his Son Jesus Christ) as the offering for the sins of his people.