Isaac as a Christ Figure

Some have suggested that Isaac is a type of Christ not only at his sacrifice but throughout his life as well. Most of his story is really about his father Abraham being promised a son who would be the beginning of the world being blessed. In the same way, most of the Bible (First Testament) is about Yahweh and the promises of His coming Son who would bless the whole world. When Isaac does finally come, he is immediately sacrificed and came back (Heb. 11:19) in the same way that Christ, when he came to earth, was sacrificed and then resurrected (Gen. 22).

Isaac then strangely disappears from the text, for it does not mention Isaac coming back down from the hill (Gen. 22:19) even though he was alive and Abraham said that he would return with him. Isaac is not mentioned again until Gen. 24, when Abraham’s servant gets Isaac’s bride for him. This whole chapter is about the absence of Isaac and the unnamed servant of Abraham (his name is given in Gen. 15:2 but it is strangely left out here) who gathers Isaac’s bride from a pagan country to bring her back to Isaac. In a similar way, Jesus disappears after His resurrection and ascends into heaven while the Church (the bride of Christ) awaits His return. It is then that the Father’s Holy Spirit (unnamed servant) gathers the bride of Christ from the world (pagan country) to prepare us to be taken back to Christ.

After this, the life of Isaac comes to an end. Though he is still mentioned in Gen. 25 and on, the focus of the story turns to Jacob and his life.