Genesis is all about personal and family relationships. Genesis 22.1-14 is an interesting passage to reflect on. You could say it’s about a father and son relationship that has the potential to go wrong. At a superficial level it appears God is testing Abraham to see if his loyalty to his long awaited son Isaac outstrips his love and devotion to him. In some ways it’s a difficult story because at first glance Abraham is contemplating child sacrifice.

Traditionally this story has been seen by Christian commentators as a prefiguring of the death of Christ. God the father makes a way of atonement for sinful humanity. Jesus is the lamb of God, God’s solution to redeem a rebellious world.