Gerard Van Groningen, writing in massive (1,000+ pages!) Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament (pp. 144, 145):
. . . it is assumed by many Christians that Isaac, the only beloved son place on the altar by his father Abraham as a sacrifice to God, is a clear and definite type of Christ who, as the heavenly Father’s only beloved Son, was sent by his Father to die on the cross. When, however, it comes to explaining precisely in which way Isaac was a symbol of Christ and his sacrificial death for sinners, and then an actual forward-looking type of Christ on the cross, persistent difficulties have not been overcome.
But Isaac was not sacrificed; he was not put to death; he was not burned as an incense gift to God and he made neither expiation nor propitiation for others. It was the ram provided at a suitable moment that became a substitutionary sacrifice on the altar, substituting, in fact, for Isaac. Thus, the ram slain served as a symbol and was a type of Christ who died in the place of others.
HT: Z
