And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Genesis 22:6 (NASB)
Fire is dangereous. It burns. It destroys. But when you look carefully at scripture, it is also a symbol of where God dwells.
The first time we see this Hebrew word אֵשׁ (esh), or fire, it’s when God passes between the pieces of the sacrifice before Abraham. It’s there that we first learn that God reveals himself in the flame.
Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which passed between these pieces.
Genesis 15:17 (NASB)
The next time we see it, God rains down fire and brimstone from heaven onto the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Lot’s wife looked back at the destruction of the city, we wonder: did she see God in the ensuing pillar of fire? Is this why she died?
Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven.
Genesis 19:24 (NASB)
After Genesis, the next time we see the esh, it’s in the Burning Bush, where God meets Moses.
Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.
Exodus 3:2 (NASB)
So in this passage in Genesis 22, with the fire in his hand, we read that Abraham walks with his son. Together.
Perhaps we’re meant to understand that God is there, too.