42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”
The God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac. The names we use to describe God say a lot about our image of Him and our relationship with Him. If He is the “man upstairs” He is not very personal or reachable. “The Old Man” brings up a different picture, probably stern and a bit distant. “The Big Guy” and “Him” (usually with some sort of hand gesture pointing up), make Him even more distant and removed. In this passage we see two very different ways of relating to God. Abraham had a close personal relationship and Isaac’s seemed to be more distant. Abraham was called God’s friend. We don’t get the sense that Isaac was as close. People must have heard Isaac refer to the Lord from a fearful stance, thus they received from him his impression of God. He was afraid of God. How do we refer to the Lord. Are they terms of reverence, awe and humility, or entitlement, disrespect and condescension?
The Arnold Journey 