From Abraham Abinu we’ve learned that God is one, the He does not have a body and that He cares about us as a father cares about his children.
Yitzchak, Abraham’s son, revealed an additional layer of God/Israel – Father/son relationship: same as a father, God is also the authority.
Yitzchak experienced this matter “literally” in his own flesh. Although we always think about Abraham’s great courage when he was ordered to sacrifice Yitzchak, we should also bear in mind Yitzchak’s thoughts and feelings at the time of his sacrifice (which after all is called Akedat Yitzchak, the sacrifice of Yitzchak!). Yitzchak was not a baby but a fully conscious adult man. Our Rabbis explained that Yitzchak knew exactly what Abraham’s intentions were and far from rebelling against his father he was willing to offer his life to fulfill God’s commandment.
While Abraham discovered God’s love (Chesed) for His children, Yitzchak discovered God’s power (Gebura) over our lives. Abraham saw that HaShem gave us our lives, Yitzchak also realized that it is God who determines when our lives end.
From Abraham and Yitzchak we’ve learned that God is simultaneously our father and our King (abinu malkenu). As a father, we owe God our appreciation, as a King we owe God obedience.
Same as our parents, we love haShem but we must also revere Him.
