Isaac - Abraham's Son of God's Promise

Vol 1 - No 15, July 27, 2004

Isaac, Abraham's son of God's promise.

Genesis 21 records Isaac's miraculous conception and birth to 90-year-old Sarah, a woman who had been barren all her life. Isaac grew up to be gentle and meek in nature as evidenced by; 1) his willingness to submit as a sacrifice offered by his father (it turned out that God provided a substitute ram for the sacrifice - Genesis 22); 2) his closeness to his mother to the point that he did not marry until age 40, after she died - Genesis 25:2020 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

; 3) his willing acceptance of a wife who the servant of Abraham had found for him - "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." - Genesis 24:6767 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

; and 4) his lack of indignation and fight when the Philistines stopped up and filled with dirt his wells, even though he no doubt had the resources to defend his property - Genesis 12- 15.

In these characteristics Isaac was a type, albeit imperfect, that pointed to Jesus Christ in His first coming to this earth. Jesus was the promised son of God; He was miraculously conceived; He lived in meekness and lowliness; and He willingly gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of mankind. But whereas Jesus Christ, the Man, lived the perfect life of faith, Isaac did not.

The Lord appeared to Isaac twice, the first occasion in Genesis 26:1 - 51 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

: "And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Isaac must have been entertaining the notion to go to Egypt because God had to tell him not to do so - Genesis 26:22 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

. It is apparent from the text that God would have had Isaac stay in the land promised him but Isaac instead went to and stayed in Gerar, and this in spite of what he knew about the marvelous acts God had done for his father Abraham. In Gerar, the land of the hostile and ungodly Philistines, Isaac like his father before him lied to save his skin. Isaac was afraid the men of Gerar would kill him and take Rebekah because of her beauty so he lied and said she was his sister - Genesis 26:6 & 76 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

. Had a man from Gerar impregnated Rebecca God's promises to Abraham for a seed to bless the earth would have been thwarted. But God intervened when King Abimelech saw Isaac and Rebecca in intimacy and surmised they were husband and wife. He told Isaac he should have said Rebekah was his wife because if a person of Gerar had tried to take her, Isaac would have brought "guiltiness upon us."

Abimelech subsequently put the word out that if anyone touched Isaac or his wife they would be put to death. And thus in spite of Isaac's weak faith God provided him prosperity and riches to the point that he was finally asked by Abimlech to leave Gerar because the Philistines were jealous - Genesis 26:8 - 158 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

. But when Isaac left the city of Gerar, he did not go far enough, he camped in the valley of Gerar which was still in the land of the Philistines - Genesis 26:1717 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

. There he continued to have problems with the people of Gerar so he finally moved on to Beersheba (Hebrew for the well of the oath) where he should have remained to begin with.

After arriving in Beersheba the Lord appeared to him a second time: "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake." - Genesis 26:2424 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

. When Isaac was finally where God wanted him to be, that is, separated from the sinful people of Gerar, they came to him recognizing the Lord was with him and asked for and established a covenant of peace with him - Genesis 26:26 - 3126 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

. And so it is for any child of God in any age, peace comes in a life of separation from sin.

In both of the Lord's appearances to Isaac, God made it very clear that His promise of blessing to Isaac was based on the oath He swore to Abraham because Abraham "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my law's." - Genesis 26:2 - 52 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

& 24. Isaac himself had the hope of resurrection. This we know from the promise of God to him in Genesis 26:33 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

: "for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries." Isaac died with the promise he would someday possess all these countries and so he knew he would be resurrected from the dead to receive the promise.

We look to Hebrews 11:2020 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

, which was written some 1800 or 1900 years after Isaac died to find the act of faith for which Isaac was borne witness to. There it reads simply: "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." That is it. Isaac's faith was that he believed God's Word that he and his offspring would obtain the land promised and be the channel of God's blessing to the earth, as promised to his father Abraham.

When was it that Isaac was chosen by God to receive the inheritance and be the channel of God's blessing to the earth? Answer, Isaac was chosen in eternity past when God chose Abraham, before Isaac was conceived. God's Word to Abraham had been: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." - Genesis 12:1 - 31 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

. And "Unto thy seed will I give this land:" - Genesis 12:77 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

. So, what did Isaac do to please God? Answer, he believed God, that is, he placed his faith in God-s Word.

Isaac's life is a pattern for us today as we learn from Romans 8:29 - 3029 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also Justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified." And from Ephesians 1:3 - 53 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself,"

In order to obtain what God has provided for us, we like Isaac, must place our faith in God's Word. Ephesians 2:8 & 98 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast."

We today who believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, are blessed with all blessings God has promised to and through His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.