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God's Covenant with Isaac

by Paul George  
1/25/2009 / Bible Studies

In this article we will examine the covenants the Lord made with Isaac and Jacob.

There was a famine in the land and Isaac with his family and flocks went into Gerar the land of the Philistines, where he will face personal danger on account of his wife's beauty; but through the intervention of the Lord no harm will come to Isaac and his wife.

The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down into Egypt (Genesis 26:2). There was a famine in Abraham's days, and the Lord did not tell him to either go to Egypt or not to go to Egypt. There was a famine in Jacob's days, and the Lord told him to go to Egypt (Genesis 46:3-4). Abraham was a man of very intimate communion with God, and to him all places and conditions were alike. Isaac was a good man, but he was not a man who could endure hardship and testing, therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt. Jacob was accustomed to difficulties, strong and patient, and therefore he was told to go to Egypt so that his faith might be tested and his presence in Egypt through his faith will bring praise, honor and glory to the Lord.

The covenant the Lord made with Isaac was conditional; the conditions were that Isaac live in the land of the Philistines during the time of the famine and not go to Egypt. If Isaac remains in the land of the Philistines the Lord said He will be with Isaac and bless him and will establish the oath that He swore to Abraham. The Lord's obligation in the fulfilling of the covenant is, He will multiply the descendants of Isaac as the stars in the sky and will give to Isaac's descendants the land of the Philistines. In the descendants of Isaac all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 26:3-5).

It is important we note why the Lord made this covenant with Isaac. The Lord promised Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac and it would be an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:19). When the Lord made this covenant with Isaac, He told Isaac that He was making the covenant because Abraham obeyed the Lord's voice, kept His requirements, commandments, statues, and Laws (Genesis 26:5). This may imply that Abraham obeyed the laws of nature, the revealed laws of worship particularly that of circumcision, and all the extraordinary precepts God gave him, as that of leaving his country leaving his relative, father's house and the offering up of his son.

The question that needs answering is did Isaac fulfill the conditions of the covenant? The answer is found in Genesis chapter twenty-six verse six, "Isaac lived in Gerar."

The second question is did the Lord fulfill His obligations? The question is answered beginning with verse twelve of chapter twenty-six; "Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him. The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great. He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.

"Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. Abimelech said to Isaac, 'Go from us, for you are much mightier than we.' Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there'" (Genesis 26:15-16).

From the valley of Gerar, Isaac went to Beersheba, where the Lord appeared to him and told Isaac, that He was the God of Abraham and assured Isaac he had nothing to fear because He is with Isaac, will bless Isaac, and multiply his descendants for His servant Abraham's sake (Genesis 26:24).

In the reading of Genesis chapter twenty-six, did you note the difference between Isaac and Abraham? What was the difference?

In his journey from Beersheba to Haran, Jacob came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He lay down to sleep and in a dream he saw a ladder that extended into heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it, and Yahweh stood above it, and said, to him. "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you" (Genesis 28:10-16).

Jacob used a stone for a pillow; he set the stone up for a pillar and poured oil on its top and called the place Bethel, although the name of the city was Luz. Before leaving Bethel Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you" (Genesis 28:20-22).

In a place that Jacob will call Peniel, Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. The man Jacob wrestled is called an angel in Hosea chapter twelve verse four. There are scholars who claim the angel was the preincarnate Christ. We are told by the prophet; Jacob during this wrestling with this man, Jacob wept and made supplication (Hosea 12:4).

When the dawn was breaking the man Jacob was wrestling told Jacob to let him go and Jacob told the man he would not let him go unless you bless me. This is evidence that Jacob knew this was no mere man he was wrestling. The man asked Jacob, what was his name and Jacob told him Jacob and the man told Jacob you will no longer be Jacob but Israel. The name Jacob means "he supplants." The name Israel means "he strives with God."

When Jacob, who is now called Israel, asked the man what his name was, the man asked him why he wanted to know his name and he blessed Israel.

In Genesis chapter forty-six verses one through four, we are told; "Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, 'Jacob, Jacob!' He said, 'Here I am.' He said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph will close your eyes.'"

In response to the Lord's command to go to Egypt, "Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt--Jacob, and all his seed with him, his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and he brought all his seed with him into Egypt" (Genesis 46:5-7).

"These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. The son of Dan: Hushim. The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven. All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty-six. The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy" (Genesis 46:8-27).

From these seventy sons and grandsons of Jacob/Israel the Lord will fulfill the promise to make Abraham a great nation. The entrance of Jacob with his sons and grandsons into Egypt marked the beginning of the prediction that the descendants of Abraham will be strangers in a land that is not theirs (Genesis 15:13).

While many people and the heads of nations and Christians and the leadership of many churches deny the Lord is no longer obligated to fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham and reaffirmed with Isaac and Jacob, the death of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the disobedience of the majority of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not annul the covenant the Lord made with Abraham; the lord fulfilled the temporal blessings of the covenant and He will fulfill the everlasting promises of the covenant.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

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The World English Bible

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