The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

There are several names, phrases, and descriptions used for God throughout the Bible. In this lesson, we are going to focus on one of these – He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When God called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, this is how He first identified Himself to him. This description emphasizes God’s covenant relationship with His people. When understood in the overall picture of the Bible, it assures us that God keeps His promises.

God’s Appearance to Moses

• God appeared to Moses in the burning bush – identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the patriarchs)
  • Abraham – father of the faithful (Romans 4:11-12, 16)
  • Isaac – son of promise (Genesis 18:10; cf. Romans 9:9)
  • Jacob – father of the nation of Israel (Genesis 46:27; Deuteronomy 10:22; 26:5)
• God was sending Moses to deliver His people from Egypt – He saw their suffering (Exodus 2:23-25; 3:7); He was going to deliver them because of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• God was going to prove that He keeps His promises – no matter how unlikely it seemed (Exodus 3:8)

God’s Promise to Abraham

• The promise was threefold (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:16-18)
  • Nation – his descendants would grow to be a powerful nation
  • Land – they would receive the land of Canaan (Genesis 17:8)
  • Seed – would bless all nations; this pointed ahead to Christ (Acts 3:25)
• The promise continued to the next generations – to Isaac (Genesis 26:1-5); to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15; 35:9-12)
• The promise was not dependent upon man’s help
  • Abraham’s suggestion of Eliezer (Genesis 15:1-4) – tried to arrange to have another heir
  • Sarah’s suggestion of Hagar (Genesis 16:1-4; 17:15-19) – tried to have a son with another woman
  • The test of offering Isaac (Genesis 22:1-3, 10-12) – he could have tried to protect him instead

Abraham’s Response of Faith

• He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3) – “credited to him” (NASB); accounted by God
• He believed even though it was contrary to human reasoning (Romans 4:17-22) – “in hope against hope”; his body was “as good as dead” and Sarah’s womb was “dead”
• His faith led to obedience (James 2:21-24) – he was willing to offer Isaac; he reasoned that God could raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19)

The Promise for Us

• We are justified by faith, just like Abraham (Romans 4:22-5:1) – we believe in God, believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, and that He died for our sins
• We can be heirs of the same promise (Galatians 3:26-29) – we have this promise if we belong to Christ (through faith, baptized into Christ)
• We have hope because of who God is – “I AM” (Exodus 3:14); Jesus used this to prove the reality of the resurrection (Matthew 22:31-32); we have “strong encouragement” to take hold of this hope (Hebrews 6:13-20)

Conclusion

• God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – He described Himself this way to emphasize the covenant relationship He has with His people and to assure us that He keeps His promises to those who are faithful
• We serve the same God who keeps His promises to those in a covenant relationship with Him – let us believe in Him and serve Him by faith; we do this IN Christ today