09/15/2024 [English] The God of Isaac, My God

Title: The God of Isaac, My God

Date: September 15, 2024

Scripture: Acts 7:6-8

Last week, we delved into the faith of Abraham—the forefather of faith and the first name God proudly mentioned when He said, "I am the God of Abraham." We explored the stories of his lifelong faith and personal growth, as well as the various tests and growing pains he had to endure along the way.

However, when God calls Himself the God of Abraham, there's a name that immediately follows: the God of Isaac. So, who was Isaac?

First of all, Isaac was a second-generation believer, born into the new family of faith that officially began with Abraham.

This means that God was destined to give many blessings to Isaac not for his own sake but to bless Abraham. Because Isaac's well-being was Abraham's greatest joy and desire.

In other words, Isaac was already spiritually born with a "golden spoon." He was born destined to receive blessings.

Therefore, even if Isaac did not passionately pursue God on his own or exhibit tremendous faith—as long as he did not greatly oppose or abandon God, and didn't cause major problems—a guaranteed life of blessing awaited him.

Abraham's life was very spectacular. He moved multiple times, participated in wars, pioneered new lands, made covenants with God, and witnessed cities being annihilated before his eyes due to God's severe judgment. God's amazing works continued unceasingly in his life.

Abraham moved from Ur to Haran, from Haran to Canaan, from Canaan to Egypt, and then back to Canaan. Even excluding migrations within Canaan, if we calculate only the major moves, he traveled about 2,400 kilometers.

Then, how much did Isaac travel? His longest journey was about 40 kilometers. Born in the land of Canaan, he never left it his entire life.

This difference implies many things about Isaac's life.

Even when we consider the amount of space devoted in the Bible, the lives of Abraham, the father, and Jacob, the son, are recorded in very long narratives, whereas the record of Isaac is quite brief.

Moreover, if you look closely at those records, it's not Isaac but the people related to him who play more significant roles. Isaac appears almost like a supporting character.

The first words of Isaac recorded in the Bible were when he asked his father Abraham, at the end of a long silence on Mount Moriah—which we looked at last week—"Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" at that moment.

Even in that event, the focus wasn't on Isaac but on the process of testing Abraham, and afterward, the faith of those related to Isaac is emphasized more than Isaac himself.

Even in the process of finding his wife Rebekah, Isaac wasn't a significant figure at all.

Everything was accomplished through the conversations between Abraham and his servant Eliezer, and the actions and decisions of Eliezer and Rebekah.

At that time, Abraham commanded Eliezer:

**[Genesis 24:4]** 

Finally, in Genesis 24, where the scene unfolds of Rebekah becoming Isaac's wife, it's not Isaac but Abraham's servant—though only referred to as "the servant" here, Jewish rabbis identify him as Eliezer—whose obedience and pure faith shine brightly.

Let's look at Eliezer's prayer:

**[Genesis 24:12-14]**

Looking at his prayer, we see that while he humbly seeks the God of his master Abraham, he prays very specifically. He prays that when he is standing by the well and asks a young woman for a drink, if she responds in this way, he will know that she is the one chosen for Isaac.

He is offering such a specific prayer.

We can see that he has the wisdom to find a suitable bride, and at the same time, he possesses a pure, childlike faith that believes God will hear and guide him through specific prayers.

Moreover, his prayer is not offered in doubt, wondering whether he will receive such an answer or trying it for the first time with uncertainty. Rather, his prayer is offered with confident faith that God will surely grant it.

In the latter part of Genesis 24, the scene where Eliezer meets Rebekah's family in Haran is recorded in detail.

**[Genesis 24:48-49]**

Even though Rebekah's family in Haran did not yet have complete faith in God, they were impressed by the sincere and firm faith of Abraham's servant Eliezer in God, and by his respectful and humble demeanor toward people.

**[Genesis 24:50]**

Rebekah's brother Laban and her father Bethuel told Eliezer, "Since you have confirmed that this is God's will, we cannot say anything to you one way or the other." Even though they had just met him that day, they showed complete trust in Eliezer.

And in their presence, Eliezer reacts as follows:

**[Genesis 24:52]**

After accomplishing his important mission, he astonishingly thinks of God first rather than the people around him. This is truly giving glory to God.

Originally, Eliezer was the one whom Abraham had designated to inherit in place of a son when he had none.

**[Genesis 15:2]**

Eliezer, whose name means "God helps," was intimately close to God, and his faith manifested in treating people with honor and respect.

This is the image that we, the church sent into the world, should show to the world.

When the world sees us, they see Eliezer—the "help of God."

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet via Zoom with Pastor Go Dong-hoon, whom our church supports and whom many of you have met before. He is currently ministering in Israel. Although he had previously visited us and shared his testimony, speaking with him while he is actually in Israel—a place that appears in the news daily—felt surreal. Listening to the daily happenings there challenged me greatly.

God has led him to some of the toughest places: China, North Korea, and now Israel. Yet, we could feel how much he serves with love and joy.

He shared various stories, but he mentioned that the moments he was most grateful for in North Korea were when the Public Security Bureau officers who were following him to monitor his activities asked, "How on earth can you live like that?" Similarly, in Israel, Muslim Palestinian students asked him the same question.

At such times, he would explain how selfish and greedy he used to be—how he immigrated to the United States seeking success and wealth—and how Jesus changed him. He would share that Jesus came, died, and resurrected for sinners like us, and that because His Spirit has come upon us, we can live this way.

When he tells them that he has realized it is more joyful to live for others than for himself, that living the life God desires allows us to experience God's joy, and that only then do we find true happiness and freedom, the expressionless North Korean officers and the Muslim Palestinian students begin to shed tears, saying they too want to live that way.

Seeing the tears flowing from the officers and sharing tears with the Muslim students, the missionaries realize that a new life has been born. He said they live for that joy.

Currently, they are visiting impoverished areas in the Palestinian West Bank, where the situation is so dire that there's hardly any running water. By supplying flour and other necessities weekly, they are meeting Muslims who are gradually opening their hearts to the missionaries. Now, they even pray together in the name of Jesus.

When Christians become Eliezer—**"God's help"**—to someone, like our missionaries have, and when we are faithful to God, value all people highly, and are polite and humble, the church will be able to fulfill its mission of being **"God's light that fully illuminates the world."**

Following that event, the most famous scene involving Isaac in the Bible is when his son Jacob deceives him to receive the blessing of the firstborn.

Even in this scene, Isaac does not appear as the main character.

First, looking at the background, although not to the extent of Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah also did not have children for a long time.

**[Genesis 25:21-23]**

Throughout Isaac's life, there were continuous instances where he pleaded with God, and God answered his prayers. However, after becoming pregnant, when the twins struggled within her womb and she prayed, the words of God in verse 23—"Two nations are in your womb; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger"—were spoken to Rebekah.

It's astonishing that these prophecies—that the twins would become two nations and that the older would serve the younger, words given to Isaac's family by God—were given not to Isaac but to Rebekah.

There aren't many records about the growth process of these two sons, but a few incidents clearly show their dispositions.

When Esau returned from hunting, Jacob was cooking stew. Esau said he was famished and asked for some. Then Jacob, as if he had been waiting, laid a trap by tempting him, saying, "Sell me your birthright first!"

Jacob, being a twin, had always thought it unfair that Esau, born just a few minutes earlier, would receive the blessing and most of the inheritance. So, although it was somewhat underhanded, Jacob wanted to seize the birthright and blessing whenever the opportunity arose.

**[Genesis 25:32-34]**

Later, when Esau was 40 years old, he ignored God's will and, despite his parents' opposition, took two Hittite women, daughters of the Canaanites, as his wives.

These two incidents show, albeit briefly but definitively, that Esau did not value family order or God's will but lived relying on his own physical strength.

Therefore, it was inevitable that the older would serve the younger. For Rebekah, this became increasingly clear. There was God's prophecy, the birthright had already been transferred to Jacob through an oath, and Esau had even brought foreign women into the family despite his parents' opposition.

However, Isaac, who had witnessed all these situations, strangely still intended to give the birthright to Esau. In contrast to Rebekah, who tried to follow God's will even if it meant breaking common sense and tradition, Isaac appeared stubborn.

Eventually, Rebekah and Jacob conspired to deceive the blind Isaac. Jacob pretended to be Esau, and ultimately received all the blessings of the firstborn from Isaac.

When Isaac realized this, there's a scene where he trembles violently—a moment of intense emotional turmoil in the records about Isaac.

But why did Isaac favor Esau? Was it just because he loved the steaks Esau prepared from his hunting?

Esau was a hairy, very masculine, and free-spirited person. He did whatever he wanted. Wasn't he the exact opposite? Not only was he quite different from Jacob, but he was also extremely the opposite of Isaac.

Isaac was someone who had almost never defied authority in his entire life. He was obedient even to his father's unbelievable request to bind him and offer him as a sacrifice.

He was someone who never resisted, always yielded, avoided conflicts, and gave up what was his. Isaac was thus synonymous with obedience, and because of that, he enjoyed greater blessings than Abraham.

What does it mean that such an Isaac had a deep attachment to Esau, who was the exact opposite of himself?

The fact that Isaac, who lived his whole life obediently and compliantly, greatly loved Esau, who did not obey or conform to anything, suggests that Isaac's obedience was not always done with joy, trust in God, and love.

Didn't Isaac, at the age of 40, accept the wife his father chose for him without any regard for his own opinion and get married?

But Esau, at the same age of 40 but in stark contrast, ignored his parents' opinions and took two foreign women he desired as his wives.

Watching his son, who was the extreme opposite of himself, Isaac was experiencing vicarious satisfaction.

**[Genesis 27:1-2]**

At first glance, this scene makes it seem as though Isaac is about to die soon after giving his blessing, as if it's his final will.

However, in reality, he lived for almost another 50 years.

In his commentary on Genesis, **Calvin** says:

*"He was led by a blind love for his eldest son, preferring him over the other, and thus opposed the revelation of God. His stubborn attachment to his son was a kind of blindness, which acted as a greater obstacle than the external dimness of his eyes."*

Not only Christian commentators like **Matthew Henry** and **Albert Barnes**, but also Jewish rabbis and traditional Jewish literature, view Isaac's early physical blindness as a result of his spiritual blindness.

**Why did God cause his eyes to become blind?**

If Isaac's eyes had not grown dim, he would have ended up blessing Esau instead of Jacob, whom God had chosen, thereby committing an irreversible sin.

Therefore, the fact that Isaac, who was already spiritually blind and unable to discern God's will, lost his physical sight was an inevitable event for God's will to be fulfilled.

In a way, God protected Isaac through this.

When we think about Isaac's old age, God shares with us a sense of compassion.

Throughout his life, Isaac obeyed God's will, and even in situations that seemed unjust, he chose concession and compliance over conflict. **How many blessings came upon Isaac's life because of this?**

Whenever he dug a well, water sprang forth; when he sowed seeds, he reaped a hundredfold harvest.

In the early stages of his faith journey, he practiced a form of prosperity-oriented faith, seeking blessings from his father's God. But eventually, God, who was pleased that Isaac shared blessings even with the neighbors who troubled him, appeared to Isaac and directly blessed him.

**[Genesis 26:23-25]**

This was the moment when Isaac entered into a faith where he built **his own altar**—not his father's—and called on the name of the Lord from the altar he had constructed.

But before long, he reverted to his former ways.

**[Genesis 27:33-35]**

In this scene, observing Isaac's reaction, we see both his anger over Jacob deceiving him to steal the blessing and his acceptance that it cannot be undone—displaying the typical Isaac who conforms to circumstances.

This ultimately reveals the kind of life Isaac led. Although he felt intense anger that made his body tremble, he eventually surveyed the situation and, as always, submitted to God's will.

Isaac's life was one filled with more blessings than anyone else, and overall, it was a life that was praised. However, there are not insignificant regrets.

We, who have the Spirit of Jesus Christ—the perfect seed, the perfect Isaac—when we look at Isaac in that fullness, we notice a regret: he almost always kept God at a third-person distance, rarely approaching Him for a one-on-one encounter.

Isaac, whose name means "he laughs" or "laughter," signifying one who brings joy to God! Yet he kept God at a distance, honoring Him only as the God of his father Abraham.

He couldn't express his own desires, fearing they might differ from God's will. He didn't directly inquire of God. Instead, he always tried to discern God's will through circumstances and third parties, living compliantly while sometimes hiding his dissatisfaction in fear.

God gave him so much, but ultimately, he lived a life that didn't fully enjoy what was given.

It reminds me of the elder son in the story Jesus told. Hearing the sounds of the grand feast his father held joyfully for his younger brother who had returned home, he refused to enter the house and stood at a distance, trembling with anger.

At that moment, the father came out to find this son and said to him:

*"My son,"* he said, *"you are always with me, and everything I have is yours."*

If there are those among us who are like Isaac, they need to hear the voice of this Father.

Not living in mechanical obedience, cautiously making only the correct choices to avoid displeasing the Father, but rather, opening our hearts entirely to our Heavenly Father, whose embrace is unimaginably vast, facing Him warmly, and living a life of love.

When we feel hurt or angry, rather than conforming while watching for cues, we should ask the Lord, sometimes even crying out, sincerely and openly bringing all our sinful thoughts into the light without any veil and confessing them.

To the Lord who already knows everything... To the Lord who has been waiting for us, lay down that heavy burden and confess.

When the cross is placed on one side of the scale, bring everything before the light of truth that there is no sin heavier than that.

At last, you will meet **my God**, not just the God of my father, the God of Abraham, but the God of Isaac.