In Hebrews 11:20, it was “By faith that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.” And he blessed them knowing what his two boys were like too, because neither of them deserved any sort of blessing. They were fighting each other before they were born (Genesis 25:22), and swiping at each other after that, causing much upset along the way.
But by faith Isaac blessed them, because it was his turn now, just like his father, to “live by faith in the things promised” in Hebrews 11:13. And what God had personally promised Isaac was continuing in him the exact same blessing he’d given to Abram, that “all nations on earth will be blessed” through their family line (Genesis 26:3-4). On that point alone, therefore, Isaac had total confidence in the future.
He had further reason to be confident too, because if it wasn’t for God enabling his mother Sarah to bear children when naturally she couldn’t (Genesis 16:1), Isaac wouldn’t have been born. And topping that off, if it wasn’t for God miraculously enabling his wife Rebekah to bear children when she couldn’t naturally either (Genesis 25:21), Jacob and Esau wouldn’t have been born. So, with two “resurrections” from the dead already – in life being given to two dead wombs – God was making it abundantly clear that the future of his promise through Isaac and his family was utterly secure.
And according to Hebrews 11:19, Isaac himself was “figuratively” a resurrection from the dead too, because his father Abraham had been ordered by God to sacrifice him, but at the last minute God intervened and saved his life. So with three “resurrections” from the dead under his belt, no wonder Isaac had total confidence in the future for his two kids too, since they were next in line for God to fulfill his promise through.
And isn’t it amazing that Isaac willingly submitted to being sacrificed? – taking into account that he was old enough to carry all the wood required for the sacrifice (Genesis 22:6), and strong enough too, therefore, to resist Abraham who was well over a hundred years old. But living by faith in God’s promise being continued through him, as well as the evidence that God could resurrect from the dead, would have given Isaac the confidence to submit to being killed. Through Isaac too, then, God was revealing his salvation process, that we can all have total confidence in the future too, because of God’s power to resurrect.
So how was God revealing his salvation process through Isaac’s son Jacob next? It’s in Jacob realizing “In God we have a Shepherd”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 