Reiteration



Genesis 22:13-23
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
18and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,
22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”
23(Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Today’s reading overlaps yesterday’s a little because we really didn’t deal with the reiteration of the promise that God makes to Abraham regarding his descendants. It is worth a second look.

First of all, as one of my readers pointed out (thanks, Greg!) in all likelihood, not only did Abraham hear what God had to say about this test, so did Isaac. He was not present when the covenant between God and Abraham has made. He was not in fact even born. But the promise includes Isaac, so it seems fitting that he too should hear the promise with his own ears. Listed at the end of this passage are the descendants of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. It was from this line that Isaac would get a wife. Note in verse 23 it says that Bethuel was the father of Rebekah. She becomes the wife of Isaac. God’s plan stretches out into the distant future, just as it still does today.

We also cannot let verse 15 & 16 go by unnoticed.  “And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord…” God has sworn by Himself! His is the only Word that is 100% believable. He didn’t swear by anything earthly or human because those things are all passing away. Instead, He swore by Himself as proof that all He has said will come to pass. All of it. That seems so simple and rather ridiculous to note. But it is crucial to us. If all that He has said is true then we have nothing to fear. That means He truly does love us. It means that He truly did accept the death of Jesus to pay for our sins. It means that when the time is right Jesus will return for us.

Let’s face it, sometimes (maybe often) our lives here seem harried and filled with strife. We are prone to a myopic view of life that centers only on the ugly here and now. But passages like this one point out that there is so much more – and it is filled with promise and hope. God hasn’t forgotten His promises. He hasn’t decided to renege on the deal. He is here with us providing all that we need, just like He provided the sacrifice for Abraham and Isaac that day on the mountain. He provided the sacrifice for us as well in the Person of Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, whom shall I fear?

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