Abraham was a man of faith. God spoke to Abraham on numerous occasions. Five times in Genesis records Abraham building an altar to God.
The Altar at Bethel
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Genesis 12:7)
The altar at the oak of Moreh
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)
Again, at the altar of Bethel
and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. Genesis 13:4
At Hebron By the oaks of Mamre
So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD. (Genesis 13:18)
Mountain at the region of Moriah
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. (Genesis 22:9)
Abraham obeyed God. He left his homeland when God told him to. Regarding Isaac, the child of promise Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. The Lord was very clear to Abraham that this child Isaac was the child of promise. There is nothing like the experience Abraham had at the altar of Mount Moriah.
Isaac is portrayed throughout his life as a man of faith like his father. When we read the account of Mount Moriah we do not specifically read the reaction of Isaac. But we get the idea. If Abraham is trusting God with this, then so would his son Isaac.
All the way to make the sacrifice we do not know he was not willing to obey his father. We read he asked questions, like where is the sacrifice but not protesting. We assume he was ten years old with a simple faith. We know that Abraham was in submission to God, and it seems that Isaac was trusting his father.
Isaac must have grown up hearing from his father and mother that he was a special child of promise. He would undoubtedly have heard the story of how his parents received the promise and waited 25 years for the fulfillment.
My wife and I have a son name Isaac. We named him after the Isaac of our story here. I know we have told our Isaac many times why we laughed when we found out we were expecting him. Why wouldn’t Abraham and Sarah have told their Isaac many times the miraculous way he became the son of promise.
At Mount Moriah Abraham heard God speak. and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18) God was speaking to Abraham regarding Isaac. He would have undoubtedly known he was a child of destiny of promise.
Not only did Isaac hear God declare him as the child of promise, but he saw how obedience to God was connected with blessing. Isaac had a godly heritage, but it is never enough to rest on the laurels of the parents. Each person must own their faith.
God calls each one to personal faith. Isaac had that personal faith. He himself was listed in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. And Isaac passed on the faith to his children.
Jesus acknowledged the faith of Isaac. When he affirmed the faith of the centurian speaking of heaven he said, those with faith When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 11:10-11)
God often reveals himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the child of promise. Isaac becomes a man of faith.
We see Isaac the man of prayer and devotion. We see Isaac built an altar and he was dedicated to worship and prayer. Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (Genesis 26:25). As the child of promise it was significant who Isaac married. Much prayer went in to who Isaac would marry.
Abraham prayed and sent his servant back to his homeland that he left 60 years before. There is clear evidence that Abraham thought God was in this, that the wife for Isaac was God’s choice. When the servant returned with Rebekah, Isaac was in the field praying.
God had great plans for Isaac and the right mate was part of those plans. The child of promise would marry the right woman, Rebekah, based on the will of God.
Isaac was a man of family devotion. He has glowing attributes in his family relationships. Isaac and Rebekah have been referred to as the first love story in the Bible. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. (Genesis 24:67)
Isaac had a very strong marriage relationship. Of all the patriarchs Isaac was the only husband of one wife. He didn’t marry another wife or have relations with a concubine. Isaac was a faithful loving husband to Rebekah.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah and he was still grieving 3 years later after his mother Sarah died. Isaac and Rebekah had to wait patiently on God twenty years before they had twin boys Jacob and Esau. Isaac was faithful in family relationships. His love for his mother and his wife and steadfastness in family relationship show his noble character.
He was the child of promise. It must be some feeling to be an Abraham or an Isaac. To sense that destiny and promise lie on your shoulders.
Did you know that not only Isaac was a child of promise, but you are as well? When you believe in Christ you are a child of promise, a person of destiny as Isaac.
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)
Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. (Galatians 4:28)
Your promise and your destiny with faith in Christ is heaven. You are a person of destiny right now. God has a plan for your life.
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:20-25)
Are you justified by faith? Yes, therefore you are a child of promise and person of destiny. Remember that God has a purpose for you. Your life will make a difference. You are a child of promise. Live like a child of promise. It matters how you walk with Christ.
