The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

 

The "Faith of the Fathers" was an ambiguous cliche phrase to me until, as one friend termed it, I was binging on Scripture by reading ten chapters-a-day chunks.  It has now come clear to me what this phrase could mean.

Align "faith of our fathers" up against "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob".  Then go "binge-read" Genesis and then the opening chapters of Exodus.  As you read think of these two expressions and how they could relate to each other.

As highlighted in the previous blog entries:  Lord's Day Devotion - He Built Altars; Dig For Yourself; More About Wells, and Anointed Pillow Pillar, you'll get the drift and feel of these two word groups.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob feared, revered and called upon the LORD their God; they built altars to Him as signposts of their reliance on Him for His care and protection, and faith in his promises and promise-keeping. Thanksgiving, but also worship - to praise God for Who He is, was their response.  He was their God and Personal Friend.

They would talk to Him.  He heard and answered them.  They were grateful and learned to give thanks and worship Him.  It is significant.  They chose to make Him their God.

God was already there.  He waited though for them to acknowledge.  They did, so much so, it became noted.  Whose God was He?  He was (& still is) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This was the "power and authority" which Moses and Aaron claimed, and in this "seal of credibility", they came recommended to the suffering Hebrews in Goshen, Egypt to bring them the message of hope from this God.

NOT the god of Egypt or elsewhere, but THE God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Ahh.  This, they could and would listen to!

Besides the power and authority aspect, it is endearing.  There is comfort in knowing which god.  Furthermore, because this God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their ancestors, He'll be ours too; you might "hear" them thinking.

Yes, the Israelites did struggle with this throughout their wilderness trek and life in the Promised Land.  So do we now.  Yet, this is The one and only true God who is stable, Who loves and cares, Who is true to His Word; Who keeps us; Who rescues from slavery - literal for the children of Israel; and from the bondage of sin for us today.  He's the same God.

It is through the faith of these men - the "faith of the fathers" - that this God became known as the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob".

Has He become your God?  Do we fear, revere, praise Him; give our thanksgiving and worship to Him through our faith in Jesus Christ?  If you have chosen this God to be your God, you can say He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yes, but He is also the God of ___________(insert your name).

Start a line of faith in your family if it hasn't already begun.  If not, let the "faith of our fathers" begin with you.  Let your children see and know this one true God is also your God.  Pray they have this same faith through Jesus and will pass it on to the third and fourth generation and beyond.

May the Light of Jesus shine forth, and many find their hope in Him through us.  May the Holy Spirit illuminate this in our hearts, softened by the power of God, give our heart wholeheartedly to Jesus, as Savior and Lord.  God is our Hope from ages past.  He is our present Hope through Jesus and He is our Hope for all eternity to come.

Let us be steadfast and let God be our God.  He is living still.  May the "faith of our fathers" be a mantle over us to be passed on...

                                                     ~ERC  August 2021~

Based on Genesis and Exodus 1-10 (especially 3:5, 15).

Sing, Faith of Our Fathers, along with the Morman Tabernacle Choir