The Bible says that Moses was called by God to the burning bush. God reveals himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3 and 4). God thus shows that He is faithful to the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the New Testament, Jesus quotes these words in a discussion with the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living, according to Jesus.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The book of Genesis describes the history of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham is the first mentioned. He is the father of Isaac. Isaac is the father of Jacob. Jacob then had a total of twelve sons from several wives. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the three patriarchs of the people of Israel.
Abraham
Abraham is the ancestor of the Israelites. Abraham was called from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan (Genesis 12). The Lord made a covenant with Him (Genesis 15 and Genesis 17:1-4). Abraham goes with his wife Sarah to the promised land of Canaan. Abraham receives the promise from God that he would become the father of a great nation. Abraham and Sarah do not have a son for years. Ultimately, at a very old age, they had a son: Isaak.
Isaac
Isaac, the son of Abraham, marries Rebekah. Their patience is also tested. It takes years for Rebekah to become pregnant. Then it turns out she’s carrying twins. She gives birth to two sons. Esau is the older and Jacob is the younger of the two. Jacob is Rebekah’s favorite. While father Isaac prefers Esau.
Jacob
Jacob took away both the birthright of his older brother Esau and the blessing of his father Isaac. Jacob fled from Esau’s wrath. He stayed with his uncle for years and married Leah and Rachel. He had a total of twelve sons. On his journey back he fought with an angel. Henceforth Jacob was called Israel. The name Israel means ‘he who wrestles with God’.
The covenant of God with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
God makes a covenant with Abraham. He repeated this covenant promise with Isaac and Jacob. All three received the promise of the land of Canaan, the promised land, many descendants and a blessing from the Lord. Abraham was called from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan, and the Lord made a covenant with Him (Genesis 12:1-3). God confirmed the same covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac (Genesis 21:12; 26:3-4). Later the covenant was confirmed by the Lord to Jacob, the son of Isaac (Genesis 28: 14-15). When God reveals Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, it shows that He is faithful to the covenant He made with them. Psalm 105 testifies to God’s faithfulness to the covenant he made with the patriarchs.
Forever He will remember His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham and confirmed with an oath before Isaac. To Jacob He made it a law, to Israel an everlasting covenant, when He said: ‘I will give you Canaan, and the land will be your inalienable possession.’ (Psalm 105:8-11)
The calling of Moses
When the Israelites have to do hard forced labor in Egypt, they cry out to God in their need. The Lord sees how miserable his people are in Egypt. He has heard their lamentations against their oppressors. God calls Moses to free his people. Moses is at that moment tending his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep. He sees a bush that was on fire and yet was not consumed by the fire. He approached the bush when God called him. God revealed Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3). Four times in the conversation with Moses, God calls himself God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3-4). By revealing Himself in this way, God shows that He wants to be faithful to the covenant He once made with them.
Exodus 3:6: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses covered his face because he did not dare to look at God.
Exodus 3:15: He also said to Moses, “Say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me. And he said, ‘This is my name forever, and by this name I will be called by all generations to come.’”
Exodus 3:16: Gather together the elders of Israel and say to them, “The LORD, the God of your ancestors has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and said, ‘I have seen what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have accepted your lot.
Exodus 4:5: The LORD said, “By this they will believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
The fourfold repetition
In the calling of Moses it is mentioned four times that God is the God of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is a special fact. God primarily addresses Moses. God speaks to the people of Israel through Moses. The fourfold repetition refers to the four cardinal points. That refers to all peoples, all humanity. Through Moses and Israel, God wants to reveal Himself to all nations and all people as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This ties in with what the Italian Rabbi Ovadia Sforno (1470-1550) wrote about Israel’s task to ‘teach mankind that all should call on the name of God and serve him with one accord’.
Three times ‘the God of…’
Why does God reveal Himself primarily as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’ and not as ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’? Calling ‘the God of…’ three times is a bit cumbersome, isn’t it? Dan may seem that way, but this repetition is meaningful. With this, God shows that He goes his own way with everyone. Every person is unique and every person has a unique relationship with God. Abraham was called a friend of God (Isaiah 41:8), while Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32). God knows each unique person (Psalm 139: 1-6). By mentioning ‘the God of’ three times, emphasis is placed on the unique relationship that God has with every person. In this way, God shows that he wants to connect with everyone, with the believers who experience Him as a friend, like Abraham, with the doubters who struggle with God, like Jacob, and with those who believe quietly, like Isaac.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the New Testament
In a conversation with the Sadducees, Jesus calls God the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death. They test Jesus. Jesus answers them that God has said: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Jesus concludes: ‘He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew 22:32. See also: Mark 12:26, Luke 20:37).
Speeches in Acts
The Book of Acts contains several speeches by the apostles. In Peter’s speech when the Holy Spirit has only just descended on them, he says: ‘This could happen because the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors, servant, has shown the highest honor. This is Jesus whom you handed over and rejected, even when Pilate was ready to release him” (Acts 3:13). Stephen talks about the calling of Moses in his speech. God called Moses, saying, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses looked away, trembling with fear” (Acts 7:32).
The God of Jacob instead of the God of Israel
Jacob was called Israel by God after his struggle at the Jabok River (Genesis 32:24-32). That was the new name given to Jacob by God himself. Yet Jacob is called by his old name and not by his new name ‘Israel’. When the Bible speaks of ‘Jacob’ it refers to the man who wrestled with God, to the man who deceived his father, who took away his brother’s first birthright. Jacob represents a man who tries to obtain blessings, power and wealth at all costs. After wrestling with God, he stops fighting and planning. Then Jacob is blessed by God to become Israel.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Israel
Only once in the Bible is it mentioned ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Israel’. This is done by the prophet Elijah when he stands on Mount Carmel. The Baal Priests have taken on a challenge. Whichever god will ignite the sacrifice with fire from heaven will be god. After hours of praying and pleading, the Baal priests have achieved nothing. Baal doesn’t say anything.
When the hour came for the grain offering, Elijah the prophet came up to the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today it will become clear that you are God in Israel, and that I serve you, and all this in have done your assignment. Answer me, O LORD, answer me. Then this people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you are the one who leads them to repentance.” The fire of the LORD came and consumed the burnt offering, its wood, its stones, its ashes, and all; even the water in the gully licked it up. All the Israelites saw it, and they all fell on their knees and shouted, “The LORD is God, the LORD is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-39)
Blaise Pascal
An impressive testimony of the Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was found in the lining of his coat after his death. It was written on a simply folded piece of parchment. This parchment is known as Mémorial . It contained a text that Pascal wrote in response to a personal mystical experience that Pascal had on the night of his conversion in November 23, 1654.
Firework.
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob. Not from philosophers and scientists.Certainty. Security. Feeling. Joy. Peace.God of Jesus Christ.My God and yours.
Your God will be my God. The world is forgotten, and everything but God…