Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
12:15 PM
I
have been stuck in a study of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for a week and it is
always so fascinating to me.
The
One True God calls Abram out of Ur and he and his family travel from Ur, along
the Euphrates River to Haran. Eventually they go down to Egypt and then back to
the Jordan River Valley near Hebron. Several times Abraham is in Damascus which
is Northern Israel. Isacc, son of Abraham and his family seem to stay in the
vicinity of the Jordan River Valley (Southern Israel) most of the time. Jacob, son of Isaac, leaves the Jordan River
Valley (Southern Israel) and travels far north to Haran to find his wives Rebekah
and Leah. When he leaves Haran to head
back to his homeland he meets God who changes his name to Israel and he settles
back in the Jordan Valley which becomes called the land of Isreal.
On
Jacobs travels back to the Jordan Valley he encounters a man whom he wrestles
for a night. The man eventually gives
Jacob a blessing and Jacob knows he has
just seen the face of God. The place is
called Peniel "The Face of God".
He then meets his estranged brother Esau and they reconcile. Jacob settles near Shechem where more trouble
follows him and his family.
It
seems that once Jacob is named Israel trouble becomes normal life for the
family.
The
family is stubborn and hot headed. They
are rebellious in life and rebellious to God.
The brothers sell their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery. But God is still holding on to his promise to
Abraham, Issac and Jacob that he will make them a great nation. Joseph is a slave in Egypt but eventually
becomes a great Egyptian leader. During
a great famine he saves his lost family living in Edom and they all move to
Egypt only to becomes slaves as the centuries move on. God sends Moses to get the Israelite's out of
slavery. They wander through the desert
for 40 years with God taking care of them and keeping them alive. God finally lets them into the Promise Land
where they battle the idol worshipping pagans but still do not obey God. They are taken captive again and again. They fight with the pagans and they fight
amongst themselves. God finally send the
promised Messiah to save them but they kill him. That was over 2,000 years ago and they are
still fighting, still waiting for their Messiah and still a hated nation of
people. In a nutshell, nothing has changed for the chosen people of God since
Abraham was called out of Ur to a promised land.
This
brief summary spans around 4,000 years.
We can only estimate the years from Adam to Noah and then Noah to
Abraham but it could be another 4,000 years or more. Father God keeps calling to his chosen people
to repent and come to him. He still
wants to have a relationship with his creation.
He still loves us even when we are rebellious and stubborn. He continues to keep the earth rotating, the
sun shining and letting us breath air.
Jesus
walked the earth about 2,000 years ago and did his best to open up the door
between mankind and God. He told his
followers that the only way to come to the Father was through him and his offer
of salvation for eternal life. He told
his followers that faith, hope and love were the ways of God. He said to love each other and not kill each
other. He showed signs and wonders to
back up his claim to be God in the flesh.
His own preachers and teachers denied him and hung him on a cross. They turned their backs on God. Hundreds of people saw Jesus alive after his
death but many could not and would not believe this could ever be
possible. They turned their backs on the
Son of God.
Today
we still have signs and wonders that happen but many choose not to
believe. Many still choose to walk in
the desert, disobey God, seek their own selfishness, follow after pagan idols,
lie, steal, cheat, kill and destroy others.
They choose to turn their backs on God, his Son and his Holy Spirit.
It
can be an amazing journey if we are seeking God and his ways and every once in
a while a heart sparks and an ear hears that whisper from God that says,
"Come to me! Follow me!"
