Implicit Trust in God's Promises

Jehovah identified Isaac as the long awaited heir.  (Genesis 21:12)  So Abraham must have been stunned when God asked him to sacrifice his son. Yet, Abraham had sound reason to trust God implicitly. Was Jehovah not able to  raise Isaac from the dead?  (Hebrews 11:17-19)  Had God not proved his power by miraculously reviving the reproductive powers of Abraham and Sarah in order to bring about Isaac's birth in the first place?  Convicted of God's ability to fulfill His promises, Abraham was ready to obey. True, he was prevented from actually slaying his own son.  (Genesis 22:1-14 )   Nevertheless, the role Abraham played in this regard helps us to see how difficult it must have been for Jehovah God to 'give h  his only begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.' -John 3:16; Matthew 20:28.

Faith in God made it plain to Abraham that the heir to Jehovah's promises could not marry a false worshiper of the land of Canaan. How could a godly parent approve of his child's marriage to anyone not serving Jehovah?  Abraham thus sought a suitable wife for Isaac among his relatives in Mesopotamia, more than 500 miles away.  God blessed that endeavor by indicating that Rebekah was the woman he had  chosen  to become Isaac's bride and an ancestress of the Messiah.  Yes, Jehovah  "blessed Abraham in everything." -Genesis 24:1-67; Matthew 1:1, 2. 

Next time: Blessings for All Nations

From the Watchtower magazine, 2004