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Person Of The Week: Isaac
Isaac is an important Old Testament figure as the “son of promise.” God vowed that Abraham would bear offspring “as the sand of the sea,” but Abraham and Sarah passed the age of childbearing without having a child. Isaac finally came along by God’s power and promise.
Isaac seemed to be a mild-mannered man. He tried to avoid trouble with the men of Gerar by lying about his relationship with Rebekah. When competing herdsmen twice confiscated his wells, Isaac peaceably moved on (Genesis 26). Isaac and his wife made a common parental mistake: They each showed personal favoritism to differing children, thus paving the way for estrangement between Jacob and Esau that is eventually resolved (Genesis 27, 32).
Paul used Isaac as an example of God’s prerogative to choose who will be His children, and His choice includes believing Gentiles (Romans 9:6-9). As Isaac came forth from parents whose bodies were reproductively dead, so those dead in sin can come to life by the regenerative power of God. All believers, Jew or Gentile, can be saved. God made this possible in Isaac’s descendant, Jesus Christ.
