From 1918 B.C. to 1738 B.C. Isaac

As mentioned before, Isaac was born when his father, Abraham, was 100 years old and his mother, Sarah, 90 years old. At the age of 25, Isaac was almost "slaughtered" as a sacrifice for God by his father. Only when his father was about to kill him did God intervene and let him live.

The fact that Isaac did not resist when his elderly and doubtless physically weak father tied him to the wood as an offering and took out a knife to kill him shows that Isaac also had perfect faith in JHWH and was convinced that God would not leave him after his death.

In fact, JHWH used Isaac as an important link that led to the rise of the nation of Israel. He was also an important link in the process of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that, starting from him, He would produce a huge nation.

Abraham did not want Isaac to take a wife from among the women of Canaan. These women did not serve JHWH. Therefore, he sent a servant to his relatives in Mesopotamia, the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris. With the help of God, the servant found Isaac's cousin, Rebekah, in that country and took her with him to be the wife of Isaac. They really fell in love and got married when Isaac was forty years old.

Rebekah remained barren for twenty years. Isaac was already 60 years old when she became pregnant with twins. The days of her pregnancy formed a very hard time for her and the delivery was extremely painful. The two boys in her womb already fought with each other before they were born. They became the patriarchs of two nations who remained hostile towards each other for as long as they existed.

The one who was born first was called Esau. The second boy, who held on to his brother's heel when he was born, was called Jacob.

A few years after the birth of these two sons, JHWH appeared to Isaac and informed him that He would make him into an enormous and powerful nation and that the promised seed (descendant) would be born from the people of this nation. In this way, God told Isaac that he was the heir of the promise made to his father. God also told Isaac that of his two sons, He valued the younger much more than the elder one. In addition, God foretold that the elder one would have to serve the younger one (For people who want to read the literal text of God's promise to Isaac, you can find it in Genesis 26:1-6. Pay special attention to the words " by means of your seed, all the nations of the world will be blessed".)

(It is very worthwhile to read the life story of Isaac, who is a link in the genealogical register which runs from Adam to Jesus, in the Bible itself. It is to be found in the book Genesis 24:1 to 25:26.)