In the Bible you can find couples that are very blessed for the people of the Lord, an example can be the couple in the New Testament aquila and priscillawho were a great support for the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
And also, couples or men and women who received the blessing of God can be found in the Old Testament, that is the case of Isaac, the only son of the couple Abraham and Sara. So here you will find the story of Isaac, the meaning of him, his faith and who he married, therefore, continue reading to solve all your doubts.
Isaac was the son promised by God to Abraham and Sarah. The Bible offers several references to Isaac, both in the Old Testament and in the New. Isaac is known as the promised son of God and his offspring were blessed by God (Hebrews 11:18).
See also: Why is Isaac the Son of Promise?
What does the name Isaac mean?
The name Isaac means “laughter”, “he who laughs”, from the Hebrew yitschaq. It was God himself who commanded Abraham that this be the name of the child.
An interesting fact regarding the meaning of Isaac is that when God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a son, Abraham laughed at that promise (Genesis 17:17).
Later, when God repeated the same promise, Sarah also laughed out of some disbelief (Genesis 18). Later, after the birth of Isaac, Sarah recognized that God had given her a laughing matter, and that all who knew would laugh with her (Genesis 21:6).
Abraham was already 100 years old, and his wife, Sarah, 90, when Isaac was born. In recognition of the covenant promise, Isaac was circumcised when he was 8 days old (Genesis 21:4).
Other than this fact, the Bible provides no other reference to Isaac’s childhood and youth. The next reference to Isaac shows him going up Mount Moriah with his father.
See also: Why is Abraham the father of faith?
The story of Isaac in the Bible and his brother Ishmael
On the weaning day of Isaac, his brother Ishmael, son of Abraham with agar, mocked him. Sarah became very angry and asked Abraham to get rid of both Ishmael and Hagar (Genesis 21:10).
This request worried Abraham a lot because it was about his son (Genesis 21:11). But God assured Abraham that his offspring would be considered through Isaac, and that he need not worry about Ishmael., for a people would also come out of it (Genesis 21:12,13). Therefore, Abraham did as Sarah had asked.
Ishmael was probably about 16 years old when these events occurred. In Genesis 25, we find Isaac and Ishmael together again to bury Abraham (Genesis 25:9).
See here: What are the names of God?
The command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac
In chapter 22 of Genesis, to show Abraham’s faith, God put him to the test by ordering him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.
It is difficult to determine Isaac’s age at the time of sacrifice, but according to historian Flavio Josefo, Isaac is believed to have been about 25 years old at the time. This matches the Biblical account that he was already strong enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering.
Along the way, the Bible reports that Isaac did not know he would be sacrificed (Genesis 22:7). When they arrived at the place ordered by God, Abraham tied Isaac to the altar to kill him, but finally, God, seeing Abraham’s heart, prevented him from doing so.
The episode of sacrifice is very significant. In addition to several similarities to the atonement of Christ, such an act demonstrated the great faith that Abraham had, as well as the obedience and faith of Isaac himself.
Abraham’s faith not only consisted in obeying the divine command and giving his son as a burnt offering, but Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead to fulfill his promises (Hebrews 11:19). The writer of Hebrews claims that, figuratively speaking, Abraham received Isaac back from the dead.
Related: Bible Study on Faith in the Bible
Isaac and Rebekah’s marriage
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. In Genesis 24, Abraham asked his servant to bring Isaac a wife from his own land, from among his relatives. Abraham believed that the Lord would guarantee the success of the mission, and so it was.
Related: Who was Rebekah in the Bible?
Some people try to misuse chapter 24 of Genesis, especially verse 67, to try to defend the possibility that a couple live together without getting married.
A simple exposition of chapter 24 reveals that such an interpretation is totally wrong. Basically, the servant that Abraham sent his proxy on the mission, and in those days, arranged marriages were common.
Rebekah no longer had a father, so her brother Laban was the patriarch of the family. She had religious and civil authority over her house.
Before Rebekah’s family, Abraham’s servant formalized the marriage proposal and delivered Rebekah, her mother, and her brother received valuable gifts (Genesis 24:21-53). In Genesis 24:58 we read how Rebekah accepted the union.
Finally, in Genesis 24:60, Rebekah was blessed by her family (probably by her brother), which means the officialization of the marriage within the molds of the time. Therefore, when Isaac took Rebekah to the store, she was officially his wife.
Related: Biblical Christian Dating
Isaac’s sons
Isaac and Rebekah waited 20 years to have children, because Rebekah was barren. Isaac interceded with the Lord for Rebekah and she became pregnant giving birth to the twins Esau and Jacob when Isaac was 60 years old.
Later, when Esau and Jacob were grown men, at his mother’s urging, Jacob took advantage of Isaac’s poor eyesight due to his age, and posed as Esau, receiving the blessing that befitted the firstborn of sons.
Although this act took Isaac by surprise, at no point was God surprised. On the contrary. When Rebecca was still pregnant, she felt the children push themselves inside her womb. When she inquired of the Lord about it, He clarified that within her womb there were two nations, and that the greater would serve the lesser (Genesis 25:23).
See here: What is Circumcision in the Bible?
Important: In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul makes a detailed exposition of these Genesis accounts, stating that before the birth of the twins, before both had done any work, God had already chosen Jacob (Romans 9:11-13). .
Curiosities about who Isaac was
1. Character: Isaac was upright and had a meek temperament. These aspects can be identified when he did not question his father’s attitude when offering him as a sacrifice. He also did not argue with the herdsmen about the wells of Gerar. He was possibly affectionate and very attached to his mother, Sara, whose death he deeply felt.
2. Faith: Isaac also showed his faith in the holocaust episode. Also, he is mentioned in the Heroes of the Faith gallery in Hebrews 11 because of his blessings on Esau and Jacob.
3. Lie: Isaac repeated Abraham’s attitude by saying that Rebekah was his sister instead of his wife (Genesis 26:7). In the case of Abraham it was a half truth, but in the case of Isaac it was totally false information.
4. Preference: Isaac clearly had a preference for his son Esau, the firstborn. Some argue that this preference could have been caused in response to Rebekah’s favoritism toward Jacob.
5. Name: Isaac, unlike his father Abraham, and his son Jacob, was the only one whose name was not changed by God, since God himself announced his name before his birth.
6. Death: Isaac died at the age of 180 (Genesis 35:28).
7. Spiritual life: Paul made a comparison between Isaac and Sarah, on the one hand, and Hagar and Ishmael, on the other, in Galatians 4:21-31. This comparison of Paul reflects the contrast between the slavery of the law and the freedom of grace, which makes us children of promise like Isaac.
If you want to learn even more about Isaac’s life, we recommend the following video.