Isaac, God’s faithful servant (Genesis 26:1-33)

Isaac was the son of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. He is described, along with his father and his son Jacob, as one of God’s “faithful servants” (2 Maccabees 1:2; cf Daniel 3:35). After the ordeal when he was almost sacrificed by Abraham, Isaac lived on in the Promised Land as a father, a farmer and a man of faith.

When he was 40, he married a woman called Rebekah and together, they had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. After the death of his father Abraham, he considered moving to Egypt. However, God told him to stay put, saying: “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and I will give them all these lands. All the nations on the earth will be blessed through your descendants.” (Genesis 26:4)

This promise of worldwide blessings through his family tree was a repeat of the promise that God had previously made to his father, Abraham. In the New Testament, St Paul wrote that Jesus Christ, who was a descendant of Isaac, was the one through whom the nations would receive this global blessing (Galatians 3:14).

In the Bible, God is described as “the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6; Acts 3:13). This reminds us of the special promises that he made to these three men, particularly about the blessings that would come to the world through their family tree.

From the book of Genesis, we learn three things about Isaac. Firstly, Isaac was a religious man. Genesis says that he meditated in the fields in the evening, prayed to the Lord for his wife to become pregnant and that he built an altar to worship God (Genesis 24:63; 26:25).

Secondly Isaac was a successful farmer. The book of Genesis says: “Isaac planted a crop in a land and that year he reaped a hundredfold. The Lord had thus blessed him. He became important and continued to prosper until he was very rich.” (Genesis 26:12-13) Not only did he own sheep and cattle, but he employed shepherds too.

Thirdly, Isaac was a peacemaker. The Philistines became jealous of his growing wealth and argued with him about the boundaries between his land and theirs. Faced with quarrelling and opposition, Isaac chose the way of peace. He moved away from his enemies and later made a peace treaty (or ‘oath’) with them.

This mural image of Isaac is found within the sanctuary of Holy Ghost, Basingstoke. It’s thought to have been produced by Nathaniel Westlake in the early 20th century and is part of a wider ‘Jesse Tree’ scheme. The Sacrifice of Isaac by his father was considered such a strong symbol of the Crucifixion and the Mass that within Catholic churches, he is only usually pictured in this context.

Here Isaac is represented carrying the wood that his father would later use to build the altar on which he was to be sacrificed. His innocent question to Abraham about why they did not have an animal to sacrifice is included in the banner. The swirling branches represent the family tree of Christ, who was his descendant.

See the full image:

Where to find this work of art
Holy Ghost, Basingstoke

Read the relevant passage
Genesis 26:1-33

On a similar theme

• From the Old Testament: God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith, but was stopped at the last minute.
• From the New Testament: As represented in this Jesse Tree scheme, Isaac was an ancestor of Christ.