Chapter 12

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-Sacrifices Offered by Them-Abraham and the Gospel Covenant-Extracts from the Book of Abraham and the Writings of Paul.     

WE will now return to Abraham, who is denominated the Father of the Faithful, and who, as we have before seen, was a contemporary of Melchizedek. The testimony in the Bible is direct and explicit that Abraham fulfilled the law requiring the offering of sacrifices, and furthermore was in possession of the principles of the Gospel and understood the saving value of the atonement.     

In the historical narrative of the Book of Genesis, we have numerous testimonies that Abraham offered up sacrifices, in connection with his worship of the Almighty. For instance, it is written:     

"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord."-Gen., xii, 6-8.     

In the next chapter we are told that Abraham "went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord."-Gen., xiii, 3, 4.     

And afterwards he removed his "tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord."-Gen., xiii, 18.     

The Book of Abraham gives some further details on these matters. The Patriarch therein states:     

"Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an offering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned away from my father's house, that they might not perish; and then we passed from Jershon through the land, unto the place of Sechem. It was situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the borders of the land of the Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devoutly, because we had already come into the land of this idolatrous nation. And the Lord appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And I, Abraham, arose from the place of the altar which I had built unto the Lord, and removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there, Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there I built another altar unto the Lord, and called again upon the name of the Lord."-Pearl of Great Price.     

Although full details are not given of the mode of sacrifice in those ancient times, nor of all the creatures that were acceptable unto the Lord, in the performance of this rite, yet the narrative of the contemplated sacrifice of Isaac by his father is indicative of the principle being well understood. We are told that the young man said: "My Father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering."-Gen., xxii, 7, 8.     

It is evident from other scriptures that Abraham offered up these sacrifices in token of the great expiatory sacrifice of the Son of God. Indeed the Redeemer himself told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad."-John, viii, 56.     

In confirmation of this statement we read in the inspired translation of the Book of Genesis that the Lord said to Abraham, in relation to his possession of the land of Canaan. "Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee? And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt possess it, for the day cometh that the Son of Man shall live; but how can he live if he be not dead? He must first be quickened. And it came to pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man, and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness."     

Again, Paul, in writing to the Galatians, states: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."-Gal., iii, 8, 9.     

This promise is corroborated by the statements of Peter to the Jews:     

"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."-Acts, iii, 25, 26.     

The record of this covenant is to be found in the Book of Genesis, as follows:     

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."-Gen., xii, 1-3.     

It will be noticed in the above quotation from the Book of Genesis, that no reference is made to the preaching of the Gospel to Abraham in connection with these great promises as spoken of by Paul. This deficiency is supplied by the Book of Abraham, wherein the covenant between God and His faithful servant is given at greater length in that covenant we find the following     

"My name is Jehovah, and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations, and I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy priesthood) and in thy seed, (that is, thy priesthood,) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body,) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal."     

Of the personal history of Isaac we have but a very meagre account in the Bible; however, sufficient is said to inform us that he, like his father, offered up sacrifices, that his offering was acceptable to God, and that He renewed with him the covenant previously made with Abraham. Of Isaac it is written: "And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord."-Gen., xxvi, 23-25.     

Jacob followed in the footsteps of his father. He worshipped the true and living God, and had the blessings of his fathers confirmed on him. Regarding sacrifices we are informed that, after his sudden departure from Laban and their later somewhat stormy interview, "Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount" (Gen., xxxi, 52); and again, shortly after, by command of the Lord, he journeyed to Bethel, "and he built there an altar and called the place El-beth-el," or the House of God.-Gen., xxxv, 7.     

Footnotes     

1. See also Genesis, xviii, 18; xxii, 18.