God made a covenant with Abraham and promised that his descendants would inherit it:
I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Genesis 17:7-8
But how does that inheritance work? Is it automatic, or must the recipient qualify? Is the covenant available to all of Abraham’s descendants, and what about those who aren’t his literal family? For the next three days, we will explore these questions. Today, we will begin with Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham already knew that Isaac would inherit his covenant blessings. When he reminded God that he had no children, but that his heir was the steward of his house, God responded, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Genesis 15:4). Later, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God affirmed that He would make of Ishmael a great nation, “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac,” He declared, “which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year” (Genesis 17:20-21). After Abraham offered Isaac on the altar, God reiterated His promises which would be fulfilled through Isaac.
But Isaac didn’t have to guess whether he had inherited the blessings promised to his father. After Abraham’s death, as he relocated to a place called Gerar, God appeared to him and renewed the promises He had made to Abraham:
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Genesis 26:3-5
Sometime later, in a place called Beer-sheba, God again appeared to him, saying:
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.
Genesis 26:24
Notice what both of these messages have in common: Isaac’s blessings are explicitly grounded in Abraham’s obedience. God performs His oath “because that Abraham obeyed my voice.” Isaac inherits promises secured by his father’s faithfulness.
It’s also noteworthy that God introduces Himself in the second passage as the God of Abraham. Isaac knew God largely through His relationship with Isaac’s father.
The Book of Mormon prophet Enos had a similar experience. After receiving a remission of his sins and an assurance that his people would be blessed, he offered a rather specific prayer for his enemies:
That if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation.
Enos 1:13
God honored this request, not for Enos’s sake alone, but for the sake of his ancestors who had offered the same prayer. “Thy fathers have also required of me this thing,” He said; “and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine” (Enos 1:18).
We are not accountable for our parents’ decisions, but we are connected with them. Their prayers and their promises can accrue to us.
Today, I will be grateful for covenants my ancestors made with God which bless me today. I will remember that the same is true looking forward: my faithfulness to my covenants can bless my children.
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