“‘This,’ said the Lord, ‘is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob- has appeared to you.” Exodus 4:5
“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” is a phrase used frequently throughout the Bible. Sometimes it is simply “the God of Abraham” or “the God of Jacob.” When Abraham’s servant was instructed to go find a wife for Isaac, the servant prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today” (Gen. 24:12). During a hardship Isaac was facing, the Lord told Isaac, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Gen. 26:24). The Lord appeared to Jacob, saying “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying” (Gen. 28:13). When the Lord spoke to Moses through the burning bush, “God [also] said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob- has sent me to you”‘” (Exodus 3:15). Joshua, David, Daniel, and many others throughout Scripture also spoke of the God of their fathers.
Before I began to truly live for the Lord, this title for God seemed distant to me- even irrelevant in some ways. However, I’ll never forget the day when I realized that the God of those old men was the same God waiting to lead me into mighty victories in which He led them. I take great comfort in reading the details of the lives of these ordinary men, and the great ways God used them. From parting seas to raising dry bones back to life and everything in between, how can I not follow this God?
Years after that moment, I stand in awe of all God has done for me. The victories may not be huge public displays for all to see, but oh, they feel like the mightiest of acts to me. God has been so faithful to me. He has made ways in the deserts and streams in the wastelands of my life. And now as I read about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I add my name to them. This God- the one and only true God- is also the God of Rachel.
I want to be faithful in remembering and recounting as many of His acts as possible, so that when my children stand at the edge of adulthood looking up at the mountain lying before them, the Lord can whisper in their ears, “I am the God of your mother- the God of Rachel- who will lead you as I led her.” And even now, in the difficulties I am facing and those around me, I will remember His provision for me in the past and speak of it to those around me that they may be strengthened. I will write the prayers God has answered, the Scriptures He has used to speak to me, the way He delivered me from struggles that seemed ready to overtake me. And I pray God will one day use every bit of it to further the faith of my children.
“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.” Deuteronomy 32:7
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.” Psalm 77:11
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all Your works and consider what Your hands have done.” Psalm 143:5
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.” Isaiah 46:9