Chapter 3:

revelation of god’s plan

of salvation: stories of
our faith ancestor
 The Patriarch's Call to Faith

✘ lives of Israel's patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph

✘ Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph heeded God's call in the unique
circumstances in their lives. Thus, their faith moved the fulfilment of
God's plan of salvation for all humankind.

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 Abraham's Obedience to Faith
✘ Abraham- called Abram
■ Belonged to a prosperous family of nomadic shepherds and
farmers from the Babylonian city of Ur (Iraq)
■ descendant of Shem, a son of Noah
✘ Terah -Abraham's father, was the head of one of the clans
■ He took his son Abraham, his grandson, Lot, and Abraham's wife
Sarai and brought them out of Ur to Canaan
■ They never arrived in Canaan, Instead, they settled down in the
prosperous land of Haran.( turkey)
■ They lived in Haran until the death of Terah. After that, Abraham
became the head of his clan. It was at this time that God had
called Abraham.
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 1.
God calls Abraham to make a great nation
(Gn 12:1-20)

“
Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a
land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I
will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the
communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.“
-Gn 12:1-3
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 God calls Abraham to make a great nation (Gn 12:1-20)

✘ note that the God who spoke to Abraham was not one of the gods he and
his family had worshipped in Ur and Haran.
✘ God asked Abraham to let go of his past and to accept a future of "new
beginnings" where he would embark on a new mission and lead a new
life.
✘ God promised to make of Abraham a great nation, a great family, and a
great name.

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 God calls Abraham to make a great nation (Gn 12:1-20)
God's Call to Abraham to…. God's Promise to Abraham to…..

✘ leave his country ✘ make of him a great nation

✘ leave his kinsfolk ✘ give him numerous descendants

✘ leave his father's house ✘ make him a great name and a blessing to
others

 His ultimate promise was an offer of salvation to the patriarch and a promise of salvation to all people
 Salvation was expressed in terms of the well-being a chosen nomadic shepherd desired.
 God taught Abraham to appreciate the salvation He offered. Salvation was both a spiritual gift and a task that called
for Abraham's cooperation.
 This was Abraham's part in God's plan. He would be a model of obedience and faith, and a means to fulfill God's
plan of salvation.

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 2.

Abraham responds with faith

“ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he
was to receive as an Inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he
was to go."

—Heb 11:8

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 Abraham responds with faith

✘ To answer God's call, Abraham broke off his connections his past and left
his home and possessions, and his old way of He accepted a future that
rested solely on God's promises love
✘ Abraham was concerned about God's promise to give him many
descendants. Both he and wife, Sarai, were too old to have a child.
Nevertheless, God continued to assure him of His promise and to
suppress his doubts and insecurities. God guided him in his faith journey.

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 3.

God establishes a covenant with Abraham.

A covenant is an offer friendship and mutual commitment. It is God's
consistent way o relating with individuals and communities
throughout salvation history.

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 God entered into a covenant with Abraham.
✘ Ancient rite wherein two persons would pass between slaughtered animals (cf
Gn 159-17)
● The rite is an expression of how the two persons would rather
suffer a fate similar to the slaughtered animals than break the
agreement between them.
✘ God entered into another covenant with Abraham and promised him that he
would have many descendants.
✘ Abraham's part was to "walk in (God's) presence and be blameless" (Gn 17.1)
As a sign of this covenant, God required the rite of. Circumcision of all of
Abraham's descendants (cf Gn I 7:9-12).
● Circumcision was the sign that they were indeed from Abraham's
line, God's Chosen People.
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 God establishes a covenant with Abraham.

✘ For the ancient Jews, a person's name represented his or her role.
✘ God changed the name of :
■ Abram (Exalted Father) to Abraham (Father of Multitudes)
■ and Sarai (Princess) to Sarah (Mother of Many).
✘ The change of Abraham's and Sarah's names signified a change in their
destiny and vocation,

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 3
God tests Abraham

“Isaache spoke to his father Abraham. 'Father,'

said. 'Here I am,' he replied. Isaac
continued, 'Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt
offering?' My so, Abraham answered, 'God
will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.'
Then the two walked on together."

—Gn 22:7-8 (NABRE)

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 God tests Abraham
✘ God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son
✘ Without question, Abraham completely trusted in God and put himself
entirely in God's hands.
✘ Abraham obeyed God's command and fulfilled all that God had asked of
him. Abraham's faith was greater than his love for his son. Abraham
proved to God how great his faith was. God said to Abraham, "because
you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will
bless you abundantly and make your. descendants as countless as the stars
of the sky and the sands our descendants shall take possession of the gates
of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall
find blessing all this because you obeyed my command (60 22:16-18).

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 God tests Abraham

✘ Abraham, the father of faith, is a living example of faith and hope in the
promises of God (cf Heb. 11:8-10)
✘ Abraham is revered as the ancestor of the followers of the three major
religions that believe in one God (monotheism): Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam.

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Isaac, Sacrificial Faith

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Isaac was the second patriarch of Israel, and he is unique among
the three patriarchs for the following reasons:

✘ he was the only biblical patriarch whose name was not changed because it
was God himself who gave him his name.
✘ Isaac was noted by biblical commentaries who never moved out of
Canaan throughout his life.
✘ He was described to have lived 180 years, making him the patriarch who
lived the longest among the three.

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 1.
The sacrifice of isaac
✘ The early Christian church developed the theme of this sacrifice as a
figure or type of Christ.
✘ Just as Isaac had carried the very wood on which he would be sacrificed,
Jesus carried his wood of the cross to Golgotha where he would die.
✘ God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac, approximately 4000 years
after, He would allow His own son, Jesus, to be sacrificed for our sins.
✘ Isaac had known that he was to be sacrificed, yet he did not resist and was
united with his father in dedication.

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 2. A wife is chosen for Isaac

✘ It was the custom in Abraham's parents to choose wives or husbands for

the, children
✘ Isaac did not him to marry a Canaanite woman because Canaanite en
worshipped false gods,
✘ Isaac's wife must be a righteous woman who would help him remain
faithful to the living God who would teach their children about Himself
and His promises.
✘ Rebecca , his wife, was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, Abraham's
brother, one of Abraham's own people just as Abraham had asked. In a
culture where polygamy was practiced, Isaac took only one wife, his
beloved Rebecca.
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 2. A wife is chosen for Isaac
✘ It was the custom in Abraham's parents to choose wives or husbands for
the, children
✘ Isaac did not him to marry a Canaanite woman because Canaanite en
worshipped false gods,
✘ Isaac's wife must be a righteous woman who would help him remain
faithful to the living God who would teach their children about Himself
and His promises.
✘ Rebecca , his wife, was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, Abraham's
brother, one of Abraham's own people just as Abraham had asked. In a
culture where polygamy was practiced, Isaac took only one wife, his
beloved Rebecca
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2. A wife is chosen for Isaac
The servant accompanied by his chosen men, then took ten of his
camels, piled them high with gifts from Abraham's home and set out
for the city of Nahor. When it was evening, the women of the town go
out of the houses to fetch water from the well. He made the camels
rest, and he prayed to God to be kind to his master, and help him find
a wife for his son, Isaac. He asked God for a sign or a confirmation.
He would ask one of the women for a drink. If she says, "Drink, and I
will water your camels, too." (Gn 24:14, NABRE). This is she whom
God has chosen for Isaac's wife.
The servant had barely finished praying when Rebecca came out
with a jug on her shoulder. She was very beautiful. When asked for a
drink, she replied, "Drink, sir." When she had let him drink his fill,
she said, "I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have
finished drinking" (cf Gn 24:18, 19; NABRE).

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 3. Isaac and his wells (Gn 26)

✘ Abraham gave everything that he owned to his son, Isaac. When famine
came, God did not allow Isaac to go to Egypt but instructed him to stay in
Gerar, the land of the Philistines.
✘ Isaac sowed a crop in that region and reaped a hundredfold, Since the
Lord had blessed him, he became rich, until he was very wealthy. He
acquired flocks and herds, and many work animals that the Philistines
became envious of him. The Philistines had stopped and filled with dirt
all the wells that Abraham's servants have dug back with dirt and told
Isaac to leave their place. Isaac left the place but made a part of the city
his regular campsite

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 3. Isaac and his wells (Gn 26)

✘ He had reopened the wells one after the other and all of them brought out
spring water that caused quarrels among his servants and the shepherds of
Gerar.
✘ Isaac went up to Beersheba and there the Lord appeared to him assuring
him not to fear and told him that he would be blessed and would multiply
his descendants for the sake of his father, Abraham. Abimelech, the king
of the Philistines, and his officers came to Isaac to offer a pact of
friendship and peace with him and his people. Isaac offered them a feast
to celebrate this peace between them.

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 thanks!
Any questions?

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Jacob’s struggle with
faith
 1. God chooses Jacob
Rebecca was the wife of Isaac. Like Sarah,
she was also barren. God had heard Isaac’s
prayers and Rebecca gave birth to twins,
Esau (Edom) and Jacob

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 1. God chooses Jacob
God choses younger one Jacob though he
was deceitful. We do not know how God
thinks but God’s ways are not our ways.
God does not always call those who are
more talented than others.

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 1. God chooses Jacob
Esau and Jacob fought over their father’s
blessing. The rivalry between the brothers was
made even worse by parental favoritism.
Esau was the favorite of Isaac while Jacob was
the favorite of Rebecca.

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 2. Jacob tricks Esau
“Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau
came in from the open, famished. He said to
Jacob, Let me gulp down some of that red stuff;
I’m starving”. That is why Esau was called
Edom. Edom means “reddish”.

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 2. Jacob tricks Esau
“But Jacob replied. First, give me your birthright
in exchange for it. Jacob insisted and Esau gave
his birthright to Jacob under oath. This scenario
just show how shrewd and deceitful he was.

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 3. Jacob tricks Isaac
The birthright that Jacob obtained from Esau was
no value without his father’s blessing. So,
Rebecca and Jacob conspired to obtain his
father’s blessing by deceiving the blind and
feeble, Isaac.

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 3. Jacob tricks Isaac
Both the mother and the son knew about God’s
prophecy on Jacob, “the older shall serve the
younger”.

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