Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
God renewed to Isaac the oath made to Abraham to multiply his descendants as the stars and the sand, to give them the lands, and to bless all nations through his seed, because Abraham listened to His voice and kept all He required. That obedience was living justly and righteously and making God's law the rule of his household, so that his faith was made visible and brought to full expression by works. The verse proves that God's commandments, statutes, and laws existed, were known, and were kept long before Moses and before their proclamation at Sinai. The law Abraham kept was the eternal moral law, including the principles of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, given in Eden as the rule of obedience and transcript of God's character and later spoken at Sinai and written by God on stone. His faith in Christ and in the promise of salvation did not set aside that law, for the covenant offered pardon and grace through faith and promised life on condition of faithfulness to it.
Reason for the Promise
Because Abraham obeyed the divine voice and kept the charge, the commandments, the statutes, and the laws, blessing came upon him and the oath made to him was renewed to Isaac. The renewal carried the promise to multiply his descendants as the dust of the earth, as the sand on the seashore, and as the stars of heaven, to give them the lands, and to bless all nations of the earth through his seed. His obedience was the stated reason for the continuation of the land promise and the oath to Isaac and his descendants, with the blessings first given to Abraham repeated to his son. Special blessing rested on Abraham because he was faithful in keeping the commandments, having been appointed to preserve the truth amid prevailing sin and corruption, with his family chosen as a peculiar treasure.
That obedience meant listening to God and keeping all that was required of him, living justly and righteously. It included teaching his household to follow the way of the Lord, so that the law of God was made the rule of his home. By such obedience his faith was made visible, proving that genuine faith is not mere belief but works by obedience. Those works of obedience bring faith to its full expression.
The secret of his moral greatness lay in being true to principle and in having unlimited faith in God and in providential dealings with the faithful.
Law Known Before Sinai
The wording itself proves that commandments, statutes and laws existed, were known and were observed long before Moses and before their proclamation at Sinai. Abraham listened to God and kept all His requirements, obeying His voice and keeping His charge, commandments, statutes and laws. His example shows that he was entrusted with God's law and obeyed it.
Knowledge of that law was preserved for the benefit of all who would live on the earth. It was handed down from Adam to his descendants, for Adam taught it to his descendants and the faithful handed it down through generations. After the flood it was preserved and taught by Noah and his family, who carried it in the ark and taught it to Noah's descendants, and it was passed through faithful generations to Abraham and then to Moses, from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham and from Abraham to Moses.
The law Abraham kept is the eternal moral law, the same moral law given to Adam after his fall. It includes the principles of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It governed angels, existed before man was created, was rehearsed without writing to Adam and Eve, was given in Eden as the rule of obedience and transcript of God's character, and was not changed or taken away after the fall. It was later spoken aloud by God at Sinai and written with His own finger on tables of stone, with additional judgments and statutes given through Moses to guard the ten precepts, clarify duties, and draw erring man back to obedience.
God preserved for Himself a people from Adam down in whose hearts was His law, and Abraham was one of them, keeping it in life and heart. After mankind was destroyed in the flood for continual transgression of His law despite Noah's faithful warning, which only his own family received, men again multiplied and grew bold in transgression and idolatry increased to a fearful extent. God left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways and chose Abraham out of an idolatrous family, after the law had been lost sight of. He set Abraham apart to preserve the truth amid prevailing sin and corruption, appointed him to preserve obedience, and made him keeper and repository of His law for future generations, choosing his family as His peculiar treasure whose descendants would exalt it.
God communicated His will to Abraham through angels. Christ Himself appeared to him and gave him distinct knowledge of the requirements of the moral law and of the great salvation to be accomplished through Himself. In this way Abraham received knowledge of the moral law and of salvation through Christ.
Circumcision was the sign and pledge of devotion and obedience to that covenant law, marking devotion to God and pledging obedience to His law. When Abraham's descendants failed to keep that pledge and that covenant, adopted heathen practices, and failed to practice the principles of God's law, they fell into idolatry and bondage in Egypt and went down into Egypt. If they had continued to keep the law as Abraham did and had remained faithful to the covenant marked by circumcision, there would have been no need for the ordinance of circumcision as a pledge of the covenant, no descent into idolatry and bondage in Egypt, and no necessity to proclaim the law from Sinai, engrave it on stone, and enforce it by definite directions, judgments and statutes through Moses to guide them back to obedience.
God also showed Abraham in vision that his posterity would transgress the law, become bondmen to an idolatrous nation, and be punished for apostasy.
Covenant Faith and Obedience
The covenant made with Abraham and renewed to him upheld the authority of God's law, for Abraham obeyed and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws. His faith in Christ and in God's promise of salvation did not set aside that law. The covenant offered pardon and grace through faith in Christ, and it promised life on condition of faithfulness to God's law. Abraham's obedience therefore stands as proof that faith and law belong together in the covenant.
Obedience in this sense means voluntarily submitting the will to God's will, with love for God leading to keeping of all His commandments. Abraham received blessing because he so obeyed and kept God's commandments, statutes, and laws. This same obedience applies to the seventh-day Sabbath, which God set apart and blessed as a memorial of creation. He commands people to keep it holy in honor to Him rather than claiming it as their own.
God renewed to Isaac the oath made to Abraham to multiply his descendants as the stars and the sand, to give them the lands, and to bless all nations through his seed, because Abraham listened to His voice and kept all He required. That obedience was living justly and righteously and making God's law the rule of his household, so that his faith was made visible and brought to full expression by works. The verse proves that God's commandments, statutes, and laws existed, were known, and were kept long before Moses and before their proclamation at Sinai. The law Abraham kept was the eternal moral law, including the principles of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, given in Eden as the rule of obedience and transcript of God's character and later spoken at Sinai and written by God on stone. His faith in Christ and in the promise of salvation did not set aside that law, for the covenant offered pardon and grace through faith and promised life on condition of faithfulness to it.
Reason for the Promise
Because Abraham obeyed the divine voice and kept the charge, the commandments, the statutes, and the laws, blessing came upon him and the oath made to him was renewed to Isaac. The renewal carried the promise to multiply his descendants as the dust of the earth, as the sand on the seashore, and as the stars of heaven, to give them the lands, and to bless all nations of the earth through his seed. His obedience was the stated reason for the continuation of the land promise and the oath to Isaac and his descendants, with the blessings first given to Abraham repeated to his son. Special blessing rested on Abraham because he was faithful in keeping the commandments, having been appointed to preserve the truth amid prevailing sin and corruption, with his family chosen as a peculiar treasure.
That obedience meant listening to God and keeping all that was required of him, living justly and righteously. It included teaching his household to follow the way of the Lord, so that the law of God was made the rule of his home. By such obedience his faith was made visible, proving that genuine faith is not mere belief but works by obedience. Those works of obedience bring faith to its full expression.
The secret of his moral greatness lay in being true to principle and in having unlimited faith in God and in providential dealings with the faithful.
Law Known Before Sinai
The wording itself proves that commandments, statutes and laws existed, were known and were observed long before Moses and before their proclamation at Sinai. Abraham listened to God and kept all His requirements, obeying His voice and keeping His charge, commandments, statutes and laws. His example shows that he was entrusted with God's law and obeyed it.
Knowledge of that law was preserved for the benefit of all who would live on the earth. It was handed down from Adam to his descendants, for Adam taught it to his descendants and the faithful handed it down through generations. After the flood it was preserved and taught by Noah and his family, who carried it in the ark and taught it to Noah's descendants, and it was passed through faithful generations to Abraham and then to Moses, from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham and from Abraham to Moses.
The law Abraham kept is the eternal moral law, the same moral law given to Adam after his fall. It includes the principles of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It governed angels, existed before man was created, was rehearsed without writing to Adam and Eve, was given in Eden as the rule of obedience and transcript of God's character, and was not changed or taken away after the fall. It was later spoken aloud by God at Sinai and written with His own finger on tables of stone, with additional judgments and statutes given through Moses to guard the ten precepts, clarify duties, and draw erring man back to obedience.
God preserved for Himself a people from Adam down in whose hearts was His law, and Abraham was one of them, keeping it in life and heart. After mankind was destroyed in the flood for continual transgression of His law despite Noah's faithful warning, which only his own family received, men again multiplied and grew bold in transgression and idolatry increased to a fearful extent. God left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways and chose Abraham out of an idolatrous family, after the law had been lost sight of. He set Abraham apart to preserve the truth amid prevailing sin and corruption, appointed him to preserve obedience, and made him keeper and repository of His law for future generations, choosing his family as His peculiar treasure whose descendants would exalt it.
God communicated His will to Abraham through angels. Christ Himself appeared to him and gave him distinct knowledge of the requirements of the moral law and of the great salvation to be accomplished through Himself. In this way Abraham received knowledge of the moral law and of salvation through Christ.
Circumcision was the sign and pledge of devotion and obedience to that covenant law, marking devotion to God and pledging obedience to His law. When Abraham's descendants failed to keep that pledge and that covenant, adopted heathen practices, and failed to practice the principles of God's law, they fell into idolatry and bondage in Egypt and went down into Egypt. If they had continued to keep the law as Abraham did and had remained faithful to the covenant marked by circumcision, there would have been no need for the ordinance of circumcision as a pledge of the covenant, no descent into idolatry and bondage in Egypt, and no necessity to proclaim the law from Sinai, engrave it on stone, and enforce it by definite directions, judgments and statutes through Moses to guide them back to obedience.
God also showed Abraham in vision that his posterity would transgress the law, become bondmen to an idolatrous nation, and be punished for apostasy.
Covenant Faith and Obedience
The covenant made with Abraham and renewed to him upheld the authority of God's law, for Abraham obeyed and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws. His faith in Christ and in God's promise of salvation did not set aside that law. The covenant offered pardon and grace through faith in Christ, and it promised life on condition of faithfulness to God's law. Abraham's obedience therefore stands as proof that faith and law belong together in the covenant.
Obedience in this sense means voluntarily submitting the will to God's will, with love for God leading to keeping of all His commandments. Abraham received blessing because he so obeyed and kept God's commandments, statutes, and laws. This same obedience applies to the seventh-day Sabbath, which God set apart and blessed as a memorial of creation. He commands people to keep it holy in honor to Him rather than claiming it as their own.