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.[A]
[Footnote A: See also Genesis, xviii, 18; xxii, 18.]
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 he 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.