XIV. THE GOD OF CHANGELESSNESS
God is also the God of changelessness in keeping the principle of His grace, in recognizing Isaac, Abraham’s son of Sarah, as his only son, in His ninth speaking to Abraham (Gen. 21:1-12). The God of Abraham is the God of changelessness in keeping His word, His promise.
XV. THE GOD WITH HIS TRIAL
Genesis 22:1-10 reveals the God with His trial, in proving Abraham, His intimate human friend, by asking him to present his only son, whom he loved, for a burnt offering to God, in His tenth speaking to Abraham.
XVI. THE TRIUNE GOD OF PROVISION
Genesis 22:11-14 reveals the Triune God of provision, in His providing a ram to replace Isaac for a burnt offering to God (as the Angel of Jehovah—Christ). This was God’s eleventh speaking to Abraham. The One who spoke to Abraham was Jehovah, yet this was the Angel of Jehovah. Therefore, in Genesis 22 we see Christ in two aspects. Christ is typified as a ram and is seen as the Angel of Jehovah. The ram is the substitute for sinners, and the Angel of Jehovah is the One who serves Jehovah in taking care of God’s friend.
XVII. THE TRIUNE GOD OF BLESSING
The Triune God of blessing, in His twelfth (last) speaking to Abraham, promised him that He (as the Angel of Jehovah—Christ) would bless him and multiply his seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand upon the seashore, and in Abraham’s seed (Christ) all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 22:15-18).
XVIII. THE GOD OF FRIENDSHIP ON THE HUMAN LEVEL
The God of Abraham is seen as the God of friendship on the human level, in leading the old servant of His friend Abraham to secure a wife for his son Isaac (Gen. 24). Though this was not directly motivated by God, it was carried out by God. Abraham charged his old servant to find Isaac a wife, and his old servant did it by following God’s leading.
(The History of God in His Union With Man, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee)
