Respecting the Patriarchs: Isaac

 

My favorite. 

Isaac is a much more likable patriarch. Importantly, he is monogamous. He bears 20 years of his wife’s infertility with none of the affairs of his father or sons. Rather, he prays for his wife and his prayer is heard when she conceives twin sons. 

He also shows faith, and unconditional faith, at a much earlier age than the others. 

In Genesis 22, he carries enough wood to burn a ram and then voluntarily surrenders himself to be sacrificed by his father Abraham. Some traditions hold that he was 33 years old at the time, which would be fitting as it would mirror Christ’s age at the Crucifixion, and both sacrifices took place on Mount Moriah. This is to say nothing of Isaac accompanying his father on the three day journey just to get there. The sacrifice of Abraham might well be called the sacrifice of Isaac. 

There is no real strife to speak of between him and his older brother Ishmael or his six younger brothers, the sons of his stepmother Keturah. He buries his father reverently alongside Ishmael, and there is no Godfather-esque violence afterward. Nor is there any attempt by Isaac to seize headship of the family as we we see with Ham, Reuben, and later Absalom. Isaac steps smoothly into the leader role when his father’s servant returns from Paddanaram with Rebekah (It is my master the servant says on seeing Isaac afar off, whereas he spoke of Abraham as his master the whole journey). 

Though Isaac flees to the land of the Philistines during the famine, he avoids all of the pitfalls of his father, not allowing riches to alienate himself from family, not acquiring problematic Philistine servants, and it is clear that Rebekah has no relations with the local chiefs. 

Still, Isaac comes across as fabulously competent, with his land yielding a hundredfold and giving him similar riches as his wealthy father. 

He is peaceful. When the surrounding nations tussle over wells, Isaac’s solution is to simply dig new ones until he finds one for which the locals don’t start fights. This despite Isaac’s significant riches that would’ve enabled him to field an army. 

Notably, lasting peace between Isaac and Abimelech comes immediately after Isaac builds an altar to the Lord at Beersheba, pitches his tent there, and calls upon the name of the Lord. In a physical and spiritual way, Isaac centers his life around faith. 

So what’s the problem?

The problems begin when the twin boys grow up. God’s preference for Jacob over Esau is clear, as is Rebekah’s. Yet Isaac favors Esau, and does so “because he ate of his game.” In the story of Jacob deceiving Isaac into giving him the firstborn blessing, some variation of “savory food such as Isaac loves” is mentioned six times.

Isaac is guilty of thinking with his stomach, thereby indulging a less worthy son, to the point where his spoiled son unwisely and sinfully marries two Hittite women who make his parents’ last years miserable. That Isaac took the marriage choices of his sons seriously is shown clearly when he commands Jacob to go to Paddanaram and take a wife from his kinsmen there (ie not from the local Canaanites). Once his father’s wishes are made clear, even Esau tries to save face by marrying an Ishmaelite woman. One wonders how things might have gone differently had Isaac showed a sterner but even hand with Esau and Jacob from the beginning. 

Moreover, Isaac’s favoritism likely had a bad effect in encouraging Jacob to strive after his father’s favor in underhanded ways in the first place. 

In the end, Isaac’s example was enough to bring about peace between his sons when Jacob returned after 20 years in Paddanaram. 

So all in all, very little not to like, and a bona fide miracle given he was the only son of his parents who came in their old age, and those often turn out spoiled rotten. 

We can draw inspiration from Isaac’s constant acts of faith, peace, honest work, marital fidelity, and patient humility. Just go easy on the food, especially if one of your kids turns out to be a gifted chef.