The Divine Parallel of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Matthew 1:2 (NKJV)

‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:32 (NKJV)

The Bible tells us in Genesis of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham fathered Isaac, who was the father of Jacob. Jacob fathered 12 sons; the 12 tribes of Israel. There is a divine parallel to these three men. Abraham is a type of Father God. Isaac is a type of Jesus Christ. Jacob is a type of the Holy Spirit.

Abraham

Abraham is a type of Father God. Just as Abraham gave us Isaac, our heavenly Father gave us Jesus. Abraham was willing to give up his promised son. He loved his son, yet he offered him up as a sacrifice. God loved His son, Jesus, but He offered Him as a sacrifice for all mankind (John 3:16).

Isaac

Isaac, the son of Abraham, is a type of Jesus, the Son of God. Isaac went with his father to Mount Moriah and was willing to lay down on the altar and sacrifice his life. There is some debate on this but many Bible scholars, myself included, believe Mount Moriah is the location where Jesus was crucified. Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice on Isaac his son (Genesis 22:6) and God laid the cross on Jesus (II Corinthians 5:21). Abraham was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and God was willing to sacrifice Jesus to save us.

And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Genesis 22:8 (NKJV)

Abraham told Isaac that God would provide a lamb, and that’s exactly what He did when Jesus was crucified (John 1:29). This event involving Abraham and Isaac at Mount Moriah was definitely a prophetic picture of what was to come. Abraham did not withhold his son and neither did God the Father. Jehovah-Jireh, God our Provider, provided the savior mankind needed.

Jacob

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. The church was born when He breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. So, the church was born of the Holy Spirit. Jacob was a type of the Holy Spirit. He came from Isaac, Abraham’s son. Out of Jacob, 12 sons were born, or the nation of Israel. Jesus Himself came out of the nation of Israel, the tribe of Judah to be exact. And the church came forth from Israel through Jesus. So, now, Jew or Gentile, when we are born-again, we become one in Christ. As Jacob’s sons came from him, the Holy Spirit births us into the family of God.

In the persons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we can see a divine parallel to the triune Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.