14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
This verse gives us the reference for God’s oath to Abraham after he was willing to sacrifice Isaac on an altar.
14 saying,
The word “saying” gives the quotation of God’s oath that He made to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 (it was attested as a unilateral oath in Ge 22:16). An oath is more than a promise.
God made this oath to Abraham after he almost offered Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. This was the most severe test of this patriarch’s faith in the Bible. It was a test of God’s integrity—that is, whether God would both provide a great nation out of his loins and produce a great nation. Isaac was the son of God’s promise. The instruction to slay Isaac would seem to Abraham a destruction of what God promised. Yet, he acted on God’s Word without question (He 11:19).
God’s oath to fulfill His promise took place after He put Abraham’s faith to trial. Abraham expressed his faith before God made His oath. God’s oath was a response to Abraham’s faith and not the cause of it. His oath was a token of His approval of Abraham’s faith. His servant did not give way to doubt.
“Surely
The word “surely” means assuredly. This word gives special emphasis to certainty in God’s promises.
blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
The double uses of the words for “bless” and “multiply” in the same sentence show that God would superabundantly multiply Israel as a nation. This double use of these words in the Hebrew makes it emphatic, giving certainty to the statement. Further, the grammar of this verse indicates instrumental Hebraisms—God would bless and multiply Abraham while He was blessing and multiplying him.
The oath in Genesis 22 was an expansion of the first statements on the Abrahamic Covenant (Ge 12:2-3; 15:5; 17:6–8). The idea is that God would bless Abraham abundantly by creating a great nation for him—that his progeny (which would become the nation Israel) would be greatly multiplied.
PRINCIPLE:
God abundantly blesses the faith of those who follow Him.
APPLICATION:
The book of Hebrews mentions Abraham 10 times (He 2:16; 6:13; 7:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9; 11:8, 17). The example of Abraham shows the relationship between faith, patience, and hope (He 6:12, 15, 18-19). This patriarch placed his faith in both God’s promises and oath.
Christians are essentially people who trust God. They commit their future to Him. They rest in His Word. God will bless people who place their trust in Him.
