There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Then the Lord appeared to [Isaac] and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:1-5, NKJV
Now that we have discussed the tremendous breadth of Jesus’ comment that He came to fulfill the “Law and the Prophets”, it’s appropriate to step back and take a closer look at the concept of God’s Law (while still maintaining its context as the major part of Scripture). Where is “Law” first mentioned in the Bible?
“And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:4,5 NKJV (italics added for emphasis)
The word used for “laws” here is Torah (תורה). The word literally means a precept, or a statute. It is interesting to note that the root of the word Torah is yarah (יָרָה), which means, properly, to flow as water (i.e. to rain); transitively, to lay or throw (especially an arrow, i.e. to shoot); figuratively, to point out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach. (taken from Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Quite literally, the scriptural word Torah is a precept, taught by, and coming from the finger of God Himself. So in this passage, God is telling Isaac that Abraham kept His precepts, His laws. And because of this, God promised Isaac He would: “make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…” We will return, later, to examine this promise. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that keeping the Torah was only one of the several commendations that God gave Abraham. Let’s examine His words again: “…because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Although Abraham was not perfect, he was highly commended for his obedience. But notice God’s words: “…because Abraham obeyed My voice…” Do you see it? Before Abraham was acclaimed for keeping the Torah, he was actually commended for obeying God’s voice. What would this mean – to obey His voice? Is this part of the Law that Jesus said He was to fulfill? Let’s spend some time examining this concept.
The word used for voice here is qol (קוֹל). It is from an unused root meaning to “call aloud”. Though they may not realize it, many of my readers are likely very aware of the passage where this word is first used:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
And they heard the sound (voice – קוֹל) of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
So he said, “I heard Your voice (קוֹל) in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice (קוֹל) of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Gen 3:1-19, NKJV
The first mention of the word “voice”, then, is found in conjunction with our ancestral fall from paradise. Instead of obeying God’s voice, Adam obeyed the voice of his wife. And instead of harkening to their Creator’s voice, Adam and Eve, our first father and mother hid from it. Abraham, on the other hand, obeyed the Voice of God – the voice telling him to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and to go to a place that God Himself would show him. The voice telling him that he would have a son. And the same voice that told him to sacrifice that son to Him on Mount Moriah. Abraham heard God’s voice and followed Him. And God richly rewarded both Abraham and his descendants. Does this sound familiar?
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
John 10:27-30, NKJV
Did you see it? Just as Abraham heard and followed God’s voice, so must we, as Jesus’ sheep hear and follow His. Following Jesus’ voice is the same as following God’s. So in essence, Jesus did much more than fulfill God’s voice – He fully embodied that voice. Meditate carefully on this concept!
Until my next blog, I invite you to read and consider the passage describing Jesus’ hearing before Pontius Pilate. It is found in the 18th chapter of John’s Gospel, verses 33-38. What does Jesus say about His voice? Who is it that hears that voice? Is Jesus describing you?
Until next time, may God richly bless your study of His holy Word – His voice! Selah!
YouJi