Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--Sacrifices Offered by Them--Abraham and
the Gospel Covenant--Extracts from the Book of Abraham and the
Writings of Paul.
We will now return to Abraham, who is denominated the Father of the
Faithful, and who, as we have before seen, was a contemporary of
Melchizedek. The testimony in the Bible is direct and explicit that
Abraham fulfilled the law requiring the offering of sacrifices, and
furthermore was in possession of the principles of the Gospel and
understood the saving value of the atonement.
In the historical narrative of the Book of Genesis, we have numerous
testimonies that Abraham offered up sacrifices, in connection with his
worship of the Almighty. For instance, it is written:
"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the
plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord
appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land;
and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and
pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and
there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of
the Lord."--Gen., xii, 6-8.
In the next chapter we are told that Abraham "went on his journeys
from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been
at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the
altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on
the name of the Lord."--Gen., xiii, 3, 4.
And afterwards he removed his "tent, and came and dwelt in the plain
of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the
Lord."--Gen., xiii, 18.
The Book of Abraham gives some further details on these matters. The
Patriarch therein states:
"Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an
offering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned
away from my father's house, that they might not perish; and then we
passed from Jershon through the land, unto the place of Sechem. It was
situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the
borders of the land of the Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there
in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devoutly, because we
had already come into the land of this idolatrous nation. And the Lord
appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me, Unto thy
seed will I give this land. And I, Abraham, arose from the place of
the altar which I had built unto the Lord, and removed from thence
unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there,
Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there I built another
altar unto the Lord, and called again upon the name of the
Lord."--Pearl of Great Price.
Although full details are not given of the mode of sacrifice in those
ancient times, nor of all the creatures that were acceptable unto the
Lord, in the performance of this rite, yet the narrative of the
contemplated sacrifice of Isaac by his father is indicative of the
principle being well understood. We are told that the young man said:
"My Father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? And
Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a
burnt-offering."--Gen., xxii, 7, 8.
It is evident from other scriptures that Abraham offered up these
sacrifices in token of the great expiatory sacrifice of the Son of
God. Indeed the Redeemer himself told the Jews, "Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad."--John, viii, 56.
In confirmation of this statement we read in the inspired translation
of the Book of Genesis that the Lord said to Abraham, in relation to
his possession of the land of Canaan, "Though thou wast dead, yet am I
not able to give it thee? And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt
possess it, for the day cometh that the Son of Man shall live; but how
can he live if he be not dead? He must first be quickened. And it came
to pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man,
and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord;
and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness."
Again, Paul, in writing to the Galatians, states: "And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham."--Gal., iii, 8, 9.
This promise is corroborated by the statements of Peter to the Jews:
"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God
made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all
the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having
raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every
one of you from his iniquities."--Acts, iii, 25, 26.
The record of this covenant is to be found in the Book of Genesis, as
follows:
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will
show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed."--Gen., xii, 1-3.[A]
[Footnote A: See also Genesis, xviii, 18; xxii, 18.]
It will be noticed in the above quotation from the Book of Genesis,
that no reference is made to the preaching of the Gospel to Abraham in
connection with these great promises as spoken of by Paul. This
deficiency is supplied by the Book of Abraham, wherein the covenant
between God and His faithful servant is given at greater length in
that covenant we find the following:
"My name is Jehovah, and I will make of thee a great nation and I will
bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations,
and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their
hands they shall bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations,
and I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this
Gospel shall he called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy
seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; and I will
bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in
thee (that is, in thy priesthood) and in thy seed, (that is, thy
priesthood,) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall
continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee, (that is to say, the
literal seed, or the seed of the body,) shall all the families of the
earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the
blessings of salvation, even of life eternal."
Of the personal history of Isaac we have but a very meagre account in
the Bible; however, sufficient is said to inform us that he, like his
father, offered up sacrifices, that his offering was acceptable to
God, and that He renewed with him the covenant previously made with
Abraham. Of Isaac it is written: "And he went up from thence to
Beer-sheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I
am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and
will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the
Lord."--Gen., xxvi, 23-25.
Jacob followed in the footsteps of his father. He worshipped the true
and living God, and had the blessings of his fathers confirmed on him.
Regarding sacrifices we are informed that, after his sudden departure
from Laban and their later somewhat stormy interview, "Jacob offered
sacrifice upon the mount" (Gen., xxxi, 52); and again, shortly after,
by command of the Lord, he journeyed to Bethel, "and he built there an
altar and called the place El-beth-el," or the House of God.--Gen.,
xxxv, 7.