Genesis 17:19 “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.”
Josh 24:3-4 “And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.”
Josh 24:4 ‘And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.’
Hebrews 11:9 “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:”
Matthew 22:32 “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
Isaac seems to be a character who is in between. Overshadowed by others on both sides.
It is like the middle child who has an older sibling who got all the Attention and a younger who got all the liberties!
Everyone will have the “middle syndrome” at one time or another.
`Feeling less, somehow not excelling as the ones next to you.
`Always living in the shadows of others
`How about this one… bearing the name “James the less”
Being in the middle can be a precarious position. Feels like the one who never gets the credit for what is right and can be on the short end of what goes wrong
`Jesus is middle man: Mediator for God and Man.
`Jesus hung between two thieves.
I. Isaac is in the middle of TWO GREAT CHARACTERS
Abraham his Father and Jacob his Son.
• Isaac never started anything or ended anything.
• God changed the names of Abram and Jacob
II. Isaac was caught in the middle of TWO GREAT CONFLICTS
• Sarah and Hagar
• Jacob and Esau
III. Isaac was caught in the Middle of TWO GREAT CONVERSIONS
Issacs’s calling was not as dramatic as his father Abraham’s, nor as sensational as his son, Jacob’s, calling.
Issac’s father, Abraham, left home by faith, sojourned in a strange land, left father and mother, separated from his nephew, Lot. There were visions and revelations, covenants and promises, and on and on as the hand of God was evident in Abraham’s life.
Then there was the life of son Jacob. There was the struggle for the blessing and birthright with Esau. Also, there was Jacob’s fighting with Uncle Laban over the two wives. Jacob’s battles with Laban’s cattle and last and foremost, the great wrestling match with the angel that left Jacob handicapped physically. This battle was what brought Jacob to a realization of God’s blessing and ultimately made him a changed man.
Isaac had no testimony even close to those.
It is what you do during the in-between times that may make the difference.
A. Realize that it is all about obedience
You may not be an Abraham or a Jacob but you can obey!
B. Know that you are just as much an intricate part of God’s plan…you are special to God
You could be the parents of great preachers, missionaries, servants of the Lord
You can be soul-winners of future great saints and soul-winners
Neither Abraham nor Jacob could have been what they were had there not been an Isaac.
C. Stay out of others conflicts as much as you can