Isaac

Lifespan

Uncertain (approximately 2000 B.C.?).

Ministry

We know little about Isaac’s adulthood, but he seems to have been a peaceful, family-oriented shepherd.

Preparation and Calling

The “miracle” child of Abraham and Sarah born to them after they had well passed their childbearing years, Isaac later became the father of Esau and Jacob. The most famous story surrounding Isaac, aside from his birth, concerns a commandment that his father, Abraham, received to sacrifice this promised son when he was apparently still in his youth. After Isaac helped gather the wood for the sacrifice, just as Abraham was preparing to take his son’s life, the Lord provided a ram in a nearby thicket as a substitute sacrifice, and an angel declared Abraham’s obedience sufficient for the test of faith that the Lord had given him.

Interaction with God

Little is know of Isaac’s adult life and ministry. He seems to be a faithful, pastoral man, content to lead his family and provide for them.

Social Situation

Isaac’s life seems to center on rearing his family and attending to local matters more than rising to any sort of national prominence on the political or religious scenes.

Key Teachings

Though Isaac serves a key role in the history of the development of the house of Israel, the scriptures record little of Isaac’s actions or teachings.

Living with the Prophet

Much is made of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac, his son. Not much is known of Isaac and his life, but he seemed to trust his father totally. When our parents or others we respect ask difficult things of us, how do we react?

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Isaac”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Isaac”

Holy Bible, the book of Genesis

Lifespan

7??-ca. 740 B.C.

Ministry

Eighth century B.C. (the latter part of Jeroboam II’s reign). Hosea was the only northern kingdom prophet who left written prophecies that became part of an Old Testament book. Hosea preceded Isaiah by only a few years.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Hosea seeks and receives revelation from God about his personal life and his prophetic ministry, and they are closely connected. His story is complex and passionate, and so is his relationship with God. But in all things, Hosea is obedient and seeks forgiving above retribution, for he seems to have learned through his experience with God’s instruction that kindness and grace are more powerful than judgment.

Social Situation

Israel is surrounded by two powerful nations, Assyria and Egypt. As a small border country, Israel attempts to survive by negotiation and by playing off one powerhouse against the other. Furthermore, the spiritual foundation of the country is being challenged by the more sensual and earthy Baal worship of local fertility cults. Hosea’s message is that if the people (and their leaders) will just remain true to their God, all will be well. By “prostituting” themselves for political reasons, they reject the one force that can preserve them: their bridegroom, even the great Jehovah.

Key Teachings

Hosea’s principal teachings dealt with the love of God that God has for his people.

Hosea’s writings are in some ways unusual. In them he records God’s commandment to him to marry the adultrous Gomer. They have three children together, who are not unlike their mother. His family relationships form a close allegory to what is going on in the nation, for the people reject God, attempt to repent, fall into Baal worship, and yet God loves His family (Israel) nonetheless, even as Hosea loves his unfaithful wife and children.

Prophecies of Christ

“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt” (Hosea 11:1).

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction” (Hosea 13:14).

Living with the Prophet

Hosea’s story includes the story of his marriage to a wife who was at times unfaithful to him. Despite her unfaithfulness to him, he loved her. Sometimes those who are close to us do things that may hurt us. How will we react to that? Will we return the hurt, or will we react in a more Christlike way? If you have been hurt by someone you love, resolve to invite God into your heart in determining how you will react to that hurt.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Hosea, the Book of”

Holy Bible, the book of Hosea

Lifespan

Uncertain beyond 520 B.C.

Ministry

Haggai’s recorded ministry covers only three months (in 520 B.C.) and occurs shortly after Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile. Nothing is known about Haggai either before or after his approximately 90-day recorded ministry. He was an approximate contemporary of Zechariah.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Haggai had a brief ministry in which he encouraged and challenged the recently returned exiles from Babylon to rebuild the temple. His vew was positive and promising, and he prophesied of the value that the temple would have to the community’s spiritual and, perhaps more important to the struggling Judeans, economic prosperity.

Social Situation

The Jewish exiles had recently returned from Babylonian captivity. They were very much in a pioneer mode, rebuilding, planting, struggling with few resources and no established means to turn to. They suffered repeated droughts and failed crops. They were poor, hungry, and struggling to rebuild the glory of yesteryear. And in the center of it all was God’s command to rebuild the temple. The people complained that they did not have the resources, either personally or communally. Haggai responded that they did not have resources because they weren’t faithful in building the temple.

The situation is fascinatingly similar to the beginnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid-1800s in frontier America. Mormon pioneers suffered failed crops, bitter winters, and poverty, yet their prophet called for the construction of a temple in which God’s spirit could be manifest and where the people could properly worship Him. In response to the people’s questions, the prophet pointed to scriptural promises of the Messiah’s reign among His people. Even as Haggai is compared to a second Moses bringing his people out of exile, so was the modern prophet Brigham Young often called “an American Moses.”

Key Teachings

The book of Haggai contains only two chapters, both of which center on the temple. The first chapter is a challenge to the people to pursue the rebuilding the temple, and the second assures the people that the temple will be restored to a glory exceeding its former state.

Living with the Prophet

When God commanded Haggai’s people to rebuild the temple, they felt they did not have enough money to do so. They did not have the faith to take care of God’s commands first. Do you spend your money on self-satisfying computer games and entertainment, or are you actively committed to supporting God’s cause first? True wealth is not founded on a self-serving accumulation of goods and money.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Haggai, the Book of”

Holy Bible, the book of Haggai

Lifespan

Exact dates are uncertain, but scholars estimate that he wrote his book between 609-598 B.C.

Ministry

Little is known about the prophet Habakkuk. His ministry took place in Judah in approximately 600 B.C., although exact dates and ranges cannot be fixed. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Interestingly, the book of Habakkuk is addressed to God rather than being written as a history of God’s dealings with His children. As a result, we see Habakkuk complaining to God about the challenges of life, and we then get to read His answer. The prophet complains again, and God answers again. Finally, Habakkuk writes a powerful song of faith in God, expressing his belief that all will be well in the end.

Scome scholars have noted with interest that the insights gained in reading of Habakkuk’s struggles to understand God’s purposes in letting His people suffer have strong parallels to the writings of the modern prophet Joseph Smith as the fledgling Mormon church was being driven from community to community while Joseph himself was being held captive in deplorable conditions in a Missouri jail (Doctrine and Covenants 121-123).

Social Situation

The Babylonian armies were on their way to overwhelm and bring away Judah into captivity. The Judeans were of course fearful and questioning God about what would happen and why. The book of Habakkuk is insightful because it captures a central question of religion in general: what is God’s purpose or intent with me, and what am I to do?

Key Teachings

His central message was that regardless of what might happen, happiness and joy can be obtained through faithfulness to God.

Prophecies of Christ

“Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed” (Hab. 3:13).

Living with the Prophet

The book of Habakkuk is unusual in that it is addressed to God rather than being a historical narrative of a series of events. He complains to God about his challenges, and God responds. He complains again, and again God responds. Does this sound familiar relative to your own relationship to God? Resolve to follow Habakkuk’s example of coming to a strong faith in God that all will be well in the end-and quit complaining to God about your problems. He is aware of everything you experience and will ensure that you receive the challenges and successes you need to grow. Have faith in that, and be grateful for a God who cares!

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Habakkuk, the Book of”

Book of Doctrine and Covenants

Lifespan

During the early sixth century B.C., probably in the vicinity of 620-570 B.C.

Ministry

A prophet of priestly lineage, Ezekiel received his calling while in Babylonian deportation at approximately 593 B.C. He prophesied for 22 years. Ezekiel’s wife died while they were in exile.

Preparation and Calling

Ezekiel came from a priestly heritage. He seems to have received a good education and proved himself wise, for he was consulted by the Jewish leaders and writes as a man of significant learning.

Interaction with God

Ezekiel received many revelations and had a firm belief in the restoration of Israel and the temple.

Social Situation

Ezekiel was among the vast numbers of Judeans who were deported to Babylon at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. As such they were subjected to living among people who did not worship nor believe as they did. His people (the Jews) longed for their homeland and their temple, and they saw the exile as a heavy burden. Nonetheless, they did not always choose to obey their God. Like children, they longed for what they could not have, but did not choose wisely among the options that they did have.

Key Teachings

Ezekiel taught firmly individual responsibility (Ezekiel 18). Regardless of circumstance, whether in captivity or freedom, each person was to choose his behavior. He was not always optimistic that the people would choose correctly, but he taught clearly of their responsibility to do so.

He also taught that God would be faithful and show boundless grace to those who chose to follow Him. God was holy and devoted to His chosen people.

His vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37) provides a clear testimony of the resurrection.

Prophecies of Christ

“Thus said the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezek. 37:12).

Living with the Prophet

In chapter 18 of his book, Ezekiel teaches that we are each responsible for our actions. We are not responsible for our ancestors’ sins, nor must we be punished for our children’s decisions. Each person must stand up and be accountable for his choices and behavior. Neither family nor society nor God Himself forces you to choose evil! In what areas of your life can you assume greater responsibility? How can you invite God into your life to help you from blaming others for your actions?

Sources:

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Ezekiel, the Book of”

Holy Bible, book of Ezekiel

Enoch

Lifespan

Uncertain (seventh generation from Adam).

Ministry

The people of Enoch’s day were straying. God called Enoch to call them to repentance, “lest I come and smite them with a curse, and they die” (Moses 7:10). He learned to teach with such power that his very voice would make the earth tremble, the mountains flee, and the rivers turn from their courses. The people of his city became so righteous, and the enemies of his city so afraid of his power, that “from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness” (Moses 7:16).

Preparation and Calling

We know little of Enoch’s preparation, but he describes his calling in this way: “As I was jouneying, and stood upon the place Mahujah, and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying-Turn ye, and get ye upon the mount Simeon. And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory; and I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face” (Moses 7:2-4).

Interaction with God

The Bible speaks of Enoch in ways unique to him, for Enoch “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22-24). He did not live as long on the earth as his contemporaries, for he was but 365 years old when “God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Ben Sira and Josephus in Jewish Antiquities similarly note that he was taken up by Deity, and the Book of Moses adds that the entire city in which he dwelt and taught was taken up with him.

Social Situation

Though there is little information about Enoch in the Old Testament, there is substantially more Enoch literature that has not made its way into the official canon. It is to those writings that we must turn for more of the Enoch story.

The most noteworthy event of Enoch’s ministry is without a doubt the translation not only of the prophet himself but also of the entire city of Enoch. As a prophet of power, Enoch has few peers, being a fearless teacher of the gospel with the faith to move mountains and defeat armies by virtue of the priesthood and the power of God.

Key Teachings

Enoch is known for his close relationship with God and for his own godly manner. In many ancient writings, as Steven D. Fraade points out in the Encyclopedia of Religion, “Enoch combines the functions of prophet, priest, scribe, lawgiver, sage, and judge.” Thus, his most powerful teachings may simply be that man truly has the ability to become a son or daughter of God and receive His fullest blessings, understanding that if we are children of God, then we can become “heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

Living with the Prophet

Enoch “walked with God.” Sometimes, we run from the opportunity to allow God’s influence to “walk” with us. How can you invite God to walk with you this evening?

Sources:

Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade, s.v. “Enoch”

Book of Moses

Jewish Antiquities, Josephus

The Holy Bible (KJV)

Lifespan

Mid-ninth century B.C. (approximately 899 to 840 B.C.)

Ministry

Elijah prophesied in the northern kingdom during the reigns of Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram (873-843 B.C.).

Rather than experiencing death, Elijah was “translated” directly into the heavens. As he did so, his prophet’s mantel fell to Elisha in a symbolic transfer of authority and position to his heir apparent to the prophet’s calling.

Preparation and Calling

We know nothing about Elijah’s birth and early life, not even the name of his father (which was a common Old Testament practice to show legitimacy and heritage). He is a native of Tishbe in Gilead, the exact location of which is uncertain today.

Interaction with God

Elijah’s recorded relationship with God often comes in connection with the prophet’s frequent confrontations with the idolatrous political and religious leaders of the land. Thus, Elijah shuts the heavens from rain and causes drought, then later challenges Ahab and his priests to a “duel” of sorts to determine whose God can end the drought. When Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume not only the animal sacrifice but also the priests of Baal, Elijah’s witness demonstrates the superiority of his God.

However, not all of Elijah’s interactions with God were accompanied by lightning and drama. One of his more powerful recorded experiences takes place in 1 Kings 19:11-12: “And [God] said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and afte the fire a still small voice.” It was here in this quiet whispering that Elijah found the Lord and had a one-on-one discussion with the great Almighty.

Social Situation

Elijah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom during a time when most of the people were worshipers of the fertility god Baal. His mission was so impressive that the Israelites seemed to believe that Elijah would someday return to them, for many people mistook Jesus for Elijah during his ministry.

Elijah had several recorded confrontations with Ahab, the king. These rather powerful experiences helped cement Elijah’s reputation as prophet, along with a significant theophany when Elijah heard the voice of the Lord as “a still small voice.”

Key Teachings

Elijah’s teachings were wrapped up in his actions. During a time when idolatry was encouraged by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, Elijah challenged both the political leaders and the false priests of Baal and Asherah. He was relentless in calling on the powers of heaven to prove to all that his God was the true God, and as such was more powerful in every way than the popular but false fertility gods of the day.

Living with the Prophet

Elijah was known for destroying 450 false prophets. He defended God and truth at all times. However, he also miraculously fed a widow and brought a dead child back to life. True strength always includes the ability to show compassion, and true compassion includes a willingness to stand up for truth at all times. Challenge yourself to firmly represent God in your life and to quietly share compassionate service to someone in need this coming week.

Sources:

The Learning Bible (CEV)

Oxford Companion to the Bible, eds. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan

The Holy Bible (KJV)

Lifespan

Approximately twelfth century B.C.

Ministry

Though Deborah is called a prophetess (Judges 4:4) and she was certainly blessed with the spirit of prophecy, she did not hold the priesthood nor its keys. She is best known for her success as a military leader and a judge of the people.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown.

Interaction with God

Deborah was a prophetess and a military leader who sat in judgment and gave inspired directions. She also composed songs of praise to God, which she probably also did according to the gift of inspiration that she possessed.

Social Situation

One of the few women in the scriptures who have been credited as having the gift of prophecy, Deborah judged Israel, but her real fame came from her prowess as a military leader. She is the only woman who is listed as a judge in the book of Judges. She is also the only military leader in the book of Judges to be called “a prophet.”

Key Teachings

Deborah’s song of victory praise makes clear her understanding that God is all powerful.

Living with the Prophet

Deborah was careful to praise God for her military success rather than take all the credit herself. What a wonderful example! Consider carefully your recent past. What successes have you enjoyed? How can you show God that you are grateful for His love and support for you?

Sources:

Judges 4, 5

Oxford Companion to the Bible, ed. Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan, s.v. “Deborah”

Lifespan

10??-1015 B.C. (There are no references to David in any records outside the Bible, so these dates cannot be collaborated from other sources.)

Ministry

David was anointed by Samuel in 1063 B.C., became king of the southern kingdom in 1055, and united both Judah and Israel under his reign in 1047.

Preparation and Calling

The Lord instructed Samuel the prophet to seek out a son of Jesse, a farmer and keeper sheep from Bethlehem in Judah, to anoint as the next king. After reviewing Jesse’s oldest seven sons, he saw the youngest, David, and heard the Lord say, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” Samuel promptly “anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:12-13). Subsequent experiences during his youth brought him into the king’s court as his harp player and armor bearer, and brought him to battle the giant Philistine warrior Goliath. These and other military experiences were important to David’s particular calling because of his later dual role as prophet-king over all Israel.

Interaction with God

David as an individual is emotional, passionate, and creative. His relationship with God seems to echo those traits. The psalms, many of which are attributed to him, reveal the heights and depths of his feelings-his pleadings for forgiveness, his soaring praise for a benificent God, his devotion to the Almighty, his recruiting of God’s power in revenge on the unholy. But little is recorded of how David received God’s word in response-open vision? dreams? angelic ministrants? Because these more dramatic experiences are not mentioned, perhaps David simply was led by a spirit of prophecy and of revelation which came by means of a still, small voice that spoke to his soul.

Social Situation

David is one of the best-known of all biblical figures. His life can be divided into four major sections: (1) a youthful shepherd, (2) a member of the court, (3) a fugitive, and (4) king over all of combined Israel.

David first won favor with the royal court of Saul, king of Israel, because of his musical skills. Soon after came the famous triumph over Goliath, the giant warrior of Gath and champion of the Philistines.

His friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan, creates considerable tension, as the conflict between David and Saul grew. David married Saul’s daughter, Michael, and secured his own considerable military force. Although he had opportunity to kill Saul, David’s respect for Saul’s position prevented him from doing so. But when Saul died, David became king of the southern kingdom of Judah, and shortly after brought the northern kingdom of Israel into his rule as well.

One of David’s failings was recorded with the story of Bathsheba. His lust for her began a downward slide of the house of David, and before long rape, murder, and rebellion erupted within his own family.

In short, David was passionate and full of faith. That passion both fueled his success and caused his eventual demise. At its highpoint, the kingdom of David was remarkable for his ability to consolidate a divided kingdom under a single devotion to the Lord.

Key Teachings

Through his psalms and his life, David teaches that God has all power and reigns over all. It is in God that we find protection, solace, peace, joy, prosperity, vengeance, and purpose.

David also seemed to have a clear sense of the coming Messiah, and many foreshadowings of His advent are contained in the psalms that bear David’s name.

Prophecies of Christ

David’s psalms are filled with foreshadowings of the coming Christ. Here are but a few:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsake me? . . . “The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. . . . They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Ps. 22:1, 16, 18).

“Lift up your heads, . . . and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory” (Ps. 24:9-10).

“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Ps. 69:21).

“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. . . . The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:1, 4).

“I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Ps. 118:21-22).

Living with the Prophet

One of David’s best-known experiences was his battle with Goliath. Through faith in God and a well-placed stone, a young man took down a seasoned giant of a warrior. We all have Goliaths to face in our daily lives, whether they be a physical addiction, social peer pressure, economic need, or a myriad of other challenges that may seem simply too big for us to overcome. But we each have a bit of David in us. Beyond that, David succeeded because he had God’s support with him. So do you. Choose one of your Goliaths today, and invite God’s help in defeating that imposing challenge!

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade, vol. 4, s.v. “David”

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

Psalms

1 Kings

The Religion Book: Places, Prophets, Saints, and Seers, Jim Willis, pp. 170-75

Lifespan

Unknown (approx. 2000 B.C.?)

Ministry

Unknown. His travels began in the Fertile Crescent near Haran, moved southeast to the Chaldean Ur, and west to Canaan and Egypt.

Preparation and Calling

As a youth, Abraham was nearly sacrificed to a local god by false priests. At the last second, God sent an angel to save his life. After marrying Sarah, Abraham was commanded to leave his father’s house and land and go to Canaan, along with Sarah, his father, and his nephew Lot and his wife.

While yet in Haran, God appeared to him and apparently ordained him to the calling of prophet. The book of Abraham states his experience thus: “The Lord appeared unto me [Abraham], and said unto me: Arise, . . . for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice. . . . Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee” (Abraham 2:6, 12).

Interaction with God

Whisperings and promptings of the Spirit, angelic visitors, visions, and direct visits from Deity-all of these figured into Abraham’s personal and prophetic ministry.

Abraham’s relationship with God both confirmed and tested his faith in God. When Abraham was a youth, God sent an angel to rescue him from an altar of human sacrifice. This dramatic experience taught Abraham of God’s power and of his nature-he was not a demander of sacrifice and fear but a God of love and intelligence. While in the land of Haran, Abraham received his prophetic commission when God appeared to him in person and taught him of the priesthood and of his duties.

Throughout his remaining years, God frequently spoke to Abraham through the power of His Spirit, sent angels to instruct and protect on several occasions, and at times instructed Abraham in ways that tried his soul (such as giving away Sarah to the political leaders of Canaan and Egypt and the apparent sacrifice of his son Isaac). Before entering Egypt, Abraham was shown a mind-expanding vision of all creation, including the workings of the planets and the stars (Abraham 3-5; Sefer Yetsirah).

Perhaps Abraham’s greatest trial and greatest confirmation of faith was his requested sacrifice of Isaac, for not only did God ask him to take the life of his long-awaited promised son but this request came from the very God who had saved his life from just such a fate years earlier. Abraham had spent his entire life following a God who now seemed to change His nature, and yet he obeyed. As a result, Isaac was spared, and three great religions today all claim Abraham as a spiritual father to their people-Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Social Situation

Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were required to undergo repeated tests of personal faith. Those required of Abraham include giving up his homeland, giving his choicest land and herds to his nephew, not having a child until he and Sarah were well past the childbearing years, sending his firstborn into the wilderness to his apparent destruction,  and being asked to sacrifice his promised son Isaac on an altar to God. Sarah was also tried considerably, twice being delivered up as a potential wife for a local king, rescued only by her adherence to her beliefs, and promised a son when she was beyond her childbearing years. Miraculously, she survived to bear a son when she was in her later years, a son who became a mighty leader in Israel-Isaac.

Key Teachings

Abraham is a key figure for several religions, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

As a young man, Abraham’s life was threatened by local priests who wanted to sacrifice him live on an altar. Gathering together his wife and family, he left the lands of his birth and left for Canaan. Famine soon forced them to move on to Egypt. After some interaction with the pharaoh, Abraham and Sarah returned to Canaan.

Though childless, Abraham received a promise from God that Sarah would yet have a child. In her old age, she did indeed conceive and bear a son, Isaac, who would become the center of what is considered Abraham’s greatest trial in a life filled with faith-testing trials. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son in a hearkening back to his own youth and a forward look to the atonement of Jesus Christ, when the Only Son of God was “sacrificed” on the cross.

Abraham’s greatest teachings are perhaps veiled in the stories of his life as he obeyed every command given him by God. Two themes that he began and that are perpetuated by most if not all subsequent prophets in the Old Testament: (1) the Messiah would eventually come, and (2) in the last days, Abraham’s covenant would be reestablished.

Living with the Prophet

Abraham had great faith in God, partly because he was willing to obey whatever God asked of him even when that task seemed unpleasant-or worse! Exercise your faith in God by asking Him about His prophets on earth today, even though the answer might both bless your life and add challenges to it.