"1And there was a
famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And
Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2And the LORD
appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I
shall tell thee of: 3Sojourn in this
land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy
seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware
unto Abraham thy father; 4And I will make
thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all
these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5Because that
Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws." (Genesis 26: 1-5)
God blessed Isaac because his Father Abraham obeyed God in all things.
What a wonderful picture of Jesus, our high priest, who has obeyed all things for us, has fulfilled the law (Matthew 5: 17), that we may enjoy all things with Him and through Him.
In these verses, the mention that Abraham followed God's law was very intriguing.
At the time of this account, there were no Ten Commandments.
So, what law, what statutes was God talking about?
Let's see what the LORD God first said to Abram, before he was blessed with a new name:
"
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 shew thee:
of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou
shalt be a blessing:
them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12: 1-3)
said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes,
and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward,
and westward: 15For all the
land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16And I will make
thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the
earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17Arise, walk
through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give
it unto thee. 18Then Abram
removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which
is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD." (Genesis 13: 14-18)