Faithfulness: The LORD is a covenant keeper. His words are completely trustworthy and He always fulfills His promises. Unlike the words of men, what God says remains unchanged across multiple generations. From Abraham to Isaac, Jacob, and beyond, His word endures forever (1 Pet. 1:23). Humans change and wither away like grass, but God and His word remain the same (1 Pet. 1:24-25). His word is sure, for “He swore by Himself” (22:16-18; Heb. 6:13) as Him who is the perfection of faithfulness and truth. And this bears out in history: God’s promise to Abraham is faithfully carried it out with his progeny (24:26-27; 26:3-4, 24; 27:28-29; 13-15; 35:11-12).

Grace: God’s choice is according to His grace. He chose those whom He will bless based on nothing that they do or would do. He chose Abraham by grace to make him a great nation when he had nothing to offer. The LORD “blessed him and multiplied him” when he was only one man (Is. 51:2). He also gave His covenant to Isaac whose wife was barren, not to Ishmael who fathered twelve princes (17:20; 25:16). Even as Isaac was conceived by the supernatural act of God (21:1-2), so Isaac’s offspring also came about by divine intervention (25:21). Regarding these twins, God chose the younger over the older, long before the boys were able to do anything good or bad (25:23; Rom. 9:10-12). Even though Jacob was a liar and a con man, God chose him for His blessing, not for any righteous merit but solely based upon God’s grace (Rom. 11:5-6). This grace of God extends to even today: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise … so that, just as it is written LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:26-31).