“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
—Matthew 3:9
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going... For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
—Hebrews 11:8, 10
There are many references in the Hebrew Bible to literal rocks and stones: the rock from which the Lord provided water to the Israelites in the wilderness, the cleft rock in which the Lord sheltered Moses, the rock of Rimmon to which the remnant of the Benjaminites fled, and so on.
But many passages and poems use “Rock” to represent the Lord, who is a trustworthy and enduring refuge for His people. Jesus taught of the need to build on rock instead of sand. And Paul, in a letter to the Corinthian believers, identified the “spiritual Rock” from which the Israelites drank as being Christ.
All of that can make it surprising to encounter Isaiah's reference to “the rock from which you were hewn”, which Isaiah immediately connects to “Abraham your father”. The reference to rock and quarry leaves a striking visual after-image: Abraham as a cliff face or great boulder from which the little pebbles of Isaiah's audience had been mined. And that provides an additional overlay of irony when John the Baptist scolds some of his audience with the assertion that the Lord could produce children for Abraham “from these stones”.
The references to Abraham in Hebrews shine even more light on this connection. Some of the formally-religious people of John's day placed great importance on their genealogies and on their own accomplishments in observing the Law. But Abraham's righteousness was established prior to the Law of Moses. And was established by his faith in the Lord.
Abraham is not worthy of worship. Only the Lord can claim our ultimate loyalty and our worship. And faith cannot be inherited. But it can be imitated, held up as an example worthy of following by the pebbles who are part of his family.
Isaiah's reference is not belittling; it is encouraging. Abraham started as one person, in a day of small beginnings. He began as a flawed human, he remained flawed and human, but he also grew. Likewise, the pebbles that are chips off the old block may start small, but can grow through faith.
Rock and Pebbles
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
—Psalm 90:1-2
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.”
—Isaiah 51:1-2
“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
—Matthew 3:9
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going... For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
—Hebrews 11:8, 10
There are many references in the Hebrew Bible to literal rocks and stones: the rock from which the Lord provided water to the Israelites in the wilderness, the cleft rock in which the Lord sheltered Moses, the rock of Rimmon to which the remnant of the Benjaminites fled, and so on.
But many passages and poems use “Rock” to represent the Lord, who is a trustworthy and enduring refuge for His people. Jesus taught of the need to build on rock instead of sand. And Paul, in a letter to the Corinthian believers, identified the “spiritual Rock” from which the Israelites drank as being Christ.
All of that can make it surprising to encounter Isaiah's reference to “the rock from which you were hewn”, which Isaiah immediately connects to “Abraham your father”. The reference to rock and quarry leaves a striking visual after-image: Abraham as a cliff face or great boulder from which the little pebbles of Isaiah's audience had been mined. And that provides an additional overlay of irony when John the Baptist scolds some of his audience with the assertion that the Lord could produce children for Abraham “from these stones”.
The references to Abraham in Hebrews shine even more light on this connection. Some of the formally-religious people of John's day placed great importance on their genealogies and on their own accomplishments in observing the Law. But Abraham's righteousness was established prior to the Law of Moses. And was established by his faith in the Lord.
Abraham is not worthy of worship. Only the Lord can claim our ultimate loyalty and our worship. And faith cannot be inherited. But it can be imitated, held up as an example worthy of following by the pebbles who are part of his family.
Isaiah's reference is not belittling; it is encouraging. Abraham started as one person, in a day of small beginnings. He began as a flawed human, he remained flawed and human, but he also grew. Likewise, the pebbles that are chips off the old block may start small, but can grow through faith.
Just like mustard seeds.