John Calvin Commentary Genesis 26:24

"And Jehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham`s sake." — Genesis 26:24 (ASV)

And the Lord appeared unto him. This vision (as I have said elsewhere) was to prepare him to listen more attentively to God, and to convince him that it was God with whom he had to deal; for a voice alone would have had less energy. Therefore God appears, in order to produce confidence in and reverence towards his word.

In short, visions were a kind of symbol of the Divine presence, designed to remove all doubt from the minds of the holy fathers concerning him who was about to speak.

If it should be objected that such evidence was not sufficiently sure—since Satan often deceives people by similar manifestations, being, as it were, the ape of God—we must keep in mind what has been said before: that a clear and unambiguous mark was engraved on the visions of God, by which the faithful could certainly distinguish them from those that were fallacious, so that their faith should not be kept in suspense.

And certainly, since Satan can only delude us in the dark, God exempts his children from this danger by illuminating their eyes with the brightness of his countenance.

Yet God did not fully manifest his glory to the holy fathers but assumed a form through which they could apprehend him according to their capacity. For, as the majesty of God is infinite, it cannot be comprehended by the human mind, and by its magnitude, it absorbs the whole world.

Besides, it necessarily follows that people, on account of their infirmity, must not only faint but be altogether annihilated in the presence of God. Therefore, Moses does not mean that God was seen in his true nature and greatness, but in such a manner that Isaac was able to bear the sight.

But what we have said—namely, that the vision was a testimony of Deity to give credibility to the oracle—will appear more fully from the context. For this appearance was not a mute spectre; but the word immediately followed, which confirmed in Isaac's mind faith in gratuitous adoption and salvation.

I am the God of Abraham. This preface is intended to renew the memory of all the promises previously given and to direct Isaac's mind to the perpetual covenant that had been made with Abraham and was to be transmitted, as by tradition, to his posterity.

The Lord therefore begins by declaring himself to be the God who had first spoken to Abraham, so that Isaac might not sever the present from the former oracles. For as often as he repeated the testimony of his grace to the faithful, he sustained their faith with fresh supports.

Yet he would have that very faith remain based upon the first covenant by which he had adopted them to himself. And we must always keep this method in mind, so that we may learn to gather together the promises of God, as they are combined in an inseparable bond.

Let this also always occur to us as a first principle: that God thus kindly promises us his grace because he has freely adopted us.

Fear not. Since these words are expounded elsewhere, I shall now be briefer.

First, we must observe that God thus addresses the faithful to tranquilize their minds; for, if his word is withdrawn, they necessarily become torpid through stupidity or are tormented with disquietude.

From this it follows that we can receive peace from no other source than from the mouth of the Lord, when he declares himself the author of our salvation—not that we are then free from all fear, but because the confidence of faith is sufficiently effective to assuage our perturbations.

Afterwards, the Lord gives proofs of his love by its effect, when he promises that he will bless Isaac.