Exodus 3:15 (ESV) “God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”
Acts 7:32 (ESV) “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.”
This name of God is special because it emphasises His covenant with Israel and showcases the special role the Israelites fill as God’s chosen people.
In Genesis, God called Abraham to go to the land of Canaan and leave his home in Ur of the Chaldees, making a covenant with him which became known as the Abrahamic covenant.
Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
God promised Abraham land, many descendants, and blessing. He repeated this promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac and then to Isaac’s son, Jacob. Due to this multi-generational impact, He is rightly known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When God revealed Himself to Moses in preparation for bringing His people out of Egypt, He called Himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”
Exodus 3:15-16 (NIV) “God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. 16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.”
God also instructed Moses to identify the Lord by that name when speaking to the Israelites. When God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He clearly distinguishes Himself from the gods of Egypt in whose land the Israelites dwelt. Second, the reference to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob implies a reason for the exodus: the promise of land. God had vowed that the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would inherit the promised land. God’s faithfulness and Israel’s blessing were directly tied to Israel’s possession of the Promised Land, and the name God uses for Himself referred back to the covenant with Abraham.