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[Becomer]

How come Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sin but being praised for their goodness?

I'm reading through Genesis, and I've come across accounts where these men have lied, yet they are also said to be a person who follows God's laws before the laws were even given. They are supposed to be great examples of faith. How come their lies do not seem to anger God in any way?

Ex: Abraham lies to Abimelech, Jacob lies to Laban, and I'm certain there are other cases that is skipping my mind at the moment.

Also, tons of incest happening without repercussions in Genesis alongside marrying multiple women and divorcing. All of these being seen as sinful acts in the broader scope of God's laws.

[jimwalton]

I'm not aware of places where they are praised for their goodness. You'll have to point those out for me. Abraham is praised for being a model of faith, but that's different. Where are they praised for being good?

I'm also not aware of where it is said they followed God's laws. Where are you getting these observations?

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were sinners like the rest of us, as you have discovered from your reading. Abraham was deceptive about Sarah, as was Isaac about Rebekah. Jacob was a sniveling cheat.

Abraham is held up as an example of faith not because of his morality but instead because of his faith. In the midst of his journey from polytheism, and despite his initial lack of faith, along with a propensity to half lie out of fear, God was teaching him faith. And Abraham learned as he went along, and that's why he's held up as an example. It's what we all have to do.

[Becomer]

Going back and read where I got this skewed view of the passage, I see now that I just misinterpreted it. I'm reading through the Expositor's Bible Commentary. It rather states that Abraham lived in harmony with God's will even though he lived long before the revelation st Sinai.

So, Abraham was just at peace with living with God's will, he wasn't being directly praised for it. The commentary points to Romans 4 and Galatians 3 as a reference for further interpretation, and that clearly defines that it was through Abraham's faith. What you've explained seems to be correct view of the passage, and in my notes I even have this viewpoint of the passage rather than what I explained here. I plan to review all of my notes and get a clear understanding after I finish the book.

The commentary does say that he lived in harmony with God's will before Sinai even happened, so it does mention that he followed laws - without being mindful about it though. But that's not to say he was perfect. In fact, looking at Romans and Galatians, it seems that Abraham is being depicted as not being being perfect.

This is found in Genesis 14:1-24 section of the commentary (the original, not the abridged version of the collection).

[jimwalton]

> The commentary does say that he lived in harmony with God's will before Sinai even happened, so it does mention that he followed laws - without being mindful about it though.

Abraham was roughly 700 years before Sinai. The text Expositors is referring to is Gen. 26.5. It's true that the author uses terms that are elsewhere in the OT associated with the Law given at Sinai, but since that's not an option here, we seek the text for what they mean.

An example of "keeping my commands" is found when Lot was commanded to flee Sodom or when Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac. An example of "my decrees" is the ordinance of circumcision that the Lord gave Abraham (Gn. 17). An example of "instruction" would be that circumcision was to be done on the 8th day, for instance.

So Abraham was clearly before Sinai. But since the books of Genesis and Exodus were written by the same author, he uses the same terminology (here only, as far as I know) to talk about Abraham being a man who kept, not a list of rules, but instead the understanding of God that led him to loyalty and love.