Holy Trinity
July 13, 2016
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church celebrates the feasts of the Holy Trinity on the 7th of every Ethiopian months, of which the two are the greatest annual feasts celebrated with especial rituals ( on the 7th of Tir (January 15) and Hamle 7th (July 14).
On July 14, the church commemorates the covenant of Abraham, the sacrifice of Isaac and the visit of God to Abraham in the form of three guests under the oaks of Mamre. The account was narrated based on the verse on (Genesis 22:1-18, 18:1-5, 12:1-3, 17:1-8).
The covenant of God to Abraham
God made the first promise of His salvation of all the people of the earth to Abraham, with whom He also made His covenant to be faithful forever.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing … and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:1-3, 17:1-8, 22:1-18).
The visit of God to Abraham in the form of Three Guests
The main proof of the New Testament revelations that of the Holy Trinity was prefigured in Abraham’s life. This is the famous visit of the three guests of God to Abraham under the plains of Mamre.
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on … since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said” (Gen 18:1-5).
Abraham addresses the three guests as one, calling them Lord. They eat in his presence and foretell the birth of Isaac from Sarah in her old age. In this visitation of God to Abraham, the Church sees the prefiguration of the full revelation of the Holy Trinity in the New Testament. Truly in Abraham every aspect of the final covenant in Christ the Messiah was foreshadowed and foretold.
The sacrifice of Isaac
One year after the appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three guests, the prophecy of God was fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah gave birth to a son whom they called Isaac. Abraham was then one hundred years old and Sarah ninety. They loved their only son very much. When Isaac grew up, God wished to elevate the faith of Abraham and thus teach all men through him to love God and obey His will.
God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham believed and trusted in God. He obeyed his will, and went to the mountain to slay his child. God stopped him and placed a ram in Isaac’s place saying “for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Gen 22:12). Then once more God made the promise that “by your descendants shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed …” (Gen 22:18).
There is absolutely nothing more precious to Abraham than his son. Indeed, to give up his son would be to give up more than himself. God stops Abraham before he slays his son. God does not want Isaac’s blood… only Abraham’s heart. So He provides a substitute, a ram, which shows the true meaning of all authentic sacrifice—we give to God something precious that represents our very selves.
For such faith, love, and obedience God blessed Abraham and promised him that he would have as many offspring as the stars in the heavens and the sand on the shore of the sea, and that in his offspring all the peoples of the earth would receive a blessing, that is, the Savior of the world would come forth from his descendants.
Source: Ethiopian Orthodox Church Commentary on the two Old Testament Books of Genesis and Exodus, 1999 E.C.