Why is Abraham the father to all of us?
Is Abraham the father to all of us by faith in Jesus Christ? God and Abraham made a covenant. It was a covenant that guaranteed Abraham and his seed that they would take the land thanks to personal faith in Christ. “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14, KJV)
The “eternal covenant” that the Lord made with him is the same eternal covenant that is often mentioned in the Bible. We read in Hebrews about the “blood of the everlasting covenant,” people are perfected in good work to do God’s will. Also, the promised land in this eternal covenant was to be given “eternal possession” to Abraham and his seed. Notify well that it is Abraham, like his seed, who was promised land in eternal possession.
By faith
In the second part of his prophetic book, Isaiah gives hope to the exiles and lectures those who seek the truth that Abraham was the father of the Jews. They had to look at him to be on the path of justice. Abraham had this status in the period between the two agreements when the Jews pointed out that Abraham kept the law even before God gave it. The New Testament continues the tradition of Abraham’s grand position. It emphasizes, on many occasions, the importance that was attached to the fact that Abraham is someone’s father. Matthew, following Jesus’ lineage to Abraham, describes Jesus as “the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Jesus also criticizes the traditional definition of what it means to be the son of Abraham. After bringing salvation to the house of Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, He reminded those who listened to Him that he is also the son of Abraham. He did the same when he called the convulsed woman; he healed the daughter of Abraham.
In Abraham, the true ancestor of the Jews, Paul saw an excellent example that would prove the two basic views he presented: that salvation is based on faith and by God’s grace, not on our works, and that salvation is for everyone. This evidence comes from two texts in the account of Abraham in Genesis. Read these two verses in Genesis 15: 6 and 17: 5. These two verses, along with some additional reflections of Paul, lead us to several comparisons in which Abraham becomes a significant example of the faith that Paul proclaims.
Calling Abraham
God was so very delighted with Abraham that He made with him all imaginable special covenants and promises. Over and above all other people, He gave Abraham many lands, already occupied by other nations, all sorts of agreements that are far-reaching. God considered him as a very special; and remarkably good man. In Genesis, chapter 12:1-3, God made a special call to Abraham for unknown reasons. The Lord then gave some rather extravagant, generous, and far-reaching promises to Abraham. At this point, it may be difficult to understand why God chose him, but later we will find out how faithful Abraham was.
Before calling Abraham, God knew who Abraham was, and God had every reason to make him a father of all nations. So, after hearing the call from God, Abram left, and Lot, his brother’s son, went with him. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarah his wife, and all the material belongings that they’d selected, and the people that they’d come in Haran, and that they went forward to access the land of Canaan. Abram surpassed thru the field unto the region of Sichem, unto the apparent of Moreh. And the Canaanite turned into then with inside the area.
An altar
And the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him that he would give this seed to his seed. When Lord says his seed, He means all of his descendants both by flesh and by faith. In that place, Abraham built an altar to the Lord, who appeared to him. And he went from there unto a mountain at the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel at the west, and Hai at the east. After, he built an altar for the Lord so he can refer and call of the name of the Lord. Following these events, Abram now traveled to the south.
Obviously, the season was not to good in Canaan, and they faced starvation. Abram and his wife then went to Egypt, where the harvest looked better. His wife was so beautiful, therefore there was a danger that Egyptians can take away Sarah. To save themselves from the Pharaoh, Abraham told his wife that when they came to Egypt, they would pretend that they were not husband and wife. But that she was his sister. If they say, that she is his sister, they might survive. When they arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians captured Sarah. When Pharaoh saw Sarah, he was attracted to her.
Now a marvelous thing is happening. Our good and just God, who has a covenant with Abraham, casts great evils on Pharaoh and his house. Obviously, out of his righteousness, should have been a lesson to Pharaoh not to play with Abraham’s wife. Pharaoh drove them both away, and Abraham took his booty with him. As God promised, he kept his promises and held Abraham safe.
Highly Recommended:
Book Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths. Abraham is the man of God, one figure who stands out as the shared father.
DVD collection: Abraham (The Bible Collection). Abraham is the man of God, one figure who stands out as the shared father.
Animated movie about Abraham and Isaac (25 min). It tells the story so well.
One could put yourself into this film and see which character you would be in it. I liked everything about the movie. Very worthwhile watching because it is Bible-based. You have to be interested in this kind of film to purchase. It opened up the story of Abraham to me. I understand more by seeing than by reading. Great DVD.
Lot and Abraham separate
At the very beginning of their lives in Canaan, Lot and Abram had disagreements. Abraham loved him, like a son. Because in a different world, Lot was his only cousin. For Abraham and Lot were cattlemen; both had tremendous herds. Their shepherds fought over the shepherd, and Lot was not always fair in defending his shepherds. Then Abram said to him, “Do not quarrel with me and you; because we are cousins. Isn’t the whole country open to you? Get away from me. If you’re going left, I’ll go right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
At that time, they lived near Bethel. Lot chose the beautiful valley of Siddim, through which the river Jordan flowed, and where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were. There were many smoke pits in that valley. In choosing, Lot looked only at the beauty and fertility of the place and thought that the inhabitants of that land were wicked and great sinners before the Lord; Abraham stayed near Bethel.
Here the Lord appeared to Abraham (the third time) and said, “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. ” (Genesis 13:14-16, KJV)
The war of kings
Abraham is the father of all by faith in Jesus Christ. God and Abraham made a covenant. It was a covenant that guaranteed Abraham and his seed that they would take the land thanks to personal faith in Christ. “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14, KJV)
Abram humbly received a blessing from him and gave him a tenth of the spoils. The king of Sodom offered Abraham as a gift all his property that had been returned from the enemy, and Abraham refused to accept that gift. “I raise my hand to the Lord God Almighty (that is, I swear to God),” he said, “that I will not take a thread or a shoelace, lest you say, ‘I have enriched Abraham.’” After this victory, the people of Canaan began to envy Abraham and feared him.
Lord’s promise
Then the Lord appeared to him at night (fourth appearance) and said to him to not be afraid because He is the shield, and Abraham’s reward is very high. Abraham answered, “Lord! What will you give me when I live without children, and my house will remain to this Eliezer of Damascus.” The Lord said to him: “He will not be your heir; your heir will be your son. Look at the sky and count the stars; so shall your seed be.”
Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord received him in righteousness. One more time, the Lord said to Abraham that his seed would be numerous as the stars in the sky. That doesn’t mean biological descendants only. It means everyone, by faith, is the descendant of Abraham. Therefore Abraham is the father to us all, us who are believers.
God said, “I have given this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great river of the Euphrates.” At the same time, the Lord foretold him what would happen to his offspring before he inherited the promised land: but I will also judge the people whom he shall serve, and afterward, they shall come forth with great treasures. And they will return here in the fourth generation, and you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried in a good old age. “
The first concubine in history
The first concubine mentioned in written history is probably the Egyptian Hagar, a slave. Sarah and Abraham had many adventures during their marriage, including a dangerous stay in Egypt, where beautiful Sarah unknowingly attracted the attention of Pharaoh, who wanted her for his harem. Abraham became a wealthy man who had everything but children because Sarah was barren. He despaired over the lack of children, and she blamed herself for the barrenness, which, at the time, was considered a curse. The solution was – a fertile concubine. Once, she proposed to her husband to take her slave Egyptian Agar, so that his children, born to him by Agar, would be her children.
Abraham agreed, he obeyed his wife, and Hagar didn’t even wonder. But Hagar was transformed by pregnancy. Hagar acted like Abraham’s wife, began to be careless with Sarah. Therefore, Sara started abusing her, so she ran away. The displeased wife turned to Abraham, but he reminded her that she is a full-fledged owner. So she could punish her slave. It is not known what Sara did to her, but she was so rough that Hagar decided to run away.
On the way to Egypt, the angel of the Lord met Hagar. He commanded her to return to her mistress and obey. Agar tells him her torment. At the same time, he prophesied to her from the name of the Lord that her seed will multiply greatly. She will give birth to a son and name him Ishmael. Hagar obeyed him, returned home and gave birth to Abram’s son, and most likely gave birth squatting between Sarah’s legs, according to the custom of birth on her knees. It was considered for children destined to become heirs of a “social” mother, instead of a biological one.
Abraham becomes a father for the second time
Abraham is a father once again. Jews often say that they are the only true descendants of Abraham because they are his biological descendants. God made a complex covenant with Abraham that ended Sarah’s infertility. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, and Sarah was ninety years old, the Lord appeared to Abraham (the fifth appearance) and told him to be honest. God will make the eternal covenant with Abraham, that he will be the father of many nations. And the Lord will establish his covenant between God and Abraham and his seed, an everlasting covenant; God will give unto all the land of Canaan for an eternal Kingdom.
As a sign of that, let every male child be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. God bless Sarah, and she shall bring forth Abraham’s son; nations and kings will come out of it. Then Abram fell on his face, laughed, and thought, how a man of a hundred years and Sarah, a woman of ninety, can have a son? But the Lord confirmed His promise and commanded to call his son Isaac (which is laughter). God will establish his covenant with him, that it may be an everlasting covenant in his posterity after him. Also, Ishmael, God will multiply greatly, and He will make him a great nation.
The Lord made the same covenant with Isaac when Sarah bears him to you at this time next year. Immediately after the apparition, Abraham carried out the commandment of God and received the circumcision. And circumcision of Ishmael his son, all his household born and bought. At first, Sara laughed as an absurd idea, considering herself too old to give birth. The Lord rebuked her for laughing because nothing is impossible for God to do.
God tests Abraham as a father
And obviously nothing was difficult for God because Sarah conceived a son Isaac. Soon the Lord put Abraham’s faith to a great test. When Isaac was about twenty years old, the Lord appeared to Abraham (eighth appearance) and told him to take his only son. His beloved Isaac, so that he could go to the land of Moriah and burn him as a sacrifice there on the mountain, where God will command. No matter how difficult it was for Abraham to keep this commandment of God, he decided to keep it.
Early the next day, he chopped wood for the sacrifice, saddled his donkey, took two boys and Isaac with him, and went to the land of Moriah. Three days after they set out, the Lord had not yet told them the place of sacrifice. The heart of Abraham endured terrible torments. He sacrificed Isaac in his soul, and for three days, Isaac seemed to be dead to him. Finally, Abraham saw a hill destined for sacrifice. He left the boys and the donkey under the hill, gave the wood to Isaac. Abraham took the fire and the knife in his hands, so they both went to the mountain. Along the way, Isaac noticed that something was wrong.
So he asked, the fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice? Abraham replied that God, son, would take care of the lamb for himself. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham told his son the will of God. He made an altar, set fire and bound Isaac, and laid him on the altar. Isaac did not object.
Abraham saw Jesus Christ
Parents should try to put themselves in Abraham’s skin. If God were to ask you to offer your child as a sacrifice, would you be obedient? I probably wouldn’t. We can all give our lives for our children, but another way around seems impossible. But, further, Abram took a knife and raised his hand to slaughter his son, and in that, he heard a voice from heaven to stop. And Abraham stopped. He did the will of God, and at the same time, Isaac remained alive. He looked back and saw a ram, entangled in its horns. Abraham took him and sacrificed him instead of his son Isaac.
Then again I heard the voice of an angel speaking to him in the name of God: “When you have not spared your only son for My sake, I will bless you and multiply your offspring, so that it may be like a star in the sky and like sand on the seashore, and it will be blessed into your seed all the nations of the earth. ” After that, Abraham returned to Bathsheba with his son.
Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his son Isaac, our Lord God sacrifice his Son, Jesus Christ. For a brief moment, Abraham felt identical pain as God. He deserved the name of the father of the faithful because he saw the future day of Christ the Savior.
Abraham, the father of the faithful
As the father of all believers, Abraham gives us an example of some of the essential elements of Christian identity. Second, he placed his hope in God’s promises. Abraham trusted God without any doubt. Paul discourses this in Hebrews 11: 8-10. Third, he believed that God would give him a son and that his descendants would one day be as numerous as the stars. Based on this statement, God justified him by believing, read Romans 4: 1-3. Fourth, he believed in God’s plan of salvation. The greatest test of Abraham’s faith occurred when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac on Moriah, read Genesis 22: 1-19; Hebrews 11: 17-19.
Abraham is described in the Old Testament as a friend of God, read 2 Chronicles 20: 7; Isaiah 41: 8. His life of faith, his unwavering obedience, and trust in God’s promises made him an example of what our Christian life should be like now. To the question is Abraham is the father to all of us by faith in Jesus Christ, the answer is, yes.