Articles
Turning Points in Bible History - 4
God’s choice of Abraham and the resulting covenant He made with him was an enormous turning point that few even noticed at the time. Abraham had been instructed by God to leave the familiar environs of Ur and go to a new land (Gen 12:1-3). Thus God and the descendants of Abraham embark on a long journey together that eventually leads to the Savior.
As a godly man, Abraham serves as a model of faith worthy of our emulation (Rom 4:16-24; Heb 11:8-16; Jas 2:20-24). His trust in God, acceptance of hardship, and boundless obedience provide a template for the faithful of all ages. Additionally, Sarah is a model for a godly, submissive wife (1 Pet 3:1-6).
As the progenitor of the nation of Israel, Abraham introduced a previously unknown ethnic people who remain a significant presence on the world stage to this day. To be honest, the Bible’s unvarnished account of Jewish history is unflattering, but this is no different from any other nation of antiquity. Jews demonstrate the same foibles and failures as all humans and should not be objects of modern persecution on that basis.
God obligated Himself in His covenant with Abraham to keep His word over centuries of opposing human free will, natural ebbs and flows of ethnic identity, shifts in the balance of power among the world’s nations. But through it all He proved Himself faithful to His word and brought salvation to mankind. Truly, Abraham “is the father of us all” (Rom 4:16).
