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The Friend of God: Abraham

It may not be generally known, but there is only one man who is described in the Bible as the ‘friend of God.’ This unique individual was Abraham, the father of the Jewish race. He was not a native of the land we now know as Israel, but was in fact born in the land of Mesopotamia, known today as Iraq.

Abraham is an outstanding example of a man who was prepared to accept and successfully endure many trials for the sake of his faith in God. He is another example of a person who had a religion that makes sense. Christians today look to Abraham because he is described in the Bible as the father of all who depend on faith in God.

Who was Abraham?

Abraham was brought up in an environment of idolatry. Originally he was a worshipper of false gods, which he subsequently rejected for the worship of the one true God. The descendants of Abraham, (the nation of Israel) were told:

Called out of Ur

The account of his life commences with the statement that Abraham received a message from God; calling upon him to leave the immoral environment of Ur, and go into a land that he would be shown.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia (Ur), before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, “Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.” (Acts 7:2)

What is faith?

Faith is an attitude of reliance on God and the Bible. To have faith is to be certain, not of the here and now, but about things in the future promised by God:

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)

Crossroads at Haran

They got as far as Haran and decided it was a suitable place to stay, at least for a time. Haran was the end of several caravan routes, at the crossroads of a number of different routes. Few details are recorded of what occurred in that place. Then Terah, the aged father of the group died at Haran. Once again, Abram (as Abraham was then called), heard the Voice of God:

Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1)

The Chaldeans had a high reputation as leaders in popular religion. But they proclaimed a false, idolatrous worship. If Abraham was to serve the one true God acceptably, he had to turn from such. The family had partially obeyed. Now the question was: were they to continue? Faith and courage were required to go further.

Faith in a new millennium

How does one develop this kind of faith? The Bible itself tells us:

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)

It is not just a matter of hearing (or reading) about the word of God. Faith comes from the word of God itself. So in reading these Bible studies you are hearing, but without turning to the Bible itself you will not gain a lot of benefit. However, opening your own Bible and reading the references — and possibly reading the rest of the paragraph, or even the whole chapter, will help you to see that reference in its context.

Remember those in Berea, who heard the preaching of Paul. They were commended because they read the Scriptures daily; to see if the things he taught were so. As you progress through these studies your understanding of the Bible will increase, and your faith in the Bible and God will likewise grow. You will be well on the way to developing a faith like that of Abraham, and at the same time developing a life that is pleasing to God.

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)

Abraham makes his decision

Haran was an outpost of Babylonia. To move over the Euphrates into the land of Canaan, as commanded by God, meant that Abraham and his family would have to leave a place where they felt safe, and with which they were familiar. They would face the uncertainties of the unknown, inhabited by those who rejected the worship of the true God.

The faith of the rest of the family had grown cold. They decided to stay there in Haran with the comfort and security that it still afforded them. And what of Abraham?

And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6)

Having put his faith in God, Abraham then put his faith into action:

Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5)

Obeying and serving the one true God gave meaning and purpose to his life. So Abraham left his family in Haran and continued to toward the land of promise.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8)

God’s covenant with Abraham

Abraham’s faith was based upon the promises of blessing, which accompanied God’s command. He realised that when God, the All-powerful and All-wise Creator, makes promises, they are certain to be fulfilled. God had said to him:

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3)

Throughout Abraham’s long life God tested his faith and these promises were repeated many times. Each time something extra was added to the original promise.

Paul taught that in these promises, the Gospel was preached to Abraham:

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8)

Let the reader consider the words of Paul. They signify that if he fails to understand the promises made to Abraham, he fails to comprehend the saving truths of the Gospel! That fact shows the importance of this subject. Acceptance of the truth in these promises opens the way to eternal life by a resurrection from the dead:

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16)

Today a covenant is simply a matter of legal documents and sealing wax. To the Hebrew mind it was a bond, which included all human relationships and obligations, whether it was a marriage contract, a verbal undertaking or even some commercial enterprise. Abraham did all that God asked of him. He now looks forward to the fulfilment of the promises made by God.

(a) Abraham’s descendants to possess the land of Canaan.

The land to which God eventually led Abraham was called Canaan in ancient times. It is an area, which at the present day roughly coincides with the modern states of Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Jordan at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. On his arrival in the land God again spoke to Abraham:

The Lord said to Abram, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever …Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Note particularly words ‘to you and ‘forever.’ If it were not for these two important factors, we might understand the promise as referring to the conquest and possession of Canaan by the Israelites in ancient times as recorded in the book of Joshua. This was, however, only a partial fulfilment because, first, the promise was to Abraham, as well as his descendants, and, secondly, possession was to be enjoyed forever.

This promise explains why the Jews are back in the land after an absence of nearly 2000 years. While this is the hand of God at work, what we see in Israel today is but a token of what is to come after the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It also explains the determination of the Jews to retain the land, despite enormous opposition from their enemies. Sadly their eyes are still blinded to the understanding that Jesus is their Messiah. God has not finished His work with them, and all this will alter when He changes their hearts, and they are converted at the return of Jesus.

(b) Abraham never received the promises

The Bible reveals that while in Canaan, Abraham was like a travelling Bedouin living in tents. When his wife died he had to buy a piece of land in which to bury her. Finally he died, not having received the promised inheritance of the land. The New Testament teaches us:

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession and to his descendants after him (Acts 7:2-5)

It is clear that neither Abraham, nor his descendants, the nation of Israel, who have spent a great part of their national existence exiled from Canaan, have obtained possession of the land as an everlasting possession.

(c) The Resurrection Provides The Answer

Clearly then, the complete fulfilment of this promise must still be future. It requires no lesser event than the resurrection of Abraham and of his true descendants, whom the Bible defines as those who are like Abraham in showing faith and obedience to God’s commands. After the resurrection they, as immortal beings, will take possession of Canaan forever.

These facts will become clearer as the other promises are considered.

(d) Abraham’s descendants to become a great nation

This promise is found throughout the record of Abraham’s life, and has, to a large extent, been fulfilled as the Bible shows (Genesis 12:2; Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17).

It is in the New Testament that we find a wonderful exposition of the promises to Abraham. In the letter to the Romans the apostle Paul says:

They are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” (Romans 9:6-7)

The great nation, which was to be descended from Abraham, was not to be composed of faithless natural descendants but of those who showed a similar faith to Abraham:

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God (Romans 2:28)

In each generation they have been few, but when they are raised from the dead, at the return of Jesus to the earth, they will be gathered together into one great nation. Then Abraham will see his immortal descendants, praising God for their salvation.

(e) Through one of Abraham’s descendants all nations to be blessed

However, mankind has not yet received the greatest of all blessings with which this promise is concerned - the deliverance from the universal curse of sin and death. The Bible reveals that there is a time coming when:

But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. (Numbers 14:21)

There is little room for God’s glory while man fills the earth with violence and oppression and while sin and death remain. A great change is obviously necessary to bring about this wonderful time of blessing, of which we read in many Bible prophecies (e.g. Psalm 72; Isaiah 32).

However great the change, its realisation is certain! This is the message of the gospel (good news), which is taught throughout the Bible. Few realise that the promise made to Abraham 2,000 years before Christ, is the foundation of the gospel!

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles (nations) by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8)

Jesus Christ - Abraham’s Descendant

The central figure of the gospel, and therefore of the promises to Abraham, is Jesus Christ. He is pre-eminently the descendant of Abraham. The New Testament opens with these words:

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)

It goes on with a genealogy, which traces Jesus’ descent from Abraham and this theme is found throughout the New Testament. Paul points out in his letter to the Galatians that one particular descendant is referred to in the promise and that this one is Jesus:

To Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)

The promises were for Abraham and his seed, the Lord Jesus Christ. But it also includes the faithful non-Jews who are in Jesus.

Jesus is revealed as more than just a natural son of Abraham; in the same letter it is stated that:

Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)

When we remember the Bible definition of faith as belief and obedience to God (the very opposite of sin), it is clear that Jesus was the greatest of all Abraham’s many sons. He is the only one who never sinned. He alone of the entire human race could truly say to his adversaries without fear of contradiction:

Which of you convicts Me of sin? (John 8:46)

The supreme message of the New Testament is that by his faith Jesus overcame sin and thus:

…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10)

The Gospel Preached To All Nations

In Old Testament times the message of salvation (the gospel) was the privileged possession of the nation of Israel, but they failed to respond to the demands of faithful obedience to God. Then Jesus came and sent his apostles to preach the gospel of salvation to every nation:

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

The Apostles completed this command when they preached the gospel throughout the Roman Empire — the extent of the known world at that time.

Today the Bible has been translated into more than 2000 languages and dialects. Men and women from most nations upon the earth have had the opportunity of hearing the gospel. Yet relatively few people want to hear it. For example there are few people who want to read this Bible study course. Jesus knew that few would accept this wonderful message, because it involves entering the narrow gateway of faith; and now, some 2,000 years later, the preaching of the gospel has not brought about the blessing of all nations.

You can share in these promises

Nevertheless a glorious time is coming when all this will change. Jesus Christ will return to the earth to raise all who are responsible, including those who have ‘put on Christ’ and who therefore have become heirs of the promises to Abraham.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27-29)

This is the glorious message of the gospel. As unbelievable as it may sound, you are being called to share in the promises made to Abraham.

It is at the Second Coming that the blessing of Abraham will come upon all nations through his descendant the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, ...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:14)

Jesus will become king over all the earth and the Kingdom of God will be established, ushering in a time of blessing such as the world has never known. For the coming of this time Jesus taught his followers to pray:

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)