Why Abraham
I have often wondered why God chose Abram and called him to the land of promise. Why is an ancient Mesopotamian identified as the ‘father of our faith’? How did he come to receive the promise, blessing, and the covenant? Why does this man figure prominently throughout the pages of both the Old and New Testaments? Was there something special about his behavior or pedigree that attracted God’s attention?
As a Gentile, I came to appreciate the life of Abraham through the eyes of the Apostle Paul. He seems to show up in much of Paul’s writing as a foundational pillar for the New Testament. In fact, Abraham appears repeatedly in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, as well as throughout the gospels. He is referenced more than any other Old Testament character. So there must be something about his life that is relevant to us today, but what?
Abraham was a foundational character in much of Paul’s writing, so maybe we should ask the Apostle Paul, a rabbinical scholar, what he understood of this ancient nomad?
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Romans 4:1-2
For a long time, I wrestled over this question of Abraham’s faith. And after a lot of mental gymnastics, I believe the answer is revealed in his journey with God in a couple of verses. Notice the words above from Romans and below from Hebrews.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Hebrews 11:8-10
Abraham Responded
So there we have it…faith demands a response! Abraham believed God, and that belief resulted in obedience. So we might say, By faith he went, and by faith he lived, and as the text says, so did Isaac and Jacob. The point is that faith demands a response, not just a mental belief, but a belief that acts in response to the voice of God.
Now I can almost hear the objections. But Abraham lied about his wife to Abimelech; he slept with Hagar to fulfill the promise. And Jacob stole his brother’s birthright and played other dirty tricks. Yet God was not moved by their character flaws, for the faith they possessed was of greater value than the integrity which they lacked.
Your Background Doesn’t Matter
Ur was a city in ancient Mesopotamia, near the valley of Shinar, where the tower of Babel had been constructed. Although this part of the ancient world was steeped in idolatry, we should not suppose that it was therefore uncivilized and barbarous. Nor should we think that Abram was called to a life of elegance and superior amenities. The exact reverse was the case. Babel was not just a tower; it was a whole city. It was an entire humanistic system exalting the glory of man above that of Yahweh.
After the destruction of Babel and scattering of the peoples, God searched for a man with whom he could build a family. Abram heard that call and left a city of advanced civilization, adapting to a nomadic life. From the perspective of his earthly circumstances, he was a great loser by obeying God’s call. He exchanged a place of comfort and luxury for a life of wandering from place to place following the call of a God he barely knew.
The land to which Abram was called was not an easy life for Abram and Sarai. The indigenous peoples were tribes sunken in idolatry as much as the people of Mesopotamia, from which he left. Even though God would give Abram the entire land, he lived his entire life in Canaan as a wandering sojourner. Abraham’s response to the call of God and his going forth from the city of Ur in Mesopotamia was an act of faith, and this act was the introduction to a life of faith. For we read in Hebrews 11, “By faith…”
Conclusion
Abraham’s example typifies the life of those who choose to follow Christ. Faith is not a response to an emotional pitch, nor working in a faith-based organization, nor even reading good devotional books. Faith is a tangible response to the voice of God that affects how you live your life.
It is this kind of faith that God responds to.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:16
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