The Legacy of Abraham

One of the most significant, if not the most significant, figures of the Old Testament is Abraham.  He is described in Hebrews chapter 11, the chapter of faith in the New Testament.  A number of different people of faith are named in this summary chapter, but the most acclaim is given to Abraham.  The two main reasons cited for Abraham's noteworthiness are: 1) Abraham was willing to follow the instruction of God to leave his country and go to a new land, all at the direction of God.  "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents...."  This took great faith.  And 2) At the instruction of God, he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.  God stopped him before he took the life of Isaac but not before God could be sure of the faith of Abraham.

It is interesting that Abraham is considered the founder of three religions.  He was the founding father of the Jewish race and religion.  As such, he was in the lineage of Christ, Christ being a Jew and a direct descendant of Abraham.  But the Muslim religion looks to Abraham as its founder as well in that Abraham had another son, Ishmael, who went on to be the beginnings of the Arab nation from whence came the Muslim religion.  So we see that Abraham was a key figure in Christianity, Judaism, and the Muslims.

It might should be noted that Ishmael is described in the Bible as a "wild donkey of a man," and it says that there will always be a problem between his people and the Jewish people.  We, of course, see that this is still true today.  There has always been friction between the Arab nations, often called Palestinians, and the Jewish nation, Israel.  While peace talks are a noble gesture, there will never be a lasting peace there....and the Bible says so.

Abraham was a great man of faith and likely the most important of all men in the Old Testament.  There are others of great significance such as Adam, the first man, and king David, perhaps Moses or the prophets.  But there was none like Abraham.  We can follow his example of faith, dedication to God.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!