ABRAHAM – Father Figure for Jews, Christians and Muslims
So what do the Jesus people see in this multi-talented man of about 2200 BC?
A Refugee (Genesis Chapter 12)
Pushed around by stronger tribal/family groups in the Euphrates river system, this tent dwelling nomad has to go west as far as the Jordan River area. With his family group and livestock he completes the hazardous journey.
Transition Figure
He dreams of a settled life in a land which is his own. He stands for that movement in history from the nomadic life to the settled life of the agriculturalist depending on crops and harvests.
A Man of Religious Faith
He leaves the gods of river and mountain, and worships one of the mind and spirit. He feels this God understands him and his needs as a person.
(a) So this man and this God strike a deal (Genesis 17:1-14)
This God will go with him as he travels; give him land he can call his own; and give him descendants – especially young men who can protect the tribe.
(b) But this man promises to learn what his God’s laws are and keep them.
He had to be prepared for change, and learned his first lesson – that this God outlawed child sacrifice for the benefit of the tribe (Genesis 22: 1-8)
So for the Jesus people Abraham is a symbol of twenty-first century faith;
(a) he/she rejects the old Gods of tribe and nation with love for some and hate for others involving conflict and war with all their attendant brutalities;
(b) his/her trust is in the Spiritual Power (God) which would nurture every child of every race in the one embrace of Place and love
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