The Meaning of Abraham
Here I am
reading through Genesis 21. I find a
thought that I knew, but never crossed my mind.
Abraham’s name literally means “Father of a multitude.” But wait a minute. Abraham is the father on one – well, as we
will be reminded of in a second – two. But either way, one or two is not a
multitude. Can you imagine what people
thought when they met Abraham, knew what the name meant, and then realized he
had two kids? Oh, Abraham, how people
must have laughed behind your back.
But this
comment tells me something. We know in
hindsight what those people living with Abraham couldn’t know. God did make Abraham the father of a
multitude. Abraham is the father of all
those of Isaac’s line as well as all those of Ishmael’s line. That’s no small multitude!
I am
reminded at first here that we should trust in God’s timing and God’s
provision. How seldom do we actually
know what God is doing until He does it?
Then we sit back, smack ourselves in the forehead, and say, “Of course
it makes sense!” Yet, we know full well that at the same time we couldn’t have
possibly seen it coming. So, we learn
from Abraham. God will make all things
make sense according to His perfect will according to His perfect time.
Ishmael
The
passage about Ishmael is very telling.
God loves Ishmael. God cares for
Ishmael. God is compassionate when He
hears Ishmael’s cry. Ishmael may have
been the product of a sinful attempt to bring about God’s promise in a way that
God did not have in mind, but that does not mean God cannot love Ishmael.
At the
same time, that does not mean that God is going to lift Ishmael up to the same
level as Isaac. Isaac is the one brought
about by God’s power. Isaac is the one
born out of God’s power in a barren woman.
Isaac is the one who will ultimately lead to Christ. Isaac is the one of destiny because of what
will come from Isaac. Yet, this doesn’t
mean God loves Isaac more than Ishmael.
God loves His creation – even those parts of creation that are born out
of sinfulness and not righteousness. Isaac
is special because of the ultimate destiny that Isaac’s line will establish on
this earth, but God still loves Ishmael.
Love
I think
that is important for us to hear. So
often we as Christians only want to focus on the “one true path” or the
“holiest way.” I do believe there is
only one way to God – and specifically through Jesus Christ and His death on
the cross. But that doesn’t mean I
shouldn’t love other people, too. I have
no excuse for devaluing anyone because they are not in God’s “ultra-specialized
plan for salvation.” God loves Ishmael
for who he is, that is, a part of His creation.
Now, I
need to be very careful here. I don’t
want anyone reading these words thinking that I’ve gone into the realm of
universal theology – or worse, universal salvation. As Paul says, “Let it not be so!” There is one path, one Christ, one death that
paid it all. So when I say we should
love all people, I meant literally that much.
We should love all people –
even the ones who do not follow Christ, perhaps I should say especially the
ones who do not follow Christ because they need that love the most!
But in
loving them, we should be careful to love the person and not their worldview,
theology, or sinfulness. I guess perhaps
what I am trying to say is that we should remember Luther’s advice: love the
sinner, hate the sin. God loved Ishmael
regardless of the fact that he was a product of Abraham knowing Hagar in a way
God did not intend.
Abimelech Revisited
As we did
yesterday, let’s briefly turn to Abimelech.
The word Abimelech is a title rather than a name, and that’s something
new for me today. It is actually a title
of the Philistine kings. The word means
“the (divine) king is my father.” This
makes complete sense as a title in a society where the right to rule was a
product of one’s genealogy.
Unfortunately, this is just a neat tidbit of information rather than a
significant portion of the story.
Abimelech
comes to Abraham, who by this time is becoming quite prosperous. Abimelech says “God is with you in all you
do.” Now there’s high praise! Oh that all of God’s children would so
obviously reflect the character that God is with them in all that they do!
Abimelech
and Abraham make a treaty. This treaty
is likely two-fold. Abimelech may see
Abraham’s wisdom and may want to set up a relationship where he might be able
to tap into this wisdom. Second, there
is no doubt that Abimelech sees Abraham’s growing power and wants to make sure
that he is on the right side of that, too.
Either
way, there is a lesson here. Walk with
God, follow his ways, repent when necessary, and people will see God in
you. Lead firmly in the faith, and
people will want to align with you because you will be seen as wise, fair, and
trustworthy. That’s good advice
regardless of who you are!
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