Abraham as a role-model today

Without forgetting contemporary issues completely, this column will this year pay special attention to biblical and Christian role models. The starting point will be the story of Abraham whom the Church has correctly called “our Father in faith”.

Abraham, son of Terah, was originally called Abram, and his wife’s original name was Sarai. God renamed these two Abraham and Sarah respectively. Abraham means “father of many nations” and Sarah “the mother of nations” (Genesis 17). Abraham’s original home was Ur of the Chaldeans. Historical excavations have shown that Ur was in modern-day Iraq. This article will focus on three aspects of Abraham’s life, the first being his call by God.

The Lord said to Abraham, then still Abram: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Abraham was 75 years old when he was called. As it turned out, the land God called Abraham to go to was Canaan, which corresponds roughly to modern day Israel. Abraham was therefore the founder of the Jewish nation. Canaan was the promised land, for God said: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Gen 15:18). It was when he was in this land that God ordered him to start the practice of male circumcision — an important part of the Jewish faith when Jesus was born.

The second aspect we shall focus on is Abraham as a person of prayer. To Abraham prayer was talking to God. His wife, Sarah, was barren. When God appeared to him promising to protect him from all his enemies, Abraham prayed: “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless…You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir” (Gen 15: 1-3). God promised Abraham that he would have a son and that his offspring would be as many as the stars in heaven. Another occasion is when he prayed for Sodom and God promised him that he would save the city even if there were as few as ten righteous people in it (Gen 16).

The third aspect is about how God tested Abraham. The promised son was Isaac who was born when Abraham was 100 years old and about 20 years after God had first made the promise.

After rejoicing that God had given him a son, Abraham was surprised to hear God calling him to sacrifice this same son as a burnt offering. Painful as it was to sacrifice his own son, Abraham set out for Mount Moriah as God had commanded. After he had built an altar, and put Isaac on top of the wood, Abraham raised his hand to slay the boy, but God told him to spare his son and sacrifice a ram instead (Gen 22).

We can learn three lessons from Abraham’s relationship with God. The first is obedience. When God calls us, we must obey the call regardless of the consequences. It was obedience that led Abraham to leave the land of his birth and to agree to sacrifice his own son. Obedience was buttressed by faith in God. As the Letter to the Hebrews points out, Abraham set out for the promised land even though he did not know where he was going, because he had faith in God (Hebrews 11).

It was faith that made him believe he and his wife would have a son in their old age. When God calls us, we should have faith that he will accomplish his mission through us, even if it means that the mission will be accomplished long after we have left this world. God promised that Abraham’s offspring would be as numerous as the stars and the sand on the seashore. The offspring are all who belong to the three religions that regard Abraham as father: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The third lesson is that God tests those he has called. There is no greater test than to be asked to sacrifice your own son as a burnt offering.  When God calls us we should be aware that God will test us to see whether we will obey him or follow our own selfish inclinations. Abraham passed the test. Can we?