Apart from Jesus Christ, Abraham is probably the most important
person in the Bible. Abraham is a giant in Scripture — his
stature is far greater than that of Moses, David, or Paul. These
latter three were great men, and God used them in great ways,
even giving portions of the Scriptures to us through them. But
each of them would have agreed without qualification that
Abraham was his father in faith. In the early chapters of
Genesis, we read of God's promise to Abraham that he would be
the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). This was fulfilled
physically and spiritually. On the physical side, Abraham became
the father of the Jewish people, through whom the Messiah was
born; he became the father of the many Arab tribes through his
son Ishmael. On the spiritual side, Abraham has become the
father of a great host of believers whose numbers are now
swelled by Christians of countless tongues and nations. No one
can understand the Old Testament without understanding Abraham,
for in many ways the story of redempt