Old Testament, Chapter by Chapter: Children of Abraham

A number of people groups trace their lineage to Abraham. The Jews are descendants of Abraham through Isaac and then Jacob (Israel.) In Islam, Abraham's son Ishmael (through Hagar) is considered a prophet and the founder of the Arabian people and ancestor of Mohammed. According to Genesis 17:20, Ishmael, had twelve sons, fathers of twelve tribes. Similarly, Jacob, Isaac's son, will have twelve sons, fathers of twelve tribes. All of these groups, including the numerous people groups of the Arabian region, trace their lineage of Abraham and trace their monotheism (whether, Christian, Jew or Muslim) to Abraham's covenant with the One God.

A significant message throughout the book of Genesis is that there is One God and that that God chose Abraham to bless, through his descendants, all people groups. The descendants of Abraham, as they journey to and fro from the land of Canaan, are reminded to give up the pagan culture of many gods and worship the One God who created the universe. In its simplest form, worship of the God of Abraham meant opposition to worship of tribal gods, of Baals or idols, of gods identified with "created things" such as the trees, sun, moon and stars.

We are probably 120 to 150 generations from Abraham. Given the millions of ancestors we each have (even after considerable duplication of ancestors) it is likely that most of us have at least one ancestral line back to Abraham. But even if not... Abraham is a major forefather, historically and religiously.

Christians, even when not biologically linked to Abraham, view him as the "father" of faith; Abraham's dependence on God and the righteousness grant him by God, based on his faith, is a model for Christians of trust in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to be their one sacrifice for sin and rebellion. (See Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:29 and Matthew 8:11 as examples of this.)