Chapter 2: God of Abraham
Reciting the Schema.
The God of Israel
The God of Israel is:
- a God who engages and pursues humankind.
- a particular God. God is not a physical abstraction.
- a singular God.
- a relational God. It is hard to love the “unmoved mover.”
- a covenanting God.
The God Who Creates."They were driven from the garden because of their disobedience, but that was not the end of the story. By creating the world the God of the Bible thoroughly entangled himself with his creation. By creating the world he made himself a part of the story—a story of human failure and divine frustration. And yet, it was a story of hope. From the very beginning God was concerned with the destiny of the man and woman, created in his image. They were driven from the garden because of their disobedience, but that was not the end of the story.” "The God of creation is the God who is present to his people. Not an unmoved mover, not a god beyond god, not the first principle of the universe. This God, Israel’s God, is the God who made heaven and earth and called Abraham to an unknown destination.”
The God Who Calls. God called Abraham, not because Abraham was seeking God, but because God loved him.
The God Who Covenants.
Paul’s Abraham
Some Christian Reflections. "N. T. Wright argues that Paul is constantly rereading and reimagining Judaism in light of the death and resurrection of Christ.27 Israel’s story is not repudiated as much as reframed. God, so far as Paul is concerned, is not doing something new.” "N. T. Wright argues that Paul is constantly rereading and reimagining Judaism in light of the death and resurrection of Christ.27 Israel’s story is not repudiated as much as reframed. God, so far as Paul is concerned, is not doing something new.”
Lenvenson’s Response. "So far as Paul is concerned, then, Israel has not been replaced by the church. Rather the members of the new band of gentile Jesus followers are being added to the ancient community of Israel.”
The God of Abraham
'So who is the God of Abraham? He is the creator God who made the world and all that is in it. He is the God who calls his people to mercy and justice and judges them when they fail. He is the God of mercy who pursues the fearful and fallen and seeks a relationship with them. He is the God who calls Abraham out of Harran and makes his family a “demonstration plot” of God’s righteousness. He is the God who makes a covenant with his people—an unconditional covenant of love with Abraham and then a covenant with Moses that makes a people from a motley collection of slaves."
Quotes from Phelan, John E.. Separated Siblings: An Evangelical Understanding of Jews and Judaism (p. 52). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.