Why did God choose Abraham to be the father of all faith? Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew patriarchs have always explicitly exhibited qualities that God finds desirable in mankind. For example, in Noah he finds a perfect, righteous human amongst a deeply sinful world and in Moses, he finds a righteous man, whom he can trust to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land. The Old Testament openly mentions these patriarchs’ qualities within the text itself. However, when the reader is introduced to Abraham in Genesis 12, all that is known is that he and his nephew Lot leave Haran for Canaan. Throughout the portion of the Genesis devoted to the stories of Abraham, the most prevalent theme is Abraham’s unconditional faith in …show more content…
For example, prior to meeting the prophet king Melchizedek, Abraham’s knowledge of God is one-dimensional. Genesis indicates that Abraham’s knowledge of God is restricted to creation. Both Melchizedek and Abraham praise the same God, but Melchizedek possesses a sophisticated knowledge of God compared to Abraham. This is evident in the way Melchizedek exalts both God and Abraham in Genesis 14. Abraham views God as the creator of heaven and earth, but it is not within his body of knowledge that God’s divinity goes beyond that of creation. It is Melchizedek, who acknowledges God’s role in the redemption of mankind . In his brief interaction with Melchizedek, Abraham’s knowledge of God is expanded; he learns that God’s duty to mankind extends well beyond the borders of his family . Abraham learns that God is not just his God, but that other people praise him. Genesis 14 indicates that the chosen family is not God’s sole concern. Abraham learns that God is indeed a Creator, but he is also a Liberator . Not just the liberator of God’s chosen family, but the liberator of the entire world. God places outsiders that Abraham comes across in his path in order to teach Abraham more about the God whom he