ABRAHAM  IN  CHRISTMAS

I do not imagine that too many of us would think of Abraham in connection with the birth of Christ. As a matter of fact, I cannot recall hearing or reading a Christmas sermon that included the Patriarch, except perhaps to mention him in the genealogies. It is interesting, therefore, to notice the important place given to him in the hymns of both Mary, the mother of Jesus and Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. Moses represented the Law, and the religious leaders of Jesus day looked back primarily to him for the regulation of daily life and service to God. Then there was David who represented the kingdom. So any thought about Messiah would bring great excitement concerning the establishing of the throne and the overthrow of all the political enemies of Israel. But Abraham represented the covenant, and therefore stood for the foundation and basis for all the blessings and deliverances in Israel's past. Let us look at some of the events in the Old Testament where Abraham is said to be the reason for God’s mercy.

The condition of the Children of Israel and their situation in Egypt just prior to their deliverance is recorded in Exodus 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 

When the Lord God heard their cry, His reaction was not based upon their own worthiness, nor upon the degree of suffering they were under. His response went back to His relationship with Abraham! And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Ex. 2:24, 25

Likewise, in Ex. 3:16, the patriarchs become the point of reference for God’s action on behalf of Israel. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

During the time of king Jehoahaz (King of the Northern kingdom of Israel. There was another Jehoahaz in Judah more than 200 years later) there was a great persecution of the Israelites. Again, the Lord responds because of His memory of the Patriarch.

But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. II Kings 13:22, 23

Micah 7:18-20 continues the reference to the promises given to the Patriarchs.

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

Time after time God's promise to Abraham is set forth as the ground and basis for His mighty deliverance of His people. Now, in the incarnation, which came to pass in God’s  own time, in His own way, God acts in a manner that is so far above any and all of these provisional works of redemption! God is about to affect the ultimate, eternal, perfect deliverance, and to the honor of Abraham, it too will be in remembrance of that very same covenant.

In the days just prior to the Birth of Christ there were many left in Israel who were sincerely open to the plan of God, and were prepared to look deeper into the past to see the Abraham in the light of divine revelation. The young Virgin Mary was one, and in her psalm of praise she would take us back to father Abraham. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and in the spirit of prophecy, Mary was overwhelmed with the choice that God made in granting to a lowly Virgin the privilege of bringing forth the promised Redeemer. Luke 1:46-55 records the utterance for us, and reveals the mind set of this young maiden. The first four verses express the awe she felt on a personal level. Mary considered in amazement that she, of all the people in the world should be chosen. In verse 50 she expands her horizons and includes "all those who fear Him" and finally she can speak of the whole nation of Israel benefiting from the "remembrance of His mercy" 

According to Mary, God not only remembered His covenant at this time as in the past, but now the remembrance was to be "for ever" This could mean nothing else than that the covenant was completely realized. God, in Jesus, was about to give His people full possession of the promises: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. II Cor. 1:20. Mary in this hymn, places the birth of her son Jesus at the very end time of God's working with man, an idea also expressed by such expressions as "The time is fulfilled", "The fullness of time", and "The consummation of the ages", found in Mk. 1:15, Gal. 4:4 and Heb. 1:2, respectively. 

All of these verses and many more like them reveal a purpose for the coming of Jesus. It is the fulfilling of all the promises in the redemptive covenant given to Abraham so many years before. 

A few verses later in Luke 1:72,73 the Evangelist also blesses the Lord God of Israel for the unfolding final revelation, and zeroes in on the root issue from a historical perspective when he says; "To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he swore to our father Abraham."

Reflecting upon the birth of Christ, one naturally thinks of Him as The Son of God.  And of course that is exactly what Jesus uniquely is.  But when we desire to see how we fit into the picture as relatives of this One from Israel, and when we try to understand what Paul intends to teach us in Galatians three, and when we need the assurance that faith is effectual in Christ, then we want to know our roots. 

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.

He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And

to thy seed, which is Christ."    

Galatians 3:16 

and again:

"For ye are all the sons of God by FAITH in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have

 put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is

neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female;

for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if ye be Christ's

then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Galatians 3:26-29

Abraham has significance for us because he was faithful. There is no merit in the man, nor in any of his works. He has value only because when tried by God he was found to be faithful! This article would become a full-length book if we were to examine all of the 69 places in the New Testament where Abraham is named. But all of us should at the very least become familiar with the teachings in Romans 4, Galatians 3, Hebrews 11 and James 2.