“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him…thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee… and kings shall come out of thee.” (Genesis 17:1-5)
The easiest way to explain Abraham’s designation as “Father” is to compare his role to his current counterpart.
“Pope” (Latin: papa, from Greek: πάππας, romanized: páppas, lit. ‘father’), AKA “Holy” Father, is
- head priest of the worldwide Catholic Church,
- and also head of state or sovereign of the Holy See.
The word “see” comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning ‘seat’, which refers to the throne (cathedra) used in the Catholic Church to refer specifically to The Apostolic See, the throne of the Bishop of Rome, whom that Church sees as the successor of Saint Peter at the cathedral of the Holy See, the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in the city of Rome.
The Holy See / Throne. like the State of Israel proclaimed in 1948, is a politically sovereign entity recognized by international law. Housed within Vatican City, a geographical enclave within the separate city of Rome. As a political state, it brings its power to bear within international organizations and by means of its diplomatic relations and political accords with other much larger countries.
The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia / Court, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.[8][9] The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and executive departments, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator. Papal elections are carried out by part of the College of Cardinals.
Although the Holy See is sometimes metonymically referred to as the “Vatican“, the Vatican City State was distinctively established with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, between the Holy See and Italy, to ensure the temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence of the papacy.[10] As such, papal nuncios, who are papal diplomats to states and international organizations, are recognized as representing the Holy See and not the Vatican City State, as prescribed in the Canon law of the Catholic Church. The Holy See is thus viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church.[9] The Catholic Church, in turn, is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.[11]
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the Roman Catholic Church is one single religious institution. Like Protestants developed by Martin Luther in Germany, John Calvin in Switzerland, John Knox in Scotland, etc., there are national Catholic Churches with features unique to their cultures.
the Catholic Church is truly one of the most diverse institutions on the face of the Earth…there are twenty-four particular Churches. These twenty-four sui iuris (autonomous or self-governing) Churches are all in communion with one another, are all within the Catholic Church and all recognize the primacy of the pope…
The other twenty-three Catholic Churches are all referred to as Eastern Churches and have their own traditions and forms of liturgy, yet retain the same basic liturgical structures and theology as seen in the West.
How wonderful that our holy Catholic Church has such a multitude of traditions (small “t”) while keeping the same unbroken Tradition (big “T”) from apostolic times!
Likewise, the same tolerance of a variety of cultural traditions existing under the essential Tradition of Eber’s Monotheism developed during the splintering and scattering of one people into a multitude of nations across a widely separated geography with diverse ecology.
Abraham’s rule during the uptick from the Stone Age to the Iron Age was a brutal era when daily life was a vicious struggle for survival. During this latest post-apocalyptic era Abraham is not just another refugee looking out for himself and his family. He is being assigned the most important job on earth – to preserve, protect, and defend liberty and justice for all the peoples of the earth.
Compare his role to António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015 as the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution rose from 38 million in 2005 to over 60 million in 2015.
Abram’s Hebrew nation is the only nation capable of achieving the high goals of the United Nations Charter because its constitution, the word of God, covers the whole world, and its boundless resources can provide for a steady stream of refugees.
If we remain consistent with the definitions and concepts, then Abraham father of “many” means more than two or three. This does not fit with typical Christianity that, at most, acknowledges a linear progression of “Jewish roots” of Christianity while equating Jews with Hebrews. Then there is the broader, but not by much more, interfaith view of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the Abrahamic faiths.
Taken at face value, this covenant is stated to be not only between the LORD and Abram as his priest-king / Melchizedek, but also between the kings of other nations.
“God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;” (Genesis 9:24-27)
What this clearly future-oriented covenant prepares for is the natural progression of events:
- The initial stage of Abraham’s Hebrew nation,
- composed of refugees from multiple hatchling nations fleeing Babel / Babylon and huddling together for protection,
- lives long and prospers, outgrowing the living space – like Lot, and moves on to greener pastures
- growing into new nations characterized by environmental differences while maintaining essential beliefs of the mother nation.
The social sciences concur with the biblical record of a population explosion at this time in history. As these nations migrated in search of living space, they naturally split into subsidiary nations. A parallel would be the nations of America, Canada, and Australia being rooted in England which has its roots in continental Angles and Saxons which are more ancient Germanic tribes. We all share a common language, culture, and historic roots.
“And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar….And it came to pass…that Abimelech…spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.” (Genesis 21:22-24)
Did you catch Abimelech’s personal relationship with God? He doesn’t say “your” God. In addition, his lifestyle proved his relationship to YHVH by Abraham’s definition – to “fear God,” hundreds of years before there was the Levitical priesthood to guide the way.
Abimelech knew the true God and how to follow in his way from Abraham’s predecessor, Shem, at Salem of course.
Hundreds of years later Abraham’s vow to treat Abimelech’s people as religious allies was honored by the Israelites. The land of Gerar is not among Israelite conquests listed in Joshua 15. Located in what came to be Philistine territory, but not named as one of the Philistine cities, Gerar would be rescued from the Philistines by first Samson, then Saul, and finally King David.
“…Abram the Hebrew…dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite [a giant nation], brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.” (Genesis 14:13-24)
These men had to be believers like Abimelech in order for Abraham to be in league with them. Or for them to be in league with Abraham. They had to have had enough faith in Abram’s God and Abram’s leadership to follow him into what what otherwise a suicide mission in the War of Four Kings Against Five. In support of this conclusion, the God of Abraham memorializes them: Mamre is forever identified as the gracious seller of the first plot of promised land, Eshcol is forever identified with the luscious first fruits of the promised land.
Other examples of the nations within the Hebrew Commonwealth include Abraham’s children the Ishmaelites / Arabs, the Midianites, the nation of Sheba.
But being born into a nationality doesn’t guarantee being a member of the Most High God’s Commonwealth, and neither does one have to be born into one of Abraham’s offspring’s families. The key qualification for becoming a member of the Commonwealth of Israel’s Hebrews is an individual spiritual
- acknowledgement of an all-powerful Creator who is therefore, unequivocally, “the Boss”,
- identification with his standards of right behavior which are “production” NOT “destruction”
- and trusting whatever revelation has been received in your time and culture that This Eternal One has a vested interest in you as his Creation and will empower you to overcome destructive forces in this life and after.
“For there is no respect of persons with God.
- For as many as have sinned without law [AKA the Torah, the Bible] shall also perish without law:
- and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified)…Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 1-2)
- “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek…
- And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.” (I Samuel 16:1-6)
There are also the Egyptians who took in Abram’s and Jacob’s households during famines, the Philistines who took in Isaac’s household,
Surprised? Some individuals in Israel’s worst enemy nations are members of the Hebrew Commonwealth.
“In that day shall there be
- an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt,
- a highway [indicating commerce] out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
- shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance…every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD / YHVH / Creator.” (Zechariah 14:16)
Kingdom Come 