Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”
—Genesis 17:3-4
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
—Proverbs 18:24
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
—Isaiah 49:15
“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
—Matthew 3:9
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
—John 8:58
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
—Romans 4:16
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
—Romans 8:15
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
—Galatians 3:8
Closeness means care and safety and belonging.
The Law prohibited the priests from becoming unclean through contact with a dead body, but made an exception for close members of their families. The Law also gave close relatives the right and responsibility to act as "redeemer" of family members who had fallen on hard times, a key theme underlying the book of Ruth. And Boaz instructed Ruth to stay “close” to his work crew during harvest so that she—a foreign woman alone—would be safe from mistreatment.
The Lord chose Abraham, because of his faith even before the Law was given, to receive an amazing promise: not just of a home for his physical descendants, but also that Abraham would be a link in the chain through whom the Lord would bless all of humanity. But in the centuries that followed, the Israelites kept allowing other things to become closer—more important—to them than the Lord: their own will or even convenience, their desire to be like the nations around them, their own performance of both Law and tradition, and even their ancestral link to Abraham.
Jesus was betrayed by one who lost the closeness that their relationship could have had. And John records Jesus quoting from the Psalm of David that laments, “Even my close friend...has lifted his heel against me.” But in fulfilling everything to which the Law and Prophets and Psalms had been pointing, Jesus also fulfilled the promise to Abraham. By tearing apart the veil, He not only removed the barrier between flawed humanity and our Creator, He tore down the dividing wall that separated Jew from Gentile, so that all who would be children of Abraham by faith could be adopted into the family of the One who was Father before Abraham.
The One who is closer to us than anyone else. As close as the Spirit that He placed in the hearts of His children.
As close as His breath that He breathed into our lungs.
Close
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
—Psalm 27:10
Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”
—Genesis 17:3-4
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
—Proverbs 18:24
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
—Isaiah 49:15
“And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
—Matthew 3:9
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
—John 8:58
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
—Romans 4:16
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
—Romans 8:15
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
—Galatians 3:8
Closeness means care and safety and belonging.
The Law prohibited the priests from becoming unclean through contact with a dead body, but made an exception for close members of their families. The Law also gave close relatives the right and responsibility to act as "redeemer" of family members who had fallen on hard times, a key theme underlying the book of Ruth. And Boaz instructed Ruth to stay “close” to his work crew during harvest so that she—a foreign woman alone—would be safe from mistreatment.
The Lord chose Abraham, because of his faith even before the Law was given, to receive an amazing promise: not just of a home for his physical descendants, but also that Abraham would be a link in the chain through whom the Lord would bless all of humanity. But in the centuries that followed, the Israelites kept allowing other things to become closer—more important—to them than the Lord: their own will or even convenience, their desire to be like the nations around them, their own performance of both Law and tradition, and even their ancestral link to Abraham.
Jesus was betrayed by one who lost the closeness that their relationship could have had. And John records Jesus quoting from the Psalm of David that laments, “Even my close friend...has lifted his heel against me.” But in fulfilling everything to which the Law and Prophets and Psalms had been pointing, Jesus also fulfilled the promise to Abraham. By tearing apart the veil, He not only removed the barrier between flawed humanity and our Creator, He tore down the dividing wall that separated Jew from Gentile, so that all who would be children of Abraham by faith could be adopted into the family of the One who was Father before Abraham.
The One who is closer to us than anyone else. As close as the Spirit that He placed in the hearts of His children.
As close as His breath that He breathed into our lungs.