Even if you have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible, you probably know that it begins, “In the beginning …” (Genesis 1:1). The fact that the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, starts with those words is only fitting because Genesis is all about beginnings. In fact, the word genesis means “origins” or “beginnings.”

This first book of the Bible tells the story of the beginning of our earth and cosmos and of humanity itself (Genesis 1–2), the beginning of human sin and its consequences (Genesis 3–9), and the beginning of human civilization (Genesis 10–11). But the most important beginning in Genesis is the beginning of the Jewish race, the people through whom God would bring salvation to the whole world.

This chapter provides a character study of Abraham, the father of the Jewish and Christian faiths. His story is told in the twelfth through twenty-fourth chapters of the book of Genesis.

Abraham wasn';t by any means perfect, but he was a man of obedience to God, full of courage and generosity. He was a man of prayer and a man who, while he made his share of mistakes, was true to his God. Above all, he was a man of tremendous faith.

If you want to know your Bible well and fully understand how it ties itself together, it is important that you know and understand the events in the life of Abraham. That is because he is the man God Himself chose to be the physical father of the great nation of Israel and also the spiritual father of all who put their faith in the God of the Jewish and Christian people.

This book is not going to cover every aspect of Abraham';s life — that you';ll have to do in your own studies. But it does give you an overview of the events that led to Abraham';s becoming the father of God';s chosen people, the Jews.

As you read through this chapter — and through the Biblical chapters that tell the story of this great hero of the faith — take note of how Abraham responded to the commands and promises of God, how he related to those God brought into his life, and how God blessed him and those who would come after him.