Romans 4 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

429(...continued)Westermann concludes his study of Genesis 12 with the words, "In the introduction tothe story of Abraham, where God's command to depart is linked with the promise, the[narrator] has succeeded in a striking way in sketching a plan of history: God's universalaction, which he presented in [Genesis 1-11], continues through the action with Israel'sancestors and then with the people of Israel, towards the goal which God has for 'all thefamilies of the earth.'" (Genesis 12-36, p. 158)The nature of that story is not nearly so much about how trusting Abraham and hisdescendants have been, but rather of how graciously YHWH God has dealt with them,blessing them, and using them for his great purpose of grace to all earth's peoples, in spite oftheir obvious weaknesses and failures. The emphasis is clearly not on what Abrahamachieves, but on what YHWH achieves by blessing and guiding and protecting Abraham.It is a total misunderstanding of the biblical story to say that Abraham "earned" or"merited" the divine blessing, or the divine call. Abraham is not the creative agent in this story,but YHWH God, who calls and enables Abraham to play a significant role in the divine plan forhuman history. In fact, the promise comes to Abraham even before he is characterized ashaving trust. Th. C. Vriezen stated:"Yahweh is the alpha and the omega of history. By His miracles He has called thepeople into existence: both Isaac and Jacob are children given by a divine miracle; the peoplewere miraculously preserved (Joseph) and delivered (Moses) in Egypt, and miraculouslyconducted through the desert to the promised land. Yahweh led Israel and brought it to itsdestination notwithstanding the sins of the fathers: the sins even of the patriarch Abraham,the exemplar of the truly believing friend of God, who in his cowardice delivered theancestress of the people into the hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh, and who could not wait forthe fulfillment of God's promises (compare his marriage to Hagar); of Jacob, who, thoughbearer of the promise, walked in sinful human ways [he was a cheat and a deceitful liar!]; ofMoses, who showed great hesitation at the time of his call; and especially of the people, whocontinually rebelled against the will of God."The call, promises and miracles of God dominate this history entirely, while on the partof mankind obstinacy and unbelief are found again and again. In the course of this historyGod's promise to Abraham is reverted to over and over again..." (An Outline of OldTestament Theology, p. 45)What all of this means is that the story of Abraham is primarily the story of a divineword--a word of command, but primarily a word of promise. The meaning of Abraham's life isfound in his response to that divine word through obedient trust in YHWH, who spoke to himconcerning the wondrous future he was bringing to pass.As Kaesemann has noted, the most prominent word in Romans 4:13-25 is just thisword, "promise." Paul has rightly sensed how the divine word of hope for the future is thebasis of Abraham's life-story.235