Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what
He has spoken to him." It was a high honor to which Abraham was
called--to be father of the people who were the guardians of the truth
of God for the world, through whom all nations would be blessed in
the coming of the Messiah. Abraham would keep the law and deal
justly and righteously. In addition, he would not only fear the Lord
himself but would teach his family in doing right.
Abraham's household numbered more than a thousand people.
Here, as in a school, they received instruction that would prepare
them to represent the true faith. He was training heads of families,
and they would follow his methods of government in their own
households.
It was necessary to unite the members of the household
together, to build up a barrier against the widespread idolatry.
Abraham worked to guard all those who were with him against
mingling with the heathen and seeing their idol worship. He took
care to impress the mind with the majesty and glory of the living
God as the true object of worship.
God himself had separated Abraham from his idolatrous
relatives so that he might educate his family apart from the evil
influences in Mesopotamia and preserve the true faith in its purity
through his descendants.
The Influence of Daily Living
97