TIMING: Traditionally, Abraham was thought to live 2000 years before Christ, but this has been questioned recently by such books as Abraham in History and Tradition by biblical scholar John Van Seters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_in_History_and_Tradition). REASON TO READ: Prior to Abraham, God had individual relationships with people. He was close with Adam and Noah. There are other people we know of and potentially (likely) other people we do not know of that God approached on an individual basis. The unique thing about Abraham, is that God promised, not only to be close with him, but to all of his descendants also, which is a significant milestone in God beginning to form for Himself a "holy nation, His own special people, that ... who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10). BRIEF SUMMARY: Abraham has many stories found in Genesis 11-25, but here we are focused on when God asks him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This story begins in Chapter 17 when God makes a promise to Abraham that he will be the father of many nations through his son Isaac. It is important to read this and see that God does not simply make a general statement that Abraham will be a patriarch, but rather a specific statement that Isaac will be part of the promise also. Therefore, when God asks Abraham in Genesis...

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