Sublime

il voyait que tous ceux de son entourage le considéraient comme un désagrément accidentel, comme une inconvenance (tel un homme qui, en entrant dans un salon, exhalerait autour de lui une mauvaise odeur). Toujours les apparences qui avaient été le culte de toute sa vie. Il voyait que personne ne le regrettait, que personne ne voulait même

37See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. 38They shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and

It must also be emphasized that Israel was not “chosen by,” but rather “assigned to” Yahweh. Other peoples/nations were assigned to other “gods” and thus constituted material for different “choices,” within which it is presumptuous to define a hierarchical scale.

From Isaac on, all the descendants of Abraham are no longer mentioned, but only the descendants of Isaac, born within the genetic group of the family.

28 The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. 29These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.

God's great man of faith had become someone whose company God held dear. That is exactly the meaning of "friendship." The New Testament word for friend is "philos." It is defined as meaning "beloved" or "dear" (Arndt and Gingrich 868). Abraham was dear and beloved by God. He was God’s friend.

Not until faith had moved him to deliver his son to God was he fit to be God’s friend.

Abraham and Sarah—God chooses this couple to enter a covenant relationship with Him.