5 Abraham to Malachi

THE FEARFUL JUDGMENT of the Flood led humanity not to the arms of a forgiving Saviour but to the defiant gesture of the Tower of Babel. As a result the Lord gave up the race to its own devices and sought Himself out a man who should value His friendship and fulfil His will. Such a one He found in Abraham, the father both of the Lord's earthly people and of His Heavenly Family. Here was one whom alone He could call His friend out of all the teeming multitudes of men.

Abraham was willing to leave home, and finally kindred, if only he could follow His Friend; and came to such a pitch of loyalty that he could taste the same heartache that the Father knew. It seems as if in the fearful scene on Mt. Moriah God Himself was moved to admiration of the magnificent courage and obedience of father and son when faced with sacrifice and conflict. Not easily did Isaac steel himself to face his fate, nor Abraham take up the horrid knife. The Heavenly Watchers saw in miniature a replica of their own conduct in that pre-Creation hour. How wonderfully close were God and man drawn in the common facing of a like ordeal! Friends need more than a liking for each other: there must be a common ground of experience between them before heart can beat with heart. So in later