PRE-LAW

Because the modern American church is not well grounded in the Old Testament, it is easy to underestimate the importance of Abraham and his story. 

His name appears 233 times in the Old Testament and 72 times in the New.

All four Gospels contain the name of Abraham and in each, at least one of the mentions is from the mouth of Jesus Himself. Outside of the Gospels, Abraham is referenced in Acts, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter.

One of the Apostle Paul's big points about Abraham in the letter to the Romans is an obvious point that is crucial to keep in mind when looking back at Genesis 11 when Abraham first steps onto the world stage: 

He was called by God - and developed a friendship with God - centuries before God's Law was revealed. 

That's an important "detail" that many modern readers miss.

But if you don't see that, you're not really seeing Abraham.