We must see that Abraham is different from all the other men. From the time that Adam sinned, there has been a line of sin. Although Abel was a good man, he could not deal with the line of sin; although Enoch was a good man, he could not deal with the tide of sin either; and although Noah was a good man, he could not change the sinful situation. Man had become fallen and had failed. Although these three men were good, they were good men as individuals only; they could not change the sinful situation. There is a great difference between being good individually and turning a situation around. The first time God used a man to turn the sinful situation was when He used Abraham. Before Abraham, God did some work in individuals, but He did not do anything to recover the sinful situation. The first time God moved His hand to turn the sinful situation was in His selection of Abraham. In other words, the first point of recovery was with Abraham. The tide of sin had been going on, and Abel, Enoch, and Noah were just three good rocks in the midst of this sinful torrent. Abraham was the first person through whom God turned the tide. God raised up Abraham and through him brought in the work of deliverance. Through him the Savior came and redemption came. This is why the gospel in the New Testament begins with Abraham. May the Lord be merciful to us that we do not engage ourselves merely in the exposition of the Bible or in helping others to understand some Bible knowledge. We look to God's mercy to show us what God is doing.

Redemption was accomplished by the Lord Jesus, yet its beginning was with Abraham. God's recovery work has been continuing throughout the ages until today. It will continue until the time of the millennium. However, the starting point was with Abraham. In other words, the center of redemption is the Lord Jesus, and the consummation of redemption will be at the end of the millennium at the commencement of the new heaven and new earth. However, the beginning of redemption was with Abraham. From the time of Abraham until the end of the millennium, God has been doing a work of recovery continually. During the long process of this work of recovery, the Lord Jesus Christ is the center, but we should never forget that the starting point was Abraham.

This is what is special about Abraham. God's selection of Abraham was very different from His gracious dealings with Abel, Enoch, and Noah. When God gained Abel, He only gained Abel. When God gained Enoch, He only gained Enoch. When God gained Noah, He only gained Noah. But when God chose Abraham, He did not gain just Abraham. When Abraham was called, God told him clearly why he was called. God told him to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house and to go into the land of Canaan; He promised to make him a great nation in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). In other words, the calling and choosing of Abraham was for the purpose of recovering a sinful situation; it was not for Abraham alone as an individual. Abraham was called because God wanted to use him. He was called to be a vessel and called for a work. He was not called simply to receive grace. It is one thing for a person to be called to receive grace. It is another thing for a person to be called to transmit grace. Abraham's calling was not just for him to receive grace, but for him to be a transmitter of grace.