Restoring Abrahamic Faith by Dr. James D. Tabor – On that page Ross Nichols, teacher for the United Israel World Union, presents a four-part lecture series based on Dr. Tabor’s book Restoring Abrahamic Faith.
https://www.youtube.com/live/7qUakWAICDY?si=ZPZbXytAYC4Xhxo5
Walking the Ancient Paths – Below are scriptures cited by Ross in Session 1 of 4; i.e. the video above.
Genesis 5:21-24 When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.
Genesis 6:9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.”
1 Kings 8:35-36 When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and then they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin, because you punish them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and grant rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
Returning
Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:7 Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?”
Hosea 14:1-2 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips.
“My friend”
Isaiah 41:8-10 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off!”; 10 do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Ross said: What we’re talking about and what James talks about in Restoring Abrahamic Faith, and which I will bring out in this teaching series, is this beautiful concept of how you can be a friend of God. I love the idea that the Torah, though it’s been properly maintained and passed down to us, and the Hebrew scriptures have been kept intact by the Jewish people, the scriptures contain a story that’s universal. Abraham is not a Jew. He’s not an Israelite. He is called a Hebrew because he and his father and his brother, they cross over the Euphrates.
Genesis 26:2-5 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you. 3 Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
James 2:23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
Ross said – Tabor’s Book says that the Core Biblical faith rests on three foundational truths.
- Knowing God
- Following the way of God
- Participating in the plan of God
End of Class 1
https://www.youtube.com/live/iA2a5CXWNTY?si=FbYKLSrTM8iOo3Yx
https://www.youtube.com/live/05ZXMUC7bDA?si=OjXy2SXNC9h42Epy
From Claude.ai
In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament, there are several instances where individuals are described as friends of God, though the specific terminology “friend of Jehovah” is not common. Instead, you’ll find references to people being friends of God or having special relationships with Him. Here are the key scriptures:
Hebrew Bible/Old Testament:
- Abraham – Isaiah 41:8: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend.”
- Abraham – 2 Chronicles 20:7: “Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”
- Moses – Exodus 33:11: “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”
New Testament:
- Abraham – James 2:23: “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.”
- Disciples of Jesus – John 15:14-15: “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
These are the primary instances in scripture where individuals are explicitly described as friends of God. The friendship with God concept appears most prominently with Abraham, who is specifically called God’s friend three times across both testaments.
