29 Oct A Miracle in Pagan Times
The city of Sanliurfa, (pronounced Shan Lurfa) located in Turkey, was prior to World War I known simply as Urfa. It is believed by many people to be the place where Abraham was born. Urfa even sounds like Ur, the city the Bible records as the place that Abraham came from. And in that city of 2 million people are stories passed down that sound incredible.
One story is that Abraham grew up in Ur(fa) and came to understand that there was only one god. But Nimrod the mighty hunter supported paganism and polytheism and decided to rid himself of Abraham. So he launched young Abraham from a catapault fixed between two pillars. The two pillars are real and can be seen in the image here.
Abraham apparently flew through the air and landed below in a fire, but God poured water from heaven to quench the fire. It then turned into a pool and fish came to live in this pool. So Abraham miraculously survived. Today in Ur(fa) you can visit Abraham’s Mosque and see the pool filled with thousands of fish. Indeed millions of pilgrims have come over the years to see the place, and to feed the fish. For 50 Turkish lira you can buy a cup of fish food. The fish are fat. They must be the best fed fish in the world.
In visiting Ur(fa) one feels a sense of honour to Abraham. Millions of Muslims honour him, as a kind of founder of monotheism. And Jewish people and Christians alike also hold a special place in their hearts for Abraham.
While the story about Nimrod, the fire and the fish seems miraculous, and seems to be a tale that has been embellished over time, there actually is still a miracle at work here.
In pagan Ur(fa) everyone believed that the gods were what one saw around them, the sun, the moon, the trees, and more. They made their own idols to these gods. But somehow Abraham came to know without a missionary, without a Bible, without a church, and without the gospel. Before the cross, and before the law, Abraham came to understand that there was only one God. This God was the creator of all that was seen, such as the sun and the moon. This God was not tangible or seen Himself. Abraham came into revelation and became a great role model and example, so much so that not only Christians honour him, but the majority of the world.
How did someone come to know God in such a dark place, at such a dark time? How did such a person become the father of faith?
The Lord worked a miracle.
Can I ask a favour? Would you pray for Muslims and Jews who love Abraham with good reason? Pray that they also come to see the Lord Jesus as the God that Abraham loved.
Btw, the fish are not actually goldfish, they are carp.
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