Would it be more accurate to say that Abraham's being "a father of many nations" is of more importance for his spiritual descendants than his physical descendants? I'd argue God fulfilled his promise both physically and spiritually.
This is a fair question, so I will give it a fair answer.
Please consider this conversation between John the Baptist and certain Jews of his day.
Mat 3:1
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Mat 3:4
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Mat 3:5
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
Mat 3:6
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mat 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
The first thing that we need to realize is that whenever we read of Judaea in the New Testament, we are reading about the land inheritance that was given to the tribe of Judah. Furthermore, it is from the word
Judah that the word
Jew was derived. In other words, here, we are reading of a dialogue between John the Baptist and certain Jews of his day.
What did John say to certain of them?
Again, he said this:
Mat 3:9
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to
our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Why did he say that?
He said that because certain Jews of his day were trusting in their natural descendance or lineage from Abraham, but, as I have been seeking to explain, natural descendance or lineage alone does not make one a true child of Abraham in God's eyes. Instead, saving faith in Jesus Christ does, and those to whom John the Baptist made this statement did not believe in Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were not truly children of Abraham as far as salvation is concerned because they did not possess the same type of saving faith in Jesus Christ, who is Abraham's seed (Galatians 3:16), that Abraham did.
With this in mind, please also consider the following conversation between Jesus and certain Jews of his day.
Jhn 8:33
They answered him,
We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Jhn 8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Jhn 8:35
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever:
but the Son abideth ever.
Jhn 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Jhn 8:37
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Jhn 8:38
I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Jhn 8:39
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Jhn 8:40
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Jhn 8:41
Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father,
even God.
Jhn 8:42
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Jhn 8:43
Why do ye not understand my speech?
even because ye cannot hear my word.
Jhn 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
When Jesus was conversing with certain Jews of his day, they told him "We be Abraham's seed" (vs. 33), and Jesus acknowledged their natural descendance or lineage from Abraham when he said "I know that ye are Abraham's seed" (vs. 37). However, when they said "Abraham is our father" (vs. 39), Jesus responded by saying "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham, but now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham" (vss. 39-40). He then proceeded to tell them "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do" (vs. 44).
My point?
Once again, we see certain Jews whose natural descendance or lineage came from Abraham, but their spiritual descendance or lineage came from their father the devil.
Again, it is only those who walk in the same faith that Abraham had in his seed, which is Christ (Galatians 3:16), who are truly the seed of Abraham or the children of Abraham.
Can someone be both a natural descendant and a spiritual descendant of Abraham? Sure, they can, and we have examples of the same in scripture. At the same time, however, we also have plenty of examples where natural descendants of Abraham were not truly Abraham's seed in God's eyes because they did not have the same saving faith in Christ that Abraham had.
Hopefully, you can see this.
How does this pertain to the topic at hand?
It pertains in that if so-called Christians in this so-called Christian nation with its so-called Christian President have no problem at all with true Christians from other nations being wiped out through war, then I highly question as to whether or not any of the so-called Christians are truly Christians at all.
To be quite frank, it seems to me that a lot of the so-called Christians in this nation are either Nationalists or Zionists...or a combination of the two.
Abraham is "the father of many nations" in that anybody from any nation who has placed their saving faith in him is his seed or child in a spiritual sense.
Again, are there true children of Abraham in Israel?
I believe that there are.
Are there true children of Abraham among the Palestinians?
I believe that there are.
These individuals need to be our primary focus as opposed to offering unilateral and unwavering support to any particular nation.