September 10
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” Hebrews 11:8-10.
Abraham’s faith was put to the test repeatedly throughout his life. When God first called him to leave his own country and to journey to an unknown land which he and his descendants would later inherit, Abraham was 75 years old. Already he was a wealthy man when God told him to pack up his many possessions and leave, “not knowing where he was going.”
It required a great measure of faith to make that move. The Bible does not tell us what Sarah, his wife, thought of the whole idea of moving to some unknown place with all of their possessions. Then remember that equipment and conveniences for moving at that time were nothing compared to what we have available in our day. They could not call for a U-Haul or some professional mover. Traveling on foot through that part of the country was a real challenge.
When they arrived in the land of Canaan, the land of promise, it was a foreign country to them. They were living among foreigners, who were not necessarily friendly. They lived as nomads in tents, and they traveled from place to place as was necessary for food and water for themselves and their livestock.
However, we are told, “By faith Abraham obeyed.” What moved Abraham to proceed without questioning? He was moved by his faith in God’s promise to send the Messiah and Savior. When God told Abraham to pack up and move, He also gave Abraham a number of promises. He said to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” Genesis 12:2-3.
The last of the promises, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” was the promise that a descendant of Abraham would be the promised Messiah and Savior for all people. This is the promise that is revealed in the Old Testament of Scripture and declared fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Testament of Scripture. We are all blessed through the descendant of Abraham – namely, Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, who was a descendant of Abraham.
As Abraham did, so we also put our trust and faith in the promise of God to send a Savior, which He did when He sent Jesus, who delivered us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. We are reminded that, like Abraham, we are journeying through life on this earth where we do not have an abiding city. We are just passing through!
“I’m but a stranger here,
Heav’n is my home;
Earth is a desert drear,
Heav’n is my home.
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on ev’ry hand;
Heav’n is my fatherland,
Heav’n is my home.
Therefore I murmur not,
Heav’n is my home;
Whate’er my earthly lot,
Heav’n is my home.
And I shall surely stand
There at my Lord’s right hand;
Heav’n is my fatherland,
Heav’n is my home.” Amen.