Traveling By Faith

Introduction

We live in a very mobile society. Statistically, those coming out of college now will move about every five years as they make their way up the corporate ladder. Moving is a part of our society. If we took a survey of the folks here, most of us have not been born and raised in Memphis. Moving from one location to another can be traumatic. There is a sense of lostness when you move to a new city and have to begin the process of learning the territory and developing friendships and trying to discover how you fit in. When we move we can feel isolated or we may feel exhilarated. Whichever emotion you may have, moving is always a time when you have to say goodbye to someone.

When we come to Genesis 12, the writer helps us to understand that a new section is beginning. From the book whose name means “beginnings” comes a new beginning with a man named Abram. God is going to use this man to begin the process of building a great nation. One gets a sense as you read these first nine verses in this chapter of the isolation and loneliness which Abram must have been experiencing as he followed God. You also get the impression that Abram was a man of great faith. He demonstrates time and again his willingness to follow God into unknown situations. His confidence in God’s ability to provide is refreshing and helps us to renew our own faith.

Tonight, the first nine verses of chapter 12 will be our focus. In this lesson we will be challenged by Abram’s faith, by God’s presence, and by our response.

Abram’s Call

Chapter 12 begins with two words which are spelled the same in Hebrew but are pronounced differently. These two words are repeated in Genesis 22:2. The Genesis writer wants us to understand the connection between chapter 12 and chapter 22. In chapter 12, Abram is called to follow God. In chapter 22, Abraham is called to sacrifice his son Isaac. God begins both of these chapters with the same words. Literally translated they mean “go you.” Because that phrase is not proper English, translators have tried to capture the meaning but have not succeeded in capturing the intensity. So what is the connection?

In chapter 12, God commands Abram to give up his past. He is to leave country, people, and family. In chapter 22, God command Abraham to give up his future, Isaac. Why give up the past and why when God fulfilled a promise to give you a child must he give up his future? Because the point is to show that Abraham is left with nothing but his trust in God. When it all is boiled down to its most common level, all that Abraham can really count on is God.

When God calls Abram to follow him, he calls him with lots of promises. God promises to bless Abram far beyond what will happen if he stays in Haran. He promises to make Abram well known throughout the world. He promises to bless the entire world through Abram. Great promises. Do you think that made it easier for Abram to leave his culture, his successful business, and his family? Do you think these promises alone got Abram excited about the change in venue? Then add to those promises the fact that God doesn’t tell Abram where he is going. God will show him the land when he gets there. We would generally have one response to that—crazy.

Abram’s call is a nice story as long as it doesn’t involve me. It’s nice to read of a man of great faith as long as we are nestled in the bosom of our family, culture, and prosperity. We can read Genesis 12 with no problem. I would even agree that not everyone is called like Abram was. But make no mistake when we come to God, he does call on us to give up our past and walk with him alone. God does want us to know that all we really have is our trust in him. That family, culture, and prosperity as much security as they provide are not the final word on this life or the one to come. Like Abram we too have received a call to trust God. We don’t always know where we are going, but God does and he will show us when we get there.

When God calls Abram this gives him purpose and direction. No longer does Abram live for the moment. No longer does he continue to pursue the economic success of Haran. No longer is he interested in his own success. He now lives for God. Abram was a typical man trying to make it in this world. The call which came from God changed the way Abram looked at life and the direction he was heading. It caused him to take his focus off of himself and place it on God. He didn’t live perfectly within that focus, but he did live in such a way that he never looked back on the past. He pressed on to fulfill God’s will.

Abram’s call is a reminder that our God is powerfully and effectively working to make things happen in our lives. Our God is not standing on the sidelines watching us struggle to figure out what is happening. He is busily leading the way to a new promised land which he assures us will be better than anything we have ever seen or experienced. We who are Christians have been called as well. Let us not forget that our God commands us to follow him wherever he may lead us. Let us not forget that the only thing that truly matters is our faith.

God’s Presence

Abram leaves Haran along with his entourage. Some have speculated this group may have been around 2000 people. It is hard to know. But it was not a small group. We know from chapter 14 that Abram has a fighting army of 318 men. We can safely assume that these men were married. They even might have had children. You get the point. This band that leaves from Haran is not just a small caravan. They travel to Canaan. Upon arrival God appears to tell Abram that this was the land that would go to his offspring. Notice God doesn’t promise the land to Abram but to his offspring. God was pronouncing to Abram that he would be a wanderer for the rest of his life. No real place to call home.

This is not appealing to us. We want a place to call home. But again, God is demonstrating that all Abram really has is his faith. So Abram builds an altar there. In a place surrounded by those who haven’t a clue about what is happening, Abram celebrates the presence of God in this land by building an altar. Abram goes a little further down the road and builds another altar. With each new location, Abram is announcing the presence of God to a people who do not know him. And isn’t that what we are to do as well.

We live in a land that is not really our own. We know that the only thing that really matters is our faith. We are surrounded by those who do not know that God is present. In the way we live, the way we deal with our co-workers, we demonstrate the presence of God. We must remain alert for what is happening around us. This is not the time to sleep nor to rest easy in the comfort of what we have already accomplished. There is much yet to be done.

Before we leave this text there is one more point to make. Look carefully at verse 6. Abram arrives in Canaan. The Bible simply says that the Canaanites lived in the land. God tells Abram this land will eventually belong to his offspring. This speaks of the future. The Canaanites didn’t know about God’s plans. They were busy going about the business of the day. Dads went to the fields. Moms went to the market. Older men went to the city gates to rule. Older women helped their daughters with daily chores. Children played and were educated. Older children helped with chores. The day to day living went on. And on the outskirts of their land was God making a promise to a nomad from the north that this land that he now saw was going to belong to his offspring some day. No one thought they would give up their land.

The point is not difficult to understand. We go about our business. We may be directionless in our efforts. We go to work. We work hard. We do chores. We go about our business and may not be aware at all that in the future we will give up our land. What we assume will always be present, that which we take for granted, that which we have come to expect to be a part of normal life, will one day no longer be ours. Whether it will be failing health, a failing economy, failing life, or failing earth, what we now do will fade and dissolve into eternity. Are you prepared to give it all up? You see what these nine verses demonstrate is that the only thing that really matters is our faith in God. That in the scheme of things it is the only thing which will last. We will pass on something to our children. Hopefully what we pass on will be that which lasts and matters.

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