Genesis 12:1-5
The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Hebrews 11:8-10
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
One of the great explorers of the past century was an Englishman named Ernest Shackleton. Born in Ireland in 1874, Shackleton led three major British expeditions to the Antarctic in the early decades of the 20th century, the most famous of which was the “Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition” of 1914-17 that nearly ended in disaster. Very early in the voyage his ship Endurance became trapped in ice and led to a harrowing test of survival for Shackleton and his 28 crew members.
Though he struggled to find peace and stability in his civilian life, Shackleton was most certainly a man of unusual courage when it came to exploring the unknown regions of the earth. He is believed to have once placed a newspaper ad in an attempt to recruit a crew that read:
MEN WANTED
For hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.
As the story goes, Shackleton was inundated with applicants for his expedition!
Why would anyone respond to an opportunity to be part of a hazardous journey of bitter cold and constant danger with lousy wages and only the promise of honor in case of success?
Because, I think, somewhere deep in each one of us lies a hunger for adventure; a thirst for life. Somewhere in us we know we were created for something more than the everyday 9 to 5 work or school routine we are living. We are looking for life with a capital “L”; we are looking for significance and meaning; in a sense, we are looking for eternity.
So was an ancient man named Abram. Therefore, when God said,
“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you,” Abram listened.
And when God said, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” Abram not only listened, but he packed up and obeyed.
Now, if we left the story right there it would be a good story but we would be missing something very significant; we would be missing the fact that the journey to which God called Abram was not easy. In fact, Abram’s journey was exceedingly difficult and filled with challenges he could not have imagined and would not have chosen for himself if given the opportunity.
In Hebrews we read:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abram obeyed God’s call, but the journey was no picnic. In fact, he spent his life as a “stranger in a foreign country”. When Hebrews says he “lived in tents” it is referring to the fact that the rest of Abram’s life was a nomadic existence rather than an established life in a big city like Ur or Haran.
But, even so, Abram obeyed and followed God because of the promise of blessing; a blessing that was not necessarily for him as much as for his descendants.
In Hebrews 11 we read:
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40
What does this mean? It means that the promise God made right from the beginning was salvation and salvation was only finally accomplished in and through Jesus Christ. That’s the gospel and the whole story of the Bible is about the gospel of salvation.
Abram didn’t live to see the promise fulfilled; but Abram’s obedience was part of God’s promise of salvation.
How does this apply to us today?
Through Abram we see that God’s call and promise are clear. He calls us through the gospel to the promise of salvation. But through us, and through the gospel, God wants to bless the peoples of the earth.
Through Abram we also see that the journey is long and difficult. We face trials and struggle and perhaps even doubt and fear.
But, like Abram, we can know that no matter how difficult the journey, no matter how far off the Land of Canaan may seem, the promise of salvation is certain.
Lord,
Thank you for the gospel; for the promise of your salvation. When the road before me seems long; or when the way seems difficult; help me to remember that your blessings and your salvation are not just for me but for all those who follow after me; and even for the whole world. Amen.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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