ABRAHAM’S FAITH (1): BY FAITH ABRAHAM LEFT UR WHEN HE WAS CALLED Hebrews 8:⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going.” Ur was an ancient Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia near the head of the Persian Gulf in what is Iraq today. . “A thriving, wealthy port city during the Early Bronze Age, it was dominated by the Sumerian moon god Nanna. The city was at its height around 2000 B.C., which aligns with traditional dating for Abraham. Critics claimed Ur never existed but it was excavated extensively by Sir Leonard Woolley from 1922-1934, revealing it was a highly advanced civilization with intricate jewelry, musical instruments, and urban housing, unearthing a grand ziggurat, royal tombs, and thousands of cuneiform tablets that confirmed its status as a major Sumerian city-state..” (AI) Joshua 24:2 says that Abraham’s father Terah served other gods (maybe Nanna) but we don’t know if Abraham did. Jewish tradition (Midrash) characterizes Terah as a maker and seller of idols,We don’t know how many times God spoke to Abraham or if God gave him some kind of miraculous confirmation that He was the one true God. We just know that God called Abraham to leave Ur at the age of 65 and he left in faith, not knowing where he was going. He would head 600 miles northwest with his wife Sarai, nephew Lot, his brother Haran, and servants to Haran (where Nanna was also worshipped) where he would spend about 10 years until Terah died. We don’t know if Terah ever quit serving other gods. At the age of 75 God told him (Genesis 12) to make the 400 mile journey on down to the Promised Land, and he did so. Abraham left Ur by faith to go the Promised Land. He didn’t have a map or GPS to guide him He just trusted in God as his GPS. 50 years ago my wife and I left Alabama to go to Trinidad, West Indies, which is over 2,000 miles from Alabama. I remember a big “send-off” at the Birmingham airport with our parents and many Christian supporters gathered right at the gate (you could do that back then) as we boarded the plane.I remember taking our seats on the plane and thinking, “What have we done? This is crazy. We are going off to a far away land for at least 3 years, not knowing so many details about our stay in Trinidad.” I had a really sick feeling in my stomach on that plane. But we knew that we would come back to Alabama once each year to visit and see our parents. We knew we had missionary friends in Trinidad to greet us and take care of us until we found our own place to live. Our parents came to Trinidad to visit us so we didn’t leave all relatives forever as Abraham did. Abraham was leaving Ur not knowing any details about provisions in the Promised Land for his stay there. He just trusted God and obeyed Him, leaving Ur by faith. BTW, our going to Trinidad, while not equal to Abraham’s journey, began a journey of faith for my wife and me. We felt the need to go train leaders in the newly established churches in Trinidad and establish new churches. We didn’t get some miraculous call, but we believed that was what God wanted us to do, so we did it. We were scared and nervous, but we went. It turned out to be the beginning of a life journey of faith for us, going wherever we felt God wanted us to go work over the past 50 years. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us. I had an engineering degree from UAB and a job with Alabama Power, and probably could have continued to work there until retirement as a friend of mine did. We could have stayed in Birmingham, living close to our parents, which would have been great. But God had something better for us. I just got calls from Trinidad from two close brothers and sisters there. It made my heart glad. We would have missed baptizing and working with all those people in Trinidad if we had stayed in Birmingham! Abraham could have stayed in Ur and started serving the one true God, but God had a better plan for Abraham. Does God have a possible plan for you that scares you? Just trust God and “go”. Most people want their futures to be laid out in detail with secure plans for success. Life is so much more interesting if we see ourselves on a faith journey with God, just going where He calls us to go, doing what He calls us to do.

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (2): BY FAITH ABRAHAM LIVED IN THE PROMISED LAND LIKE A STRANGER Hebrews 8:⁹ By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham lived 100 years in the Promised Land. He lived in tents the whole time, moving from place to place, often driven from water wells by the Canaanites. He never built a house for Sarai, or lived in a city in Canaan. He never received “citizenship” in Canaan. He would have been considered an “illegal immigrant”. He was just a stranger, a foreigner, living the entire 100 years in Canaan. After 3 years in Trinidad, we moved to Colombia, South America to do mission work. I remember that on our visas to stay there we were considered “estranjeros” for our 2 year stay there. That means “strangers”, just like in Hebrrews 11:9 Abraham was a “stranger” in Canaan. We sing that song, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through”. Here is that song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8e57YGVj7Q One of the verses touched me: “I have a loving mother waiting for me.” My mom moved to Huntsville to be near us where we could take care of her as she aged. I would sometimes just go by her apartment and sit when I was struggling with things. We didn’t talk much. We mainly watched “Samford and Son” on TV! She did in 2010 at the age of 92. I often wish I could go sit and visit with her. My dad died in 1992. I look forward to seeing both of them some day in heaven. Most of us spend too much time planting roots in this world as if we are going to be here forever. Abraham was looking for a heavenly city and was totally content to just be a stranger in Canaan. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (3): BY FAITH ABRAHAM DIED WITHOUT RECEIVING THE PROMISED LAND Hebrews 11:¹³ All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵ And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” Can you imagine how Abraham might have felt when he arrived in Canaan and God told him that he would never personally actually receive official ownership of the Promised Land. In Genesis 15, after being in the land for several years,God informed him he would not personally get to own the land but that it would be his descendants who would get it, but even then only 4 generations later and after spending a few hundred years in slavery in a foreign country. I wonder how he felt after hearing that? Did he think, “God, why didn’t you tell me that before I left Ur.” Did that discourage him? Did he feel like God had deceived him? Apparently not. Apparently he just trusted God on those promises that were “far off, from a distance” (Hebrews 11:13) and confessed that he would spend the next 90 years as a “stranger and pilgrim” in Canaan. He would go through many difficult times during that 100 years: famine that caused him to go to Egypt where he feared for his life and told Pharoah that Sarah was his sister, conflict with Lot that separated them, conflict with the Canaanites who would drive him from wells of water that his servants dug. The only piece of property in Canaan that he ever owned was the cave of Macpelah which he had to buy to bury Sarah in. He had to buy property that technically he already owned! I wonder if during that 100 years in Canaan he ever thought about going back to Ur? Since he would never actually get the land, why not go back to Ur where he would probably have relatives and a more secure living standard? He would probably be a respected citizen back in Ur. I know that I often thought about going back to Alabama while we were in Trinidad for 3 years, even though we had a nice house and a great life and ministry there. I missed a lot of things about our life back in Alabama. The only shows on TV were British shows that were weird (we did get MASH shows and looked forward to that). I was not able to see any American football games on TV, only soccer and cricket matches. No Alabama football games for 3 years!!!! No internet to get shows or games. To talk to our parents we had to go through a ham operator in San Fernando who had to go through a ham operator in the US who would make a collect call to our parents! Now we can talk to Trinidadians and see their faces as we talk! So yes, even though we were very happy and fulfilled, I thought often about when we would go back to Alabama. Did Abraham ever think about going back to Ur? Apparently not! Hebrews 13:16 says that he had the opportunity to go back to Ur any time that he wanted to. But Abraham was not discouraged or frustrated and never wanted to go back to live in Ur, or even to visit in Ur. He was looking for a heavenly country, a heavenly city. I don’t know what that heavenly country and city would have looked like in his mind. I guess that’s kinda like our vision of going to heaven even though we don’t know exactly where that is or what it will look like. We know that there will be no hunger or thirst or scorching heat or tears and that the Lamb Jesus our shepherd will guide us to springs of the water of life giving us eternal life where God dwells (Revelation 7:16,17). But we don’t even know where that is or any other details. I wonder what Abraham’s vision of the heavenly country or city looked like? All we know is that Abraham by faith lived in Canaan for 100 years as a stranger and was totally satisfied with his status. Genesis 25:7-8 says that he lived a long life and was “satisfied” with his life. He died satisfied with his journey of faith with God. If your goals in life are materialistic, you will never be satisfied. Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Those who love money will never be satisfied with the money they have. Those who love wealth will not be satisfied when they get more and more. This is also senseless.” (ERV) They will die, not satisfied with their life on earth. Those who seek a heavenly eternal existence will live to please God and will die satisfied with their life on earth. But it takes faith to live like Abraham did: faith that there is such a heavenly place prepared for us. I hope you have that faith. An atheist has nothing to look forward to after death. Go listen to the song “Looking for a city” for an encouraging reminder of our heavenly city that we are looking for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVjXDhOfne0 Great lyrics!

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (4): BY FAITH ABRAHAM OFFERED ISAAC AS A SACRIFICE Hebrews 11:¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son; ¹⁸ it was he to whom it was said, “Through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” ^19 [o]He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Of course, he did not have to actually kill Isaac as a human sacrifice. An angel told him there was a ram to offer in the place of Isaac. But Hebrews 11:17 says that in God’s eyes he “offered Isaac as a sacrifice” since Abraham was willing to do that. I can’t possibly imagine what Abraham thought when God told him to go to Mt Moriah and offer Isaac as a sacrifice. He had spent 25 years planting his seed in the womb of his barren wife Sarai but finally at the age of 100 Isaac was born. He loved his son Ishmael that he bore through Hagar, but he knew that the promise that his descendants would be “like the stars and the sands on the shores” would be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael. Killing Isaac would mean that that promise would never be fulfilled. We don’t know how old Isaac was when going with Abraham to Mt Moriah: we do know he was old enough and strong enough to carry the wood for the sacrifice. Josephus estimated that Isaac was 25, but he could have been just a teenager. The idea of making a human sacrifice would have seemed totally inconsistent with the God that Abraham worshipped. The Canaanites did human sacrifices to their gods, like to Molech the Moabite god, and God would later condemn such a practice as an abomination. He would strongly condemn King Ahaz and King Manasseh of Judah for offering a son as a human sacrifice to Molech. But here God is commanding Abraham to offer his son to God as a human sacrifice. But did Abraham argue with God? No. He got up early the next morning to take Isaac and offer him. He told Sari, “we will return after making the offering” (Genesis 22:5). That implies that he expected to return with Isaac after the sacrifice. How could he think that? Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us what Abraham was thinking. It says that Abraham thought that God would surely raise Isaac from the dead after offering him as a sacrifice. Abraham had never seen God raised anyone from the dead, and yet he reasoned this out in his mind. He offered Isaac by faith. He trusted God so much that he believed that God would do the impossible and raise Isaac from the dead after the sacrifice. Talk about faith that God will provide! Talk about “with God all things are possible”. Have you ever been in a tough situation where it just looks like there is going to be a terrible ending? Have you ever been terribly frustrated with some tragedy and wondered how God could allow such a thing to happen? Were you able by faith to think of a great positive thing that God might do to help you overcome that situation even if it ended terribly, some good that God had in mind? It’s called the “power of positive thinking” (Norman Vincent Peale: you can read his book online free). It’s called “possibility thinking”. “Impossibility thinking” fixates on why something cannot be done rather than how it can be done. With God, all things are possible. Always think of what great thing God might do in a terrible crisis. He might not save someone you love from cancer, but there is something great that God can do even in that situation. BTW God provided a ram to take Isaac’s place. Abraham named the place, “The Lord will provide” (Jehovah Jireh). That ram was aa type of Jesus’s death sacrifice to take our place as sinners. Jesus was offered to saved us from spiritual death. It’s amazing to see all the Old Testament types that should have prepared the Jews to accept Jesus as the offering for their sins.

CONCLUSION Paul says that those who believe in Jesus will be credited with righteousness and just like Abraham was credited with righteousness throug his faith (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6-9). His faith is our example to follow. We become the “sons of Abraham” (spiritually) when we imitate his faith by believing in Jesus. Paul said that Abraham was “the father of all who believe’ (Romans 4:11). Christians are the true sons of Abraham today. The unbelieving Jews told Jesus,“Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham (i.e. believe like Abraham did)”. (John 8:39). He went on to tell them that the devil was their father! God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. There are the Arabs who descended from his son Ishmael. There are still Jews who don’t believe in Jesus and yet have been given statehood in Palestine. They claim to be God’s chosen people and most evangelicals still consider them to be God’s chosen people even though they don’t believe in Jesus (although many Messianic Jews do believe in Jesus). God’s chosen people, the true sons of Abraham, are believers in Jesus. They make up the church which consists of believers in Jesus from all the nations. Thus all the nations are blessed through the seed of Abraham, which is Jesus (Galatians 3:16). I know this article was long, but I think the faith of Abraham can be of great encouragement for our faith today. I hope this article blesses you.