Next we come to the father of the Jewish people, Abraham.  Abraham’s life can in no way be completely summed up in one short blog post, but I’m going to hit the things highlighted in  Hebrews 11.

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. 9 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. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore Hebrews 11:8-12(NIV)

Look at that first verse again. 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. Now, have you ever been the car with someone and they haven’t told you where you were going?  Imagine that; only the driver is gone, and instead or for an evening or day, it’s for your WHOLE LIFE?  Nerve racking, isn’t it? Abraham was told to just go  somewhere ‘this-way-ish.’  No specific instructions, just a vague promise and he went.  That’s gutsy, if I do say so myself.  Moving is a big deal even when you know where you are going and why you are going there.  Abraham basically just trusted God in the fact that He knew what He was doing.  That’s something I have trouble with myself, but isn’t that in the definition of faith already listed in verse 6?  Let’s take a closer look at exactly what happened to Abraham.

1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “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.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there Genesis 12:1-5 (NIV)

First, don’t get confused here, Abraham and Abram are the same guy, God changed his name, his wife’s as well.  Each letter in the Hebrew language not only has a phonetic sound but a conceptual meaning.  When God changed Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah He inserted a H or the Hebrew letter Heh.  The sound is just a breath and the meaning is breath or Spirit.  So God breathed his spirit into Abraham and Sarah.  Kinda cool.

Second, did you notice that he was 75 at the time?  Can you imagine picking up your life and starting over at 75!  I know right now many people are having to do this at 40+, that’s hard enough, but at 75 you’re supposed to pretty much be done with this sort of thing.  Maybe that’s why God used him?  He didn’t question. He didn’t argue. His wife may have, but he didn’t.  Instead he packed up everything and moved from the city where he’d grown up along with his family and their servants.  He went from living in a house in city to living in a tent in essentially the middle or nowhere at an age most of us are already retired.  Wow, that’s not easy.

Not only did Abraham believe that God’s blessing lied in this strange land( as He said they would), but he believed God’s second promise that his wife would bear him a child. Now Sarah was about 50 at this point, Isaac didn’t come along for another 25 years. I don’t know about you, but I hope to done raising children in my 70’s.  He not only believed this promise, he continued to believe for 25 years!  I think my faith would at a minimum be tested on this one.  Even the writer of Hebrews said , and he as good as dead. Now if read the whole story in Genesis 15-21, you will see that Sarah didn’t have near the mount of faith that Abraham did and the consequences that followed her lack of faith.

This story has a somewhat sad ending; you see, Abraham didn’t get to see Gods promises fulfilled.  Neither did his son, OR his grandson.  I think there is a lesson there as well.  Faith is very much believing without seeing.  The hardest part is that sometimes I don’t get to see the end result of things, but does that mean the promise is any less true?  According to this it’s not, and I just need to believe anyway.

More information on the covenant of Abraham.