THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM (The Call to Faith and Fulfillment)

THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM (The Call to Faith and Fulfillment)
Thursday, July 24, 2025 by Ron Susek @GoldenQuillPublications

Abraham poses a great challenge to our faith. Don't miss today's FaithWalk: Courage for the Journey.

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"And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect"
(Hebrews 11:39-40)

It all started for Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, once a city in today's southeast Iraq. There, he heard a "Voice" in his spirit saying, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess" (Genesis 17:7).

Centuries later, Nehemiah reflected upon Abraham's encounter with God, "You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham" (Nehemiah 9:7).

In Ur, God's voice whispered in Abraham's heart, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). This meant saying goodbye to the glitz and glamor of Ur where most people worshiped the moon god named Sin.

His departure began when his father, Terah, moved hundreds of miles northwest to the trade-route city of Haran. Abraham, his wife and Lot (Abraham's nephew) joined Terah in Haran, another city infested with followers of the moon god, Sin.

Upon Terah's death, Abram obeyed the "Voice" that had said, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3).

Thousands of years later, the unknown writer of Hebrews described the depth of Abraham's faith: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going."

Such obedience teaches us that life on earth calls for faith. Fulfillment of the promise lies beyond the horizon.

Abraham departed Haran after his father's death to sojourn without roots. His singular goal was to by faith follow the voice of his God. He lived in tents not palaces. He daily tended livestock, mainly sheep. His faith sagged when he feared being killed by King Abimelech upon seeing his wife's beauty. He lied, saying she was his sister. Upon learning the truth, Abimelech sharply rebuked the man of faith for nearly bringing the wrath of God upon him had he touched another man's wife. Abraham interceded for Sodom's deliverance from judgment. He saved his nephew Lot from captivity. He settled a conflict between his shepherds and those of Lot.

Facing many headwinds of trouble, his heart was fixated on the divine destiny as described in Hebrews 12:22-24; "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel"

Abraham never looked back. When sending a servant to find a wife for Isaac, he adamantly instructed him not to seek for her in Ur. (Genesis 24:5-7). Following God by faith on an unmarked path, God announced to the sojourner that he would be the father of many nations, all of which would be blessed (Genesis 17:5).

Abraham remained a man with common values. Respect for him was seen when he sought a burial place for Sarah and his family. The Hittites said, "...you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of tombs" (Genesis 23:6). He who lived in dusty tents on windblown deserts refused. All he wanted was Mechpelah's cave at the end of his field. The Hittites wanted to give it to him. He insisted on paying for it.

Abraham shunned prestige and privilege because, like Moses, he refused to let worldly pleasures rob him of God's promised inheritance.

The writer of Hebrews used Abraham's example to challenge persecuted believers who were drifting from the faith. He wrote: "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:36-39).

Here is Abraham's challenge to us. "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40).

IMAGINE THAT! "...apart from us they should not be made perfect." As we appear to be nearing the end, we can almost hear the "great cloud of witness" shouting, "Run! Run! Run!"

Always remember: Immanuel: God with us!
Ron

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