The Hall of Faith | Abraham’s Faith In A Foreign Land – Hebrews 11:8-10
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. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
The life of Abraham provides many foundational stories of the faith for those following the One True God. With one of the foundational covenants in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15, Abraham rose in prominence as one of the Fathers of the faith. “Now the Lord said to Abram, “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, ESV) While it took obedience for Abraham to leave where he once lived to a promised land that God would provide, it was faith that spurred Abraham to action believing that the promises of God far exceeded his own abilities and expectations.
Abraham understood that faith in God meant traveling into the unknown while trusting in a God who reveals Himself. Faith does not mean that we have no knowledge whatsoever but that our trust comes from our understanding that God is good. Abraham trusted in God to provide for him beyond any circumstance he could muster up himself. As God called Abraham out of the comfort of his known situation, Abraham needed faith to walk into the unknown, trusting in the goodness of God. Furthermore, Abraham trusted that the promised God would be an abundance of blessing, not because of any particular feature of the land, but because God designs the community. At the core of our faith is an understanding that God’s design will provide beyond anything we can do and thus, we follow Him through an unknown journey, trust that God designs the community.
Faith In An Unknown Journey
Abraham had been called out of a known area founded on the history of his family and called to go into a strange land with many unknowns. Furthermore, unlike Noah, God did not provide Abraham with the long term plan for what was going to happen. When God spoke to Abraham, it contained a fair amount of unknowns with the large scale promise. God promised a land, a nation, a people, and an intimate relationship with the King of Heaven. Even with this promise, Abraham could not possibly understand the scope of the inheritance he would receive from God and pass down to the people. God called Abraham to stand in faith in the promises of God to come out of the comfortable and the known and travel to the unknown and unfamiliar with the promise of blessing and God’s presence. He would be commended for his faith in the face of an unknown journey that would require every ounce of his being to trust in the promises of God without any form of security or guarantee other than the promise of God.
For Abraham, entering into the promised land meant going somewhere completely unknown not putting our trust in the destination but in the God who leads us. The same faith of Abraham spurs us on to the same things. First and foremost, the work of Christ calls us out of the familiarity of our sin to something better than we could fathom. In honesty, sin is familiar and appealing. Even when we know the negative effects of sin, it still seems to draw us back and ensnare us once again. In faith, we lay down the desires of our flesh that promise nothing but death and eternal punishment, for the promised land of communion and relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith, as the assurance of things hoped for, promises that following God will be better than our live apart from God. Furthermore, a life lived out of the abundance of faith leads us to a surpassing joy beyond anything this world can offer. We become ambassadors and representatives of the King who reigns over all creation. Living in faith means walking head first into the unknown with the assurance that God will be with us during the journey and sets our destination with Him.
God The Designer of Our Community
The author of Hebrews depicts Abraham’s understanding of God as having designed and given the promised land. While Abraham did not know of anything specific about the land God had called him to, Abraham knew the God who was calling. Abraham understood the promised land as the specific plot of land that God had set apart for His people to claim and flourish in by the grace of God and for His glory. Yet, the scope of promise between God and Abraham far exceeded anything Abraham could conceive to have our inheritance in eternity with Jesus Christ, forever. The understanding of the goodness of God as the designer of the promised land and the community of people led Abraham to be willing to stand on the faith of God and leave his home for something better. While he may have had preconceived notions of what would be good or serve as a blessing for him, ultimately God is the one who establishes the truth and goodness of the promised land.
God designed every detail of life to function in a particular way and all for His glory. We may desire to define ourselves by a certain manner or seek to craft a reality based on what we feel is best for our own good, but it will always fall short of the perfection that God designed for all of creation to work. Even more, God, who seeks our own benefit for His glory, defines the community we will join. The only path to salvation comes through Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. This is not bigotry, colonialism, or any other objection but rather the objective reality of an existence that God crafted into perfect being. The exclusive path of salvation is offered to all inclusively for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Just as Abraham believed God for the promised land, we believe God that death will not be our end but would be our beginning of an eternity with our Heavenly Father. We must strive to continually grow in our understanding of who God is and what He does to build our faith by cementing our trust and hope. When we know the God we serve and His character, we can have faith during the times when God calls us to trust.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
