“He (Abram) moved from there unto a mountain…and pitched his tent…and there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.” Genesis 12:8
Dear Ones:
How is it that Abram became the “father of faith,” with God telling Israel: “Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah that bare you.?” It is because of what is written afterward: “I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.” (Is.51:2) Scripture tells us that God revealed Himself to Abram when he was in Mesopotamia. He would reveal Himself again to Him in Haran, after he had left Mesopotamia en route to Canaan, the land of promise. But what was it that God found in the heart of Abram that responded to the revelation of God to His heart? He found two essential things. First, it was an attitude of heart whereby Abram chose the “tent-life.” We are told that this man, who learned to live by the promises of God, “…looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God.”: (Heb. 11:10) Abram had the “eternal” on his mind, thus he was dominated by it. He was very mobile on this earth, being willing to be led by the Lord. What mattered most was that he be in the place of God’s choosing, where God would reveal Himself to him, speak to him. The second thing that characterized Abram, perhaps above all else, was that he learned early that the personal worship of God was essential to his faith. This was his highest calling, one which would result in a clear grasp of who God was, what He said, and what He would do for and be to Abraham. Worship was key to his life of faith in truth. How does this apply to us?
First of all, let us remember that Abram, who existed long before the coming of Moses and the written Law of God, did not have the Scriptures. He was somewhat like the Apostle Paul, who wrote: “…the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11,12) Abram was born into an idolatrous society, his father Terah being a worshiper of many idols. And yet, it would be by the Spirit of God, that the truth of God would be revealed to him. It must be noted that the clarity of the revelation was such that it resulted in a conviction in the heart of Abram, that he must obey God, leave his home in Mesopotamia, and travel towards to Canaan, a land of promise. Abram was a man of the “tent,” not only because of his normal manner of life, but because he was a man free to follow God. And so it is with us. We are called to be “led” by the Spirit of God, wherever He may send us, for His purposes. Secondly, we like Abram, are called to live a life of faith. It was written of him, “…and he believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6) Habakkuk would write, as would the Apostle Paul, “The just shall live by faith.” But how is faith nurtured, and how does it grow? By worship. It is as the Spirit of God takes the truth of God and reveals the fathomless meaning to our souls and spirits, that faith increases. It is in the attitude and act of worshiping Jesus Christ that He becomes an ever-increasing reality to us, thus strengthening us to believe Him for all that He desires and wills to do.
Dear Father, make us to be in mind and heart those who live by the principles of the tent and the altar. Give us to be detached, mobile, and responsive to Your calling. And yet, wherever You would have us to be in Your will, whether transitory, or fixed, give us grace to set ourselves to worship Thee by the Spirit, and in truth. Then faith will certainly grow, and we will be able to grasp, and lay hold on this eternal life to which we are called. We thank and praise Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad