EB 9:8-19{Such a thing as personal connection with God would never have entered into our minds unless He had revealed Himself. We see in Abraham's history how God comes to him, and introduces Himself as a living Person to his soul, drawing him out of his own country and from his own kindred after Himself. Henceforth all Abraham's associations were to be with the living God, who promises to be to him a shield, and his exceeding great reward. Abraham had nothing to act upon but faith in God's word. What a fool he must have appeared to his worldly relatives, leaving all at the bidding of One whom he did not see, and in whom they did not believe.
All went on well with Him as long as he trusted in God to act for him; but when he tried to arrange matters for himself, it was all failure. We see this in his taking. Terah and Lot with him; God never called them out, the word was, " Get thee out of thy country and from thy father's house." Abraham did not leave all, so he had to stop in Haran till Tarah dies, and was at last, obliged to desire Lot to separate himself from him; after that we find progress. Mark in the 8th verse, when he was called to go out, " By faith Abraham obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went."
This was a trial to which God put his faith, for the testing of it: Nothing tries human nature so much as uncertainty;, we can bear anything rather than be kept in suspense; there is relief in the worst certainty.
But that is just God's principle of acting with us: He does not want us to know beforehand how and when His promises arc to be made good to us, for then there would be no exercise of faith.
God told Abraham that his seed was to be as the stars of heaven. How was this to be, seeing he had no child? Everything but that he had got, silver and gold, flocks, tents, and three hundred trained servants.
But who was to inherit all this? Naturally this question would often suggest itself. Poor Sarah tried to help him out of the difficulty hi her way by smuggling a child into the house; but it was not an Isaac, a son of promise.
How we see ourselves in Sarah! We have no patience to wait God's time for giving, so we put forth our hand and take, often to our sorrow and spiritual loss. Hal we just kept hanging on God, He would have given us something far better than the thing to which we had helped ourselves in our impatience.
From the 9th verse we see that the pilgrim and stranger character was kept up—dwelling in tents; houses are for Canaan, tents for the wilderness. God's dwelling in the wilderness was a tabernacle or tent., in Canaan a temple. Abraham kept true to the pilgrim character, Lot did not. He pitched his tent first toward Sodom, afterward had a house in it, and sat at the gate (Gen. 13:10-13; 19:110And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. (Genesis 13:10‑13)
1And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; (Genesis 19:1)). What a place for a child of God to settle in and receive honor!
Abraham had his eye on a far different city, "he looked for the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker was God." Meanwhile he was satisfied to live in a tent, with God for his portion.
When tested, Abraham refused to take anything from the king of Sodom, from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, lest he should say, "I have made Abraham rich " (Gen. 14:16-2316And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. 17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: (Genesis 14:16‑23)). The very next thing we find is God saying to him "I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward" (Gen. 15:11After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)). Whenever we are enabled to surrender what nature clings to for Christ's sake, there is blessing in a clearer revelation of Himself to the soul; as it were, room is made for the Lord by the displacing of lower objects, and the promise of John 14:2323Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23) is made good in our experience: " If a man love Me, he will keep, My word: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
What a wall of fire the Lord is round the soul that is separated to Himself! He plants the blood of Christ right behind us. Has He spoken to us of His glory, and told us of the glories awaiting us as fellow-heirs with Christ, and shall we turn back and mind earthly things? Shall net His country be our country, His associates our associates, while we are waiting in strangership down here, confessing ourselves pilgrims by our walk and ways, showing by our blessed independency of all the good things which nature esteems so highly, and our indifference to the attractions by which so many are dazzled and blinded, that we are passing through this scene in haste to a better country, choosing nothing for ourselves, but receiving all as God's gift?
Does anything bright offer itself? Our first question should be, " Does my Father give me this? If not, I do not want it." If I am a true pilgrim, I shall not be thinking of settling down in a world like this; I will say, " That cannot be God's gift for me; it is not good enough; He has prepared for me a city; I am going home; meanwhile I want to keep my mind and heart free for Him who gave Himself for me."
We never read of God being the God of Lot; not that but He was Lot's God quite as much as Abraham's, but He could not associate His holy name with Sodom, of which Lot was a citizen. He is not ashamed to be called the God of pilgrims and strangers, and to associate His name with theirs.
The trial to which God put Abraham in offering up Isaac was very remarkable. He wanted to see whether he was hanging all his weight on the promise or not. He tries us often in the same way. How blessed when the faith He has given, when tried, is not found wanting!
In many ways our faith is tested. Do we know what it is to be kept in suspense? When we put forth a single thing to help ourselves, God just moves it out of His way, that He may work unhindered.
Walking with God, what is it? To hang on His word, often kept in suspense—but taking nothing till He gives—living as a pilgrim and a stranger, looking on the glory beyond. Happy experience! The Lord grant it may be ours!