the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 1 of 5
Genesis 11:27 to ; Genesis 12:8
In these times just after the flood, there was a horrifying increase in idolatry (read Joshua 24:2). This time God lets evil run its course, but He calls one man to separate himself from it. "By faith Abraham, when he was called . . . obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8). "Abraham went out with his eyes closed, but the God of glory was leading him by the hand" (J.G.B. see Acts 7:2). God’s orders, accompanied by a sevenfold promise (vv. 2, 3), are enough to make him set out. Obedience is against our natural instincts even when we know the reason for what is being asked of us. But to obey without understanding, to go out without knowing one’s destination, for this one needs faith, in other words, complete confidence in Him who has given the order. In Scripture Abraham is the model of faith. What characterizes this faith is an abandonment of things which are seen for a goal which is not seen (2 Corinthians 4:18). In contrast with the builders of earthly cities (Cain, the men of Babel . . .) Abraham lifts his eyes to the heavenly city "whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). And this expectation makes him a stranger on the earth. From now on he will only have his tent and his altar (v. 8) witnessing to this twofold character of pilgrim and worshipper, which is the character of the man of faith in every age.
