The Long Journey Home: Promise and provision

“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. … So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” — Gen 12:1-2,4

Abram or “Abraham” as he is better known, is one of those bible characters you probably have heard of even if you haven’t spent a lot of time around church.  They even wrote an obnoxious song about him you might have been tortured with. “Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had father Abraham…and I am one of them, and so are you…so let’s just praise the Lord,” at which point the song takes a turn toward what can only be described as a churchy version of the hokey pokey. 

The reason you might have heard of him is, he plays a pretty pivotal role in history. Abraham lived close to 4,000 years ago, but he stands as a central character not just in the stories found in Genesis but in the foundation of two very distinct people groups that we read about in the news (Jews and Arabs) and as a pivotal figure in the Christian faith as a pivotal part of God’s rescue plan. 

Remember that what had broken God’s design for humanity and His creation was man’s rejection of God and His word. Adam and Eve decided that they knew better than God and didn’t need God. They had embraced a counterfeit promise … that with the help of the forbidden fruit, they could be their own Gods. But the lie of the serpent’s word was immediately revealed after all. Creation is not independent from its creator and all of life is critically dependent on the Author and Giver of life; it cannot sustain itself. Man’s rejection of God was fundamentally a rejection of life and all it was designed to accomplish and provide. So if man was to be rescued from the dilemma only he could have gotten himself into, it wasn’t going to be through his ingenuity or ability. His limits had been clearly identified. Man was going to need to be rescued. 

And with the story of Abraham, God’s rescue plan begins to take shape. Here is a man who listens and obeys. A simple, yes flawed, yet profound example of trust. A man willing to take God at His word, to believe His promise and order his life in accordance with that word. And like one man’s rejection of God’s word had brought death and a curse, now one man’s faith in God’s word would point men on a path toward life. The path back to life would not be created by Abraham’s  energy or efforts… how could it be? The path back to life would be walked out by faith (believing and acting) in accordance to God’s promise and provision. The simple statement, “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him,” describes a simple faith that set Abraham apart to receive God’s rescue. And it’s this example of faith that would stand as God’s invitation to the subsequent generations to walk as Abraham walked believing the promise of a rescue only God could bring and embracing God’s provision for renewed life and the long journey home.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  — Ephesians 2:8

(Aaron Gesch is pastor of Basin First Baptist Church.)