God has provided a GPS

Hebrews 11:8-10

A GPS would not have been any help to Abraham, for the Scripture states that, “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.”  We read these verses and we do have some understanding of what is being said, are you kidding me, most of us cannot connect with what Abraham has done.  First, let us understand that Abraham was a big city boy, in that he grew-up in Ur (of the Chaldeans), now known as Tell Mugheir.  This city was excavated by three men, first came J.E. Taylor (1854), H. R. Hall (1919), and C. Leonard Woolley (1922-34).  This is what Woolley found, four square miles of the city of Abraham’s time.  He found extensive quays, many commercial buildings and numerous two-story homes with courts, fountains, fireplaces, and sanitary systems.  Chapels for worship were scattered throughout the residential area, as well as school buildings with clay books – showing that they had taught reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and history.  They worshiped or prayed to Nannar, the moon god, so it seemed to be a pagan culture.

He left Ur and travel about 600 miles to Haran, and in the Mari tablets and other sources, Haran is references as a flourishing city when Abraham lived in that area.  Now Scripture only tells us that while living with his father in Haran, he received a message (a calling) from the Lord.  This message was to leave his father and all his associations, and go to a new country, a country where God would be his GPS (God’s Promised Supplier).  This was the promise; divine favor, great posterity, and that he would be a blessing to all the nations or families of the earth.  It is also believed that Abraham, who was called Abram at this time was very successful in business, and it should be noted that he did not have a Bible as we do to give him insight into the will of God.

I have no understanding of this kind of faith, do you?  My faith is very small in a great and mighty God, who often has to drop a hammer on my head to get my attention.  Picking-up the story in verse 9, “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.”  Could our problem be we are not walking by faith, and the by product is we are not looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God?  Hebrews 11:6, came into my mind; “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice