The Calling of Abraham (7)

Rev. J.B. Zippro, Grand Rapids, MI

An unknown land

We read in Isaiah, “I will bring the blind by a way that they know not.” That was also true in the life of Abram. When the Lord said unto him, “...unto a land that I will shew thee,” He did not say which land. That was hidden from Abram. When we think of it, it is remarkable that Abram obeyed the voice of the Lord and left Ur of the Chaldees. If someone would command us to go to another country without telling us where we had to go, we would have many questions. To leave your home and to immigrate to another country is a major undertaking, but think what it would be if you did not know where you had to go. This is what happened to Abram, but he did not question God’s command. He went. That was faith.

Faith means to follow without question. We cannot explain it or imitate it. The devil tries to imitate the work of the Lord, but the Lord’s true work cannot be imitated. That is true saving faith. Abram went and departed upon the command of the Lord. Everything was unknown to him at this time, even the Lord. Abram only heard a voice, but that voice penetrated his heart with power, and a bond was made with an unknown God.

That is also true in spiritual life when the Lord comes into the heart of a sinner. He is still an unknown God unto them, but His voice comes unto them with power. From the very beginning, cords of love are laid between them which can never be broken. The world and the devil will use their forces against it. This is experienced later on by God’s people, but in the very beginning it is so wonderful. These cords of love draw us to Him. Even though the way was unknown to Abram, he departed from Ur and went on his way. The Lord gave him rich promises, and he was privileged to lay all of his needs upon them. “Lord, Thou hast said it; Thou hast promised it; Thou wilt lead me and show me where to go.”

Do you know something of that life? In the beginning it is such a close life with the Lord when the sinner listens so attentively to Him. Later, we must be ashamed of ourselves when we often go astray, departing to go our own way. The work of the Spirit of the Lord is so wonderful in the lives of His people.

When we read further, we read that Abram did not go alone. After spending some time in Haran (we do not know how long he stayed there) he departed at the age of seventy-five (Genesis 12:5). He went out, but Lot went with him. Lot was Abram’s nephew, the son of his brother. Some of the commentators say that Abram was not obedient here to God’s command because the Lord had required him to leave everything behind. I dare not say that. To me it seems wonderful that there were people who wanted to go with him. We also read this of Ruth. When Naomi said to her, “Return to thy own country; there is nothing there for you; there is no future for you in Israel,” she still desired to go with her.

So we read that Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, desired to go with him. Abram also took Sarai, his wife. Notice how it is written, “Abram took his wife.” She had to go with him. Was she willing? We do not read anything about that, but he took her, and she had to follow. When the Lord calls one of his servants to another place, his wife also has to follow. That is not an inconsequential matter for her. Was there faith in the heart of Sarai? We do not know, but the Lord can make us willing and can take away all of the objections which may be present in our hearts and give us to walk in His ways. The Lord made them all obedient, and so Abram departed with his wife and Lot, his brother’s son. He left Haran and went in a westerly direction. This way led through the desert which lay between Haran and the land of Canaan. This is the way which Abram had to follow.

God’s command is through a barren and dry desert. It is as we sing in Psalter 163, “Apart from Thee...I wander in a desert land where all the streams are dry.” The poet in Psalm 63 writes of the same experience. This is also the way of God’s Church here upon earth; they must go through a desert, but with the Lord we can go anywhere, even through a desert.

The prophet Hosea also writes that the Lord leads His Church through the desert. The Lord first calls His people, and then He draws them. That first love is so wonderful, but then the Church is led into the desert. They will receive many lessons there, but they cannot bear one fruit, and they have to experience their unfruitfulness and barrenness before the Lord. That is such a hard lesson to learn. At first they thought that they could follow and love the Lord and fight against all sin. They were so willing in the beginning; everyday it was their desire to follow the Lord. However, it does not remain that way in the life of God’s Church; they must experience that they cannot bring forth one good work before the Lord. In the desert they have to experience the many sins and iniquities of their heart. They experience that there is still so much of the old man and the world in their heart. These are hard lessons to learn, and they fear that they will now go astray and be lost forever. Then the Lord leads them further as we read in Hosea 2:14, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.” Oh, what a wonder that is when the Lord comes back in their lives.

— To be continued —

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen