Looking for a City

Abraham is now introduced in the Hall of Faith. He is given more attention than the others. That is to be expected. He was the patriarch to the Jewish nation. Abraham is the first Jew. He was a pagan man, chosen by God to become the father of the Jewish nation. He is esteemed highly in Judaism, Christianity and even in Islam. The writer will show us that Abraham’s strength could be found in his faith in God.

v. 8 We can learn a lot in verse 8.

Abraham left all he knew to follow God. Abraham was called. He was called by God. Abraham was from an area known as Mesopotamia. His father was a pagan who worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2). This means he would have as well.

God initiated the relationship with Abraham. Abraham was already in his 70’s when the Lord came to him. Had God not called him he would have stayed in Mesopotamia and continued to worship idols.

Notice it says he was called to go out “to a place”. You can’t be any more general than that. Abraham was not given detailed instructions. He didn’t even know where he was going. This old man left all knew to go to “a place” because the Lord told him to. The only thing he knew was he was going to receive an inheritance.

We have the promises given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. The promises were:

He would receive a land- Canaan.

His descendants would become a great nation- The Jewish nation.

He would be a blessing to the world- Christ would come through Him.

His instructions were simple:

Leave your land.

Go to a land I will show you.

He did what God told him to do. He didn’t know where he was going. He trusted God would lead him to the place he needed to be. All he had was the Word of God and that was enough.

In the New Testament Christians are “the called” (Romans 8:29-30). Let’s think about what that means for a moment.

It reveals that God initiates our salvation. Just as God went to Abraham, God has come to us. Left to ourselves we would never seek God. There was nothing good in Abraham that drew God to him. Out of grace God went to Abraham. It is out of grace that God has come to us.

It implies a leaving. When one is called, they are to leave something to go somewhere else.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Abraham was called to leave Mesopotamia. We are called to come out of the world. Christians are new creations who live in a new way. Why is this so difficult?

We are leaving one culture and adopting a new one. This worldly culture has shaped us. It has made us comfortable. When we are saved, we leave this culture for the one God has called us to. We are no longer citizens of this world. We belong to the family of God. We are to embrace the customs and character of our new heritage in Christ.

By faith you must believe that what God has called you to is better than what He called you from. This new lifestyle must be embraced by faith. If we do not believe God has called us to something better, we will not obey Him.

It proves we are on our way to another place. God didn’t call Abraham away for the sake of calling him away. God was going to take him somewhere else. We will deal with this in more detail later. But for now, we will say that when God calls us away from something He is calling us to something better.

v. 9 Abraham lived in the land of promise with his son and grandson. He and his family lived in Canaan as nomads. It was a foreign land to them. They didn’t own houses there. They lived in tents. The only thing Abraham and his family had was a promise from God.

Did you know that the only thing Abraham owned during his lifetime in Canaan was a burial plot for his wife (Genesis 23:9-20)?

Not only would Abraham not see the fulfillment of the promise, neither would his son or grandson. It would be hundreds of years before a descendant of Abraham possessed the land. Eventually Joshua would lead the Jewish people into the land and possess it.

It must have taken great patience for Abraham to live in the land without possessing it. Faith is patient. Impatience reveals a lack of faith. If we are to be people of great faith, we must learn patience.

God has given us many promises. Those promises are not always immediately fulfilled. In fact, they are not usually immediately fulfilled. If we are not careful temptation may have its way when God’s promises seem slow. Two things may happen:

We may be tempted to believe God is not real. The Bible is not true. Christianity is a sham. These are all things the devil may whisper to us. “If God were real….”

We may be tempted to believe God doesn’t love us. We may think others receive His promises because they are more worthy than we are. We may question our salvation.

We need to remember that it is normal for God’s promises to be slow in fulfillment at times. We should learn to be content with meager circumstances until God accomplishes his will.

Imagine Abraham living in a tent. This man was considered the cream of the crop among the Jews. Yet he lived a very simple life in Canaan.

He owned no land.

He lived in a tent.

He was treated as a stranger.

We either believe God or we don’t. We can’t say “God, I believe you if you do this by Friday.” That’s not believing God. That is tempting God.

v. 10 This is Abraham’s secret. This verse shows how Abraham was able to live as a stranger in a tent in Canaan even though God had promised to give him the land. Abraham ultimately was not thinking about Canaan. He was thinking about heaven. He was looking for the city that God built.

That city was not Jerusalem. That city is heaven. The Promised Land is a shadow, a picture of heaven. Abraham looked forward to the spiritual reality that the earthly promise represented. What’s interesting to me is Abraham knew that even in his day. Again, this shows us that heaven is not a New Testament idea. Those in the Old Testament, as early as the book of Genesis, believed in heaven.

If you didn’t believe in heaven, you might look at the story of Abraham and think God did not keep His promise. You might think Abraham got a raw deal. You must believe in heaven for the story of Abraham to make sense. Abraham did believe in heaven and that is why he was so patient.

What did it matter if he did not enjoy physically possessing Canaan if he were going to heaven? It didn’t matter. Canaan is nothing compared to heaven. Heaven is so much greater.

It is our belief in heaven that enables us to trust God no matter how difficult life becomes. Let’s be honest:

Some believers will never be healed on this earth, but they will be in heaven.

Some believers may be homeless in this world, but they will have a home in heaven.

Some believers will be lonely in this world, but they will have great friendships in heaven.

Some believers may die without seeing their family members saved but they will be part of a family in heaven in which all are saved.

If you are expecting every promise of God to be fulfilled on this earth, you are shortchanging God. This earth is a very small part in what God is doing in your life. God made you for eternity. Your life on earth is extremely short.

When you die the only thing, you own on this earth may be a burial plot. But I have good news for you. The meek shall inherit the earth. Abraham knew God had more for him than this world offers. That’s why he was able to keep his faith.

He experienced famine.

He experienced war.

He experienced childlessness.

He experienced sibling rivalry.

He experienced a godless culture.

Yet he was patient. His faith constantly reminded him he was on his way to a city whose builder and maker is God.

Thoughts to Consider

1. True faith will enable us to leave our old way of life for a new way that is more difficult than the former.

2. True faith is always rewarded by God.

3. If our mind is not set on heaven we will be continually disappointed in this world. in