the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Hebrews 11:8-16
Once again in the Bible, Abraham and his family are chosen by God – this time to teach us what faith is. "Abraham, when he was called . . . obeyed." To obey someone without knowing his intentions shows complete confidence in him. When it is God who commands, faith is able to go (v. 8) and also to stay (v. 9). As it happened, the patriarch stayed in Haran when he should have gone to Canaan (Acts 7:4); he decided to go to Egypt when he should have stayed in the land (Genesis 12:10). But here God is pleased to cover up these mistakes, and likewise to remain silent about Sara’s laughter, about the sad end of Isaac’s history and about the sad start of Jacob’s. He recalls from His people’s lives only that which glorifies Him, and faith alone can glorify Him.
It is in principle impossible to have two homelands at the same time. The promise of a heavenly city had therefore made Abraham and his family strangers down here. They were not afraid to confess as much (v. 13; Genesis 23:4); but they also showed it clearly by living in tents (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Corinthians 5:1). They were not ashamed of their God, which is why He is not ashamed of them. He claims the name of "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". Reader, do you have the right to call Him "my God"?
