A study of the pilgrim character of the life of Abraham can provide valuable spiritual lessons to edify, enrich and encourage every believer today. The main feature in the life of this remarkable man is his unshakeable faith in God. We first meet him as Abram, when God called him to leave his father’s house and his homeland (Gen 12:1).
Abraham was called the friend of God (2Ch 20:7; Isa 41:8; Jas 2:23). The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (Joh 15:15).1
For believers today, they are not only called friends, but the writer of the book of Hebrews says, “He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb 2:11-12). The Lord Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden after His resurrection and said to her, “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (Joh 20:17). In the book of Romans, Paul reminds us that since we are the children of God, we are heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus (Rom 8:16-17). We are more than friends!
God did not tell him where he was going, but Abram put his full confidence and trust in God and left his home behind. The writer of the book of Hebrews said of him, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Heb 11:8).
We, too, who have trusted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour were called out from our life of sin and unbelief. Like Abraham, we responded in faith to the call of God in the gospel and trusted the Lord Jesus for salvation. Still today, God calls us out from this ungodly world: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2Co 6:17; Isa 52:11).
Abraham’s life was marked by altars. These were not altars on which animals were sacrificed but altars of communion. How good it is to spend time at the altar in communion with God. But our communion is based on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. At Calvary, when He bore our sins on the cross and the punishment our sins deserved, He made peace through the blood of His cross and made it possible for us to have fellowship and communion with God.
But unconfessed sin in our lives can be a hindrance to close communion and fellowship with God. John wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9). He also wrote, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (2:1). We can maintain our fellowship and communion with God through daily confession and through daily reading of His Word.
After Abram (Abraham) left his home, as the Lord called him to do, he came to Sichem in the plain of Moreh. There the Lord promised him that land where he sojourned for an inheritance, and there he built an altar unto the Lord (Gen 12:6-7). The altar was in response to the promise of God to him. Abram was thankful for God’s promise, even though he had not yet experienced the full blessing and reward of that promise.
This was indeed an expression of true faith – to thank God for promises not yet fulfilled. We, too, as believers, have an inheritance reserved in heaven for us (1Pe 1:4). Although we have not yet received it, we can be sure that what He has promised He will surely fulfill. Let us bow now at the altar and thank God for wondrous grace.
The writer of the sacred Scriptures says, “The Canaanite was then in the land” (Gen 12:6). We also live in a world that is hostile to God. How comforting to have an altar where we can experience the safety, security and serenity of sweet, uninterrupted communion with the God of heaven.
The name Sichem means “shoulder.” As we travel through this hostile world, how good it is to know that we rest securely on strong shoulders. The last words of Moses concerning Benjamin were, “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders” (Deu 33:12). Think of the shepherd who, after finding the sheep that went astray, placed it upon his shoulders and bore it safely home (Luk 15:5).
The name Moreh means “teacher.” How good, too, to be taught by Him from His holy Word, words of peace and comfort, words of guidance and direction for the pilgrim pathway. The psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psa 119:105).
Leaving Sichem, Abram came to a mountain on the east of Bethel, where he also built an altar unto the Lord and called on the name of the Lord (Gen 12:8). He was on the mountain, far above the restless world, alone in the presence of God, calling upon His name, in total dependence upon Him, enjoying all that His name means of safety and security, of serenity and satisfaction, of provision and plenty and every spiritual blessing.
Abram went down into Egypt because of famine in the land (v10). Egypt is a picture of the world, where no true child of God can be happy. Abram eventually left Egypt and returned to the place of the altar at Bethel, the house of God (13:3-4). Sometimes we may feel discouraged because of our circumstances. We need to return to the place of the altar and call upon the name of the Lord and know the assurance of His promise never to leave us or forsake us (Jos 1:5; Heb 13:5).
After Abram and Lot separated (Gen 13:8-11), the Lord appeared to Abram and renewed His promise of future inheritance and blessing. Abram came to Mamre, which is called Hebron, and built an altar unto the Lord (v18). The name Mamre means “strength,” and the name Hebron means “communion.” The prophet Isaiah wrote, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:31).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
