One day God said to Abraham, “Time for a trip. Phone the wife, pack the Winnebago, and drive till I say stop.” So Abraham pulled out and headed south, with only his possessions and a promise—“You will become a great nation. You will have a great name. I will bless you, and everybody on earth will be blessed through you.”
Abraham came to Canaan and traveled to a place called Shechem—and built an altar. He moved between Ai and Bethel—and built an altar. He moved to Egypt. (Things weren’t good there but God was.) He moved back from Egypt to the altar between Ai and Bethel. He relocated to Hebron—and built an altar.
His nephew Lot, whom he should have left at home, moved to Sodom and was soon a spoil of war. Abraham and 318 personal soldiers ran to the rescue, routed the four raiding rulers, and returned with his relatives, a lot of others who had been captured, and all the loot. The grateful king of Sodom said, “Keep what you’ve collected,” but Abraham took no pay and received no prize.
“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” Abraham had refused the goods of men, and his reward was Almighty God.
Abraham didn’t need stuff. He needed a son. So he asked, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?…My servant will be my heir.” But God said, “No, not your servant. Your own son.” He took Abraham outside and ordered, “Look up. Tally the stars and you’ll be totaling your descendants.”
So, “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”
And Abraham built an altar.
God’s
blessings are beyond what we can figure.
Look
around and count. And offer your thanks on the altar of faith.
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