[AI translation] We have heard the story of Abraham's calling from the Word that was read. It is one of the most significant stories in the whole Bible. It has been told before, but let the living God speak through it now!It is recorded that God called Abraham from a great distance to rise up with his family and go to the land of Canaan, where the Lord would make him a great nation, blessing and exalting his name so that he would be a blessing to others. The land of Canaan in the Bible has not only a historical but also a symbolic meaning. It is the home of the people of the Old Testament, their homeland, where they can live freely, where under the guidance of their covenant God they will always triumph even over their enemies. A land of peace and victory. The land of Canaan symbolizes for us the kingdom of God, the state that Jesus said He has drawn near to us in Him, begun for us here on earth, available to all in Christ. So the land of Canaan represents the reconciled state in Christ, the free and happy state of man, the life under God's protection and guidance, the triumphant and victorious life. The blessed state of redemption and salvation through Christ, in which believers are to share already here on earth. All who have ever been called by the Lord have always and always been called here, to this Canaan. We are all called to such a life, and we, all of us, are called from afar by the Lord! So God's word to all people today is essentially the same as it was to Abraham: "Come out of your land, and out of your kindred, and out of your father's house, into the land which I will show you" (Gen 12:1b). And the promise is the same as the one given to Abraham: "I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing" (Gen 12:2).
The call has been made! Now a great, decisive decision is made in Abraham's soul. Behold, we read, "And they departed together from the Lord of hosts to go to the land of Canaan." (Genesis 11:31)
How wonderful it is when one can set out with the destination one wants to reach right before one's eyes and mind. This is what distinguishes the traveller from the vagabond, the pilgrim from the wayfarer. The vagabond, the wanderer, has no definite goal. Where he is at any given moment is purely contingent and random. The pilgrim, on the other hand, can always, at every stage of his life and in every situation, know that he is on his way to his destination. The tramp is carried by his feet, but where he will arrive he does not know. The pilgrim, on the other hand, even if he may not know the path he is going to take, knows the end of the journey to which he must arrive. For Abraham, these were the only two things that were certain and known: the starting point and the destination. Chaldea was the one from which he had to depart, and Canaan was the other to which he had to arrive. But the road between the two was hidden from his sight. When God called him to leave Chaldea, he said nothing about the road they must take to reach their destination. It was a road they had to travel in faith. This is what is meant by "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into the place which he was to inherit, and went out, not knowing whither he went" (Heb 11:8), our basic verse says. It is the same for all pilgrims. There are two main points in every life: where he starts from and where he must arrive. What lies in between, what turns, what events, what joys or sufferings, become secondary questions when one knows where one is going on this journey.
And now for you it is not a question of what situation you are in, what state you are in, whether you are at a joyful or a sad stage of your life, but a much more important question is where you will arrive on this road, what is the end of this road on which you are living and going? And even more important is the question of whether you have even left Chaldea for Canaan at the Lord's call? For those who long for true life, who long to live the reality of life redeemed in Christ and the abundance of life triumphant in Christ - that is, who long for a human life worthy of the name "human" - Jesus says only this today: "Come out of your land, .(Gen 12:1) Perhaps we can assume that all of us here have already set out, or if not yet, at least intend to set out, on that pilgrimage to Canaan. For we are here now to receive guidance, clarity and strength for this pilgrimage, and to hear the call again, to listen to the guiding voice. Well, if this is so, let us now notice what this Word is warning the pilgrims.
We read, "They set out together from the Lord of Kassim to go to the land of Canaan. (Genesis 11:31) It is very instructive to observe this journey on the map: the place of departure of the Lord of Judah is in Babylonia, near the Persian Gulf, near the mouth of the Euphrates River. From there, they were to go to Canaan, that is, in a straight line, counting west to west. Instead, however, they do not go completely west, but take an easier route, slightly northwest, along the north bank of the Euphrates River, as far as a place called Haran. It was a very pleasant place, surrounded by mountains, on the banks of water, and very suitable for shepherds. And we read that they settled here. It's a very dangerous thing to settle down like that, to get lost on the way. One of the greatest miseries of the Christian life is that he is more than willing to procrastinate, to delay, to break off the journey. He thinks that good intentions are enough to go on. He does not settle down before the destination in order to stay there for good, but only because he cannot bring himself to continue the pilgrimage. He has already travelled quite a long way from Chaldea to Haran, for that is already several hundred kilometres, others have not yet come so far at the Lord's call. It is true that we are not exactly westwards, but a little further north than we need to be, but we are still further ahead in Charda than we were in Chaldea. I am not so unbelieving, I hear the word of the Lord, I obey it a little, I have made a good deal of progress in the Christian life, and so we can settle down here. There is no need to be in a hurry, no need to overdo the religiosity, it is such a good, peaceful way of life here in the mountains of Haran. In fact, if they wanted to go on from Haran to Canaan, they would have to take the road south, but there it is dangerous to continue, because you have to cross the Euphrates. So between them and the Promised Land there is a deep, wide, rushing river, and to cross it would mean a definitive break with all that they had been, that is, with all their life.
This is the critical point of every pilgrimage: where a bread-breaking is once made between the old life and the new: between Haran and Canaan, between Christ and idols, between the kingdom of God and the world, between obedience to the Lord and my sins. This is usually where most Christian lives that have started out get stuck: they cannot bring themselves to break away, to come to a complete reconciliation. There he is on the northern bank of the Euphrates, and there he has gone as far as he can go, but now he dares not go, the risk is too great, the water is deep, the current is wide, the current is strong, and who knows what is waiting on the other side. So if you want to reach Canaan, you must leave Haran. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me", says Jesus (Mk 8,34b).
According to our story, they all set out from Chaldea, they all made it to Haran, where they all settled, but not all of them went on and reached the destination of the pilgrimage, Canaan. For we read that Tharah, Abraham's father, died there in Haran. So they delayed there until old Tharah died. He ran out of time and never got any further. So it is with those who settle down before the goal, delaying their decision, not obeying the call immediately. These sad words paint the picture of so many half-finished, halted, broken Christian lives: 'and Tharah died in Haran' (Genesis 11:32) Many set out, but not all arrive in the land of Canaan. Which group of pilgrims do you belong to? A small group went on. We read, "They set out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan." (Genesis 12:5c)
For us, just as for Abraham, the condition for entering the kingdom of God, the fullness of the Christian life, the state of victory and rest, is complete and immediate obedience to the will and word of God. The first step of this obedience usually means a break with something. Many people cannot follow Christ because they cannot break with something. Abraham had to make a break with his homeland, with the memories of his childhood, with his father's house, so that he could then be free to go on to Canaan. Everyone has to break with what keeps his heart bound, what keeps him in bondage.
Jesus once saw two fishermen on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He said to them, "follow me"! And it is recorded that they immediately left their nets - and everything they had - and followed Him! (Mt 4,19-20 and Mt 19,27) Surely you know what you should leave behind to go on to Canaan. Well, there is only one secret to arriving in Canaan: the willingness to leave it, and to leave it immediately. If you delay, if you don't leave immediately, if you say goodbye, if you delay, you can never leave. The word of the prophet has been a precious Word to many of us this past week: 'And thus you shall say in that day, I will give you thanks, O Lord, for though you have been angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Behold, God is my deliverer; I will trust, and will not fear; for my strength and my song is the Lord GOD, and he is my deliverer. And you shall draw water with joy from the wellhead of the Saviour" (Isa 12:1-3).
Anyone who wants to be delivered from any bondage should know that there is a deliverer. God is the Deliverer, from whom the power of deliverance flows, gushes forth like water from a spring. Keep your heart humble and it will be filled with deliverance, deliverance from bondage will become a reality. But only if you do it immediately, if your heart is ready for it immediately, if you do not delay. You will experience the precious reality of Canaan, and how the Lord will make real there the promise that "I will bless you and exalt your name, and you shall be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2b).
The Lord calls, "Come out of your land ... into the land that I will show you." (Gen 12:1) Today in silent prayer, say to Him who is closer to you than your own breath, "I will follow you, Lord, wherever you go" (Lk 9:57)
Amen
Date: 15 January 1950.
Lesson
1Móz 11,31-12,6