When Abraham fully responded to the call of the God of Glory, he became a pilgrim and a worshipper. His tent and his altar declared him to be such. The world of his day was left as it was, out of it he was called to walk in faith.
The call of God involves for us Christians the setting aside of the world system; we are no longer of it; all our moral links are snapped. How far is this true of us practically? Are we in spirit worshippers and as to our associations pilgrims, only wanting what is needful for our bodies, looking to the Lord to supply our needs, hastening through to our home beyond?
We are not anchorites; we are to be rivers of blessing to the world, taking nothing from it, but bringing heavenly streams to it. Abraham was not only blessed himself, but he was to be a blessing—a giver, but not a receiver. We are also called to be givers; but it is only as we are rigidly separate from the world that we can be channels of blessing to those in it. We do not help the world by going into it—this Abraham found when he went into Egypt during the famine; but when he armed his servants and rescued Lot, who had sunk down to the world’s level, then he was both blessed and a blesser.
We must be outside the religious world as well as the social and political world. This will involve reproach, but Hebrews speaks of approach before reproach. The one is outside the camp, the other inside the veil; they go together like the blades of a pair of scissors, but we must know one before we can carry out the other. If we are truly in spirit inside the sanctuary we shall be in walk outside the camp.
Notice where Abraham pitched his tent and altar—it was between Bethel and Ai. Bethel means the house of God, and Ai a heap of ruins. This is the place for one who has risen to the call of God.
What interests us in this world? Is it the house of God, the Lord’s things? Do we know anything of the profound delight of the Lord in His people? Do we esteem it our highest privilege to get into the Lord’s presence—Himself in the midst, where He, as the Leader of the praises, can strike the keynote? All that is linked up with Bethel. Whilst, on the other hand there is Ai, a heap of ruins. Such is corrupt Christianity. Now what is the good of touching a heap of ruins? You cannot do very much with ruins, and it is a very ruinous thing to have to do with what is corrupt, either in the world or the church. We know the Lord in His faithfulness will in the end take every one of those whom He has called and sanctified, and remove from them every bit of worldliness; there is no place for it in heaven.
After this pressure came on Abraham, there was famine in the land, and his faith was tested, as our faith will be tested. It is a very serious thing if we boast that we have suffered this and turned our backs upon that. The Lord always tests us. We then find that mere intelligence in the head and flippancy with the tongue carry us a very short distance. Nothing but real knowledge of the Lord will keep us in times of testing.
Canaan was a land entirely dependent on showers from heaven. Near thereto was Egypt, with its great river, and sluices built from this great river to water the land under cultivation. It was a land that was watered by the foot, a place where things could be managed by man.
Abraham left the land of promise and journeyed where man could bring in his resources to relieve the pressure. Oh, what a voice this has to us! How many of us get tested by isolation, and the lack of social intercourse, no society, and all the rest of it! Perhaps you are in a meeting with little help in the way of gift. Pray for showers. Do not go in for expediency. Pray for heavenly showers.
“Oh,” you say, “the saints in our district are so very slow in going out to saints and sinners, there seems to be nothing moving. How are you going to move those that are so backward?” Only by being moved yourself, drinking in the showers that come from above, being dependent on the Lord Himself. Do not give up, pray more fervently.
When Abraham got down into Egypt he found there were difficulties. The fact is, if we go into this world we shall not be happy. We have too much of Christ to be happy there. Abraham found that through journeying into Egypt he must deny his relationship to his wife Sarah (who was his half-sister). He says, “When you get into Egypt, I may get into difficulty if you do not say you are my sister.” This was a lie. It was true upon the surface, but it was a lie in God’s sight. If he were married to his half-sister it obliterated the sister relationship. You will find if you go into the world, you will have to resort to expediency. What was the result? Abraham, the man called of God out of all the corruption in the world, found himself in the humiliating position of being reproached by Pharaoh. The world is very keen-sighted. It soon finds out what sort of Christians we are, and it is going to do one of two things. It is either going to dislike and respect us, or it is going to dislike and despise us. We may take our choice; and I think that poor Abraham was disliked and despised when he was bundled out of Egypt by the very man from whom he was seeking favour. Then God began to recover His servant. How gracious of God! Abraham had his back upon the place where his altar and tent had been and his face towards Egypt. Now through grace his back is upon Egypt and he is going back to the place where his tent was at the first. Oh to get right back, if we do backslide, to the spot where the Lord put us in the freshness of our souls at the first.
I do pray that some little sense of our calling and what it involves may fill our souls. We are called out of this world, and we are journeying to the place that is our home. God has called us by glory and virtue. Oh that we may have our tents and our altars, and be pursuing our way with diligence. Very soon we shall take the last step on the desert sands and be at home. Shall we then regret any whole-heartedness? Shall we regret that in the intelligence of our souls as to our Lord’s affections we sought humbly and earnestly to answer to His thoughts about us? No. One smile from His face, and we shall thank Him for the grace that gave us any desire to be like Him, to serve Him, and to be with Him.