Another thing about Abraham was his tents. Wherever he went he carried his tents. He did not build anything permanent. Why did he do that? He did that for a reason
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. (Isaiah 51:1-2.)
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee
(Genesis 17: 3-6.)
2. His Tents
Another thing about Abraham was his tents. Wherever he went he carried his tents. He did not build anything permanent. Why did he do that? He did that for a reason. He wanted to journey with God and he did not want to build anything that would not allow him to cover the land of his calling. When God calls us and shows us what to do, often He only reveals a part of it to us. But immediately He reveals this we are quick to establish something too firm that will prevent us from covering the whole land. May we be able to get on with the Lord to the fullness.
The Scripture says Abraham started his journey from the East. The east speaks of the presence of God. From there he journeyed to the west. West is mostly talking about spiritual warfare. There is what is called spiritual geography. West is talking about fighting battles. We have to go to the presence of God for strength in order to fight our battles. Abraham journeyed back from the West to the East. That shows that Abraham was constantly going back to the presence of God; the place of offering, sacrifice and laying down.
The Bible says it is the altar that sanctifies the gift. Abraham was constantly going back to where his person and walk were sanctified. His journey to the south was truncated and paused when he went down to Egypt. When he came up from Egypt the Bible says he went back to where he left off. He went back and was journeying again to the south. In chapter 13, his journey and arrival at the south were recorded. When he got to the south the Bible says Abraham was rich in cattle and in gold. South speaks of wealth. We must journey with God till we get to where God will release wealth for us to do what He asked us to do. It is a journey.
Then Abraham journeyed from the south to the north. What is North? Power, throne, authority. This shows to us the fullness of the power to do what God has called us to do is not immediately given to us until we journey. That is why Abraham did not build anything permanent; he built tents which are easy to take down and journey at short notice. He built tents because what he was called to do was to lay a foundation for generations to come.
The problem I see in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, is that many times, leaders want to do what they can do now, see now and finish now and be given recognition for it now. But true fathers are willing to lay foundations even though they may not get all the blessing, credit or benefits for what they have done here. They are willing to live simply and journey so that they can lay eternal foundations for the generations to come. They will be like the people of whom it is said in the Book of Revelation that they follow the Lamb withersoever He goes. They are not to be married to anything. May we not be married to anything other than Christ. No matter what God gives to us to accomplish we must not be married to it. We must be married only to the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. His wells
The third thing about Abraham was the wells (Genesis 20). It is note-worthy that Abraham was strategic in digging the wells and foresighted in entering into a covenant with the people of the land over the wells. Wells are important because they talk about fountains. When Isaac came on the scene, he was always going back to re-dig the wells that Abraham had dug. May we have fathers who will dig wells for us – wells of revival – that we can always go back to. Fathers who have shed tears and have left wells of intercessions and of consecration.
A well also speaks of spiritual wealth, or depths. May we leave things that are of spiritual depths for the generations coming. May we not leave things that are just on the surface or superficial but the deep things of God. May we do it in such a way that they can dig deeper and take it farther. The altars, the tents and the wells of Abraham; they were important articles of his journey and they must become part of us and part of what we shall leave for the generations to come.
