"By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country…" Hebrews 11:9a
Obviously, there was no danger in regards to Abraham. Although he was an alien, he was a good man who had faith (character & integrity) in God. But the people of the land of Canaan did not know this. There had to have been fear on both sides - they of him and he of they. Because of God, Abraham had become a sprawling community of servants and flocks. Added to all of this was the powerful presence of the Lord on his life. Had God not led him and promised to be with him, Abraham might have had reason to fear, but he moved and lived by faith in God, despite any:
EXTERNAL PROBLEMS…
"…He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise." Hebrews 11:9b
Clearly, a permanent house is better than living in a tent. Not many people want to live as a nomad. But this is what God called Abraham, his son and heirs to do. Actually, for many generations. It wasn't until Joshua, over 600 years later, that the Israelites entered the promise land. All during that time they either lived in tents or were slaves in Egypt. But this reality is true for many who follow God. We won't always receive on earth what we're promised. Some things are just going to have to wait until we enter the real promise land - heaven, where our real home is.
…BECAUSE HE HAD ETERNAL PROMISES.
"For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10
Abraham did not focus on what he lived in and/or with. His focus was on what was to come. Paul said it this way in II Corinthians 4:18, 'So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.' If we can keep looking forward to the joys of heaven, we won't be bothered by the past, nor burdened by our present troubles. Like Abraham, we need to hold on to the promise of God and keep the main thing the main thing. In II Corinthians 4:17, Paul said, 'Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.' So we wait.
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