FormerAdventist.com

STUDY Hebrews 11:8-10 (click here for notes)
COLLEEN MOORE TINKER

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (NIV)

Abraham's Call

The story of Abrahm begins in Genesis 11:26, and the account of God's calling him out of Ur of the Chaldeans continues to Genesis 13:18.

1. From whom did Abraham descend? (see Genesis 11:10-25)

2. The moon god was the deity in both Ur and Haran. What do we know about Abraham's father's worship practices, and what can we deduce about Abraham? (see Joshua 24:2)

3. The past perfect tense (had said) in Genesis 12:1 suggests what Stephen detailed centuries later in his speech to the Sanhedrin before his stoning. According to Stephen's inspired history, when did God first call Abraham? (see Acts 7:2)

4. Both Ur and Haran had highly developed civilizations. Why did God call Abraham away from these civilized centers only to live in tents? (see Genesis 12:6-9; 18:1, 9; Hebrews 11:10)

Seven-Fold Blessimg

5. Besides promising to take Abraham to a land he would show him, what seven things did God include in his promise to make Abraham a great nation and a blessing? (see Genesis 12:2-3)

6. How does God's promise to Abraham (12:2-3) compare to his original blessing on humanity when he created Adam and Eve? (Genesis 1:28)

7. What was the fulfillment of the first of the seven parts of God's promise in Gen. 12:2,3, "I will make you into a great nation"? (see Deuteronomy 1:5, 10; Joshua 11:12-22; 2 Samuel 17:11; Nehemiah 9:22-23; Jeremiah 33:22)

8. How did God fulfill the second part of the seven-fold promise, "I will bless you"? (see Genesis 24:1, 35; 25:11; 26:1-4; 28:1-4; Exodus 20:22-24; Numers 22:12; 23:8, 20; Isaiah 44:3; 65:23)

More Blessings

9. How did God "make [Abraham's] name great," and how did God keep alive the promise that he would be a blessing? (Genesis 22:17-18; Isaiah 19:23-25; Zech. 8:12-13)

10. In what ways did God perpetuate his promise to bless those who blessed Abraham and to curse those who cursed him? (see Genesis 27:27-33; Exodus 23:20-23, 27-30; Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Acts 7:6-7)

11. In what ways were "all peoples on earth blessed through [Abraham]"? (see Genesis 22:15-18; 26:1-5; 28:1-4, 14; Psalm 72:1, 17; Acts 3:11-13, 24-26; Romans 4:11-12; Galatians 3:6-9)

The Journey

12. What route did Abraham take to the land to which God led him? (Genesis 12:12:1-10; 13:1-4, 8-12, 14-18)

13. Why does Hebrews 11:9 say that Abraham lived "like a stranger in a foreign country" when God led him to Canaan? (see Acts 7:4-5; Genesis 12:7; 14-15)

14. How did Abraham's detour through Egypt begin a series of events that led Egypt to be dubbed "the womb of Israel"? (see Genesis 42:1-3; 43:1-2; 47:27; Exodus 2:5-10; 13:9; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:13-15)

15. What is the city to which Abraham looked forward by faith? (see Hebrews 12:22; 13:14; Philippians 3:20; Revelation 21:2-4, 9-27)

16. In the context of Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's tents, what is significant about the "foundations" of the city which Abraham anticipated? (see v. 16; Revelation 21:14; Ephesians 2:19-20)

Application

17. What journey has God asked you to take by faith?

18. What detours seem to be taking you off course?

19. What evidences of God's faithfulness and blessings have you recieved on your journey?

20. How has your understanding and experience with God changed as a result of your journeying with him?

Commitment

21. What has God asked you to do by faith, without seeing the outcome, that you have resisted?

22. What frightens you most about doing the thing God is prompting you to do?

23. What cherished pattern or belonging or belief or habit is God asking you to give to him in trust?

24. Tell God that you want to live by faith. Give you plans and dreams to him, and ask him to daily reveal to you his will for you. Let him take your worry, fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, and let him unfold his sovereign will for your life.