Abraham Lived In A Tent

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Scripture

 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent…There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

~Genesis 12:8, NIV

Quote

“The world is but an inn where we lodge for a night; it is not our home.”

~Thomas Watson

My Thoughts

Abraham was a very wealthy man. Only the LORD knows how many slaves he owned. He had 318 grown men among his servants who were trained for combat. This may be one of the reasons that no one messed with Abraham. Counting his herders and his household servants, he may have had as many as a thousand, some think two thousand. Abraham’s camp was like a small city. Considering his great wealth, you would think he would be living in the biggest house in the area, a mansion on a hill top or a castle with a moat; but no, Abraham lived in a tent. The writer of Hebrews sheds some light on the subject: 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.

Although Abraham was one of the richest men in history, he carried no deeds or titles. He moved his people from place to place with no where to call home. He considered himself a pilgrim in a foreign land. The natives nick named him the Hebrew {man from the other side}. Abraham knew that he was merely camping out. It made no sense to him to spend a life time building a house on a camp site. He knew this world was not his final resting place. Let’s say that I am going to Seattle, Washington which is more than a days drive. There are many camp sites between here and Seattle where you can park a camper or pitch a tent. No one would think less of me for doing either but if carry an eighteen wheeler loaded with lumber and building supplies and start building a house on a camp site folks will think I have lost my mind. That why Jesus called the farmer in Luke 12 a fool, he built a mansion on a camp site.

As I pointed out yesterday, greed is very subtle. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that men {males} have a tendency to drift toward greed. He says the only thing that can save a man from it is a close walk with Jesus. Common sense tells us that nothing we call ours can be secured or kept. So why do we lay up treasures on earth when we know that we cannot preserve them? Why don’t we lay up treasures in heaven where they are imperishable. Peter said {1 Peter 1:4} “God has them reserved for us,” so there is no doubt about their security. Everything God has blessed you with can be transfered to your heavenly account. It not just money folks, it is your gifts, abilities, time, energy, etc. The problem is not that we have nothing to give; the problem is our attitude. We want to get all we can, can all we get, and then sit on the lid so no one else can get it.

Well, we survived day two of the 2026 heat wave. I think it was 97 yesterday and going to be 95 today and tomorrow. I got out of the office early and returned about 10:30. I was so hot I walked through the swimming pool on the way to the shower. I have lots to do but it will not get done in this heat. I love this place but we don’t have enough trees {big oaks}. We had plenty when Holly bought it but they were bad trees. The best thing to do with a Bradford Pear is pull it up when it is 6 inches tall. I am not complaining but I am getting real close, right?

Today is my normal day to visit the retirement homes but I think I will put that off one more week. We will be in James 2:14-26, A FAITH THAT WORKS, tonight. I can’t say that I have enjoyed this study in James. James is hard on sinners, but I think helpful as well.

You know that I am not computer savvy. The blog would be much better if I understood this high tech stuff but I don’t. I did work with AI for a couple of hours yesterday. I am going to doing a bulletin incert instead of a weekly column. I am going to tell you folks, it is helpful; frightening but helpful. When I was working on the back page of the insert {bio}, AI responded with this: Jack, most folks will not be interested in your life history! Wow, that hurt. Sounds like Michael or Jason. I quickly responded…you are absolutely right. When I sent them my draft…AI…do you mind if we trim that down…and they did and it was good. I was amazed.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

Twelve Degrees of Scriptural Giving

  • Begrudgingly—those who give under compulsion {2 Cor.9:7}
  • Occassionally—Those who give to special causes but not on a consistent basis
  • Sparingly—Those who give as little as possible {2 Cor. 9:6)
  • Systematically—Those who give on a regular basis {1 Cor. 16:1}
  • Cheerfully—Those who really enjoy giving {2 Cor. 9:7}
  • Sincerely—Those who give because they are motivated by love {2 Cor. 8:8}
  • Bountifully—Those who choose to err on the side of generosity. They had rather give too much as not enough {2 Cor. 9:6}
  • Sacrifically—Those who give more than they can afford or beyond their ability. They have to deprive themselves of something in order to give.
  • Spiritually—Those who give whatever the LORD instructs them to give{2 Cor. 8:5}
  • Graciously—Those who give like Jesus {2 Cor. 8:9} Jesus never tithed, He gave 100 percent.

Story behind the Twelve Degrees…I was visiting at St. Vicents in Birmingham. I was in the waiting room while some one was having surgery. I saw the tract lying on the table and I picked it up and read. At least half of my list came from that Catholic tract

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