Introduction
If you finally achieved your life's greatest goal—if you moved into the very place you always dreamed of living—how would you behave? You would likely settle down, build a permanent home, put down deep roots, and say, "I have arrived."
This is what makes Abraham's story so remarkable. After obeying God's call in verse 8, he finally arrives in Canaan, the land God promised to him. But what does he do when he gets there? He doesn't build a palace. He doesn't establish a permanent city. Instead, the Bible says he lived as a "sojourner," a stranger, an alien. He lived in a tent. This verse teaches us one of the most difficult lessons of the Christian life: how to live in the promise without becoming comfortable in the present.
I. Faith to Sojourn (To live like a foreigner)
The verse says, "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country."
Abraham was in the exact land God had promised him, yet he lived like a foreigner who was just passing through. He could see the land, walk on it, and farm it, but he knew in his heart that his real home was not of this world.
He chose to live in "tabernacles," or tents. A tent is a temporary dwelling. It's not a permanent structure. This was a deliberate choice of faith. Living in a tent was a constant, visible reminder to him and his family: "This is not our final home. We are still waiting for something better. We are pilgrims."
This is a direct challenge to us. We live in a world filled with "lands of promise"—the promise of a good career, a comfortable family life, a secure retirement. These are good gifts from God, but faith calls us to live in them as "sojourners." It calls us to hold the things of this world loosely, to enjoy them without letting them become our ultimate identity or security. Our hearts must not build a permanent foundation here, because we, too, are citizens of a heavenly country.
II. Faith to Pass On (A shared inheritance)
Abraham wasn't alone in this. He lived this way "with Isaac and Jacob." This tent-dwelling lifestyle was passed down for three generations. Isaac and Jacob were "heirs with him of the same promise."
Abraham’s faith was so strong that it shaped his children and grandchildren. He taught them that they also were strangers and pilgrims. He passed down not just his possessions, but his perspective.
This asks us a hard question: What inheritance are we passing on to the next generation? Are we teaching them to build their entire lives here on earth, to seek comfort and security in this world? Or are we, by our faith, teaching them to live for the promise of a heavenly city? Our faith isn't just for us; it's to be inherited by those who come after us.
Conclusion
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived their entire lives in the promised land, but they never stopped waiting for the true fulfillment of that promise. They knew the land was just a shadow of the real inheritance.
We, as Christians, are in the same position. We have the "land of promise" through the Holy Spirit living in us. We have the promises of God's peace, joy, and provision. But we are still living in a temporary world. Let us, by faith, live as Abraham did—dwelling in tents, holding this world's comforts lightly, and keeping our eyes fixed on the eternal city yet to come.
