Ok, now go

Gen 12:1 "... and go to the land that I will show you."

Abram had to pull up his tent pegs and leave his native land behind. Fine. So, he's ready to go. Now what? Where does he go? al-ha'aretz asher ah-ri'echa To the land that God will let him see. The Hebrew root re'eh (see) is used.

This takes an incredible amount of trust in God. It's not like God said, "Go from Haran to Canaan." Abram would see the land when it was time. But he had no idea where he was going, only that God told him to go. And he was leaving all that was familiar behind. His land, his people and his father's house. Did Abram know that he was going to be a partner with the Almighty in a covenant to make 'a just, caring and compassionate society'? Nothing in the text suggests that this is the case. There are many midrashim that attest to Abram's faithfulness to God before this call. And in answer to why was Abrahm chosen, the rabbis postulate that just as a potter does not test weak jars but only strong ones, so too did the Almighty test Abram because He knew Abram was strong. Still, that's midrash. It's extra-Biblical. What we know of Abram up to this point from the Bible is very little. He's the son of Terah, brother of Nahor and Haran, uncle of Lot, and husband of Sarai. That's it. To pick up and leave and head out for, literally, God knows where, is an act of tremendous faith.

All Abram knew was that God would let him see the land. He didn't know what land or when he would get to see it. Did Abram ask God these questions? The Bible is silent on that. What we do know is that Abram went. The first step in this partnership was for Abram to trust God.

Faith and trust are closely linked. Faith in God is not merely believing that He exists. The Bible assumes God's existence. Faith in God is trusting that He will do what He says. If God says to go to a land that He will let you see, then you trust that He will let you see that land. You go on the belief that He will fulfill His word.