Hebrews 11:8-16
Obedient faith does not guarantee immediate rewards. If our obedience depended upon God rewarding us immediately, we would be no better than lab rats running a maze. God could train us to make the right turns, to say the right words and do the right thing; but God does not want lab rats or trained monkeys. He wants persons who have an active ongoing relationship with him.

Abraham was obedient even when he did not know where he was going. He did not follow God’s call to leave his home because he believed God would immediately give him a new country. He left his home and walked with God because he believed it was the right thing to do, and he believed his relationship with God was more important than houses or lands. His obedience meant that, with the exception of a burial plot, he would never own another piece of property, neither in his home country nor in the land God had promised him. Through his eyes of faith, he could see what the world could not comprehend. He could see the hope of eternity in a city whose architect and builder is God.

Down through the centuries, Abraham’s descendants would often practice idolatry. They turned to idol worship because they wanted immediate rewards. They wanted a good crop, a growing flock and wealth. If they had a bad year and the rains did not fall, they would quickly turn to another false god in hopes of turning their fortunes around. They would attempt to capture the false god’s image in an idol and by controlling the idol, they hoped to manipulate the god and force it to reward them. It is possible for obedience to become a form of idolatry. By being obedient, some people are attempting to manipulate God into rewarding them. Abraham did not obey God to manipulate him; he obeyed God to worship Him. God’s reward for our faith will not be immediate and temporary. It will be heavenly and eternal.