John Calvin Commentary Acts 7:3

"and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee." — Acts 7:3 (ASV)

Come out of your country. God uses many words, so that he might more deeply pierce Abraham's mind, as if it were not a sharp enough thing in itself to be banished from his own country.

And that served to test his faith, just as that other thing also: that God assigns him no land in which he may dwell, but makes him remain in doubt and wait for a time.

Therefore, Abraham's obedience was all the more to be commended because the sweetness of his native soil does not keep him back from willingly going, as it were, into exile; and because he does not hesitate to follow God, although no certain resting place appears, but is commanded to wander here and there for a time.

Since the showing of the land is deferred, it does not differ much from deceiving him.

Furthermore, we continually learn by our own experience how profitable it was for Abraham to be exercised in this way and, as it were, trained little by little. Many men are carried by a godly affection to attempt great things, but very soon, as soon as their enthusiasm has grown cold, they repent of their purpose, and they would gladly slip their necks out of the collar.

Therefore, so that Abraham would not faint when he was in the middle of his course, through remembering those things which he had left behind him, God sifts and tests his mind thoroughly, immediately after he had begun, so that he would not take anything in hand lightly and unadvisedly. The parable which Christ sets before us concerning the building of the tower serves this purpose (Luke 14:28). For he teaches that we must first count the cost, lest with shame we be forced to stop building after we have begun.

And though this was a particular thing for Abraham—in that he was commanded to go out of his own country and to go into a distant country, in that God moved him from place to place—yet, nevertheless, there is in these words some representation of the calling of us all.

We are not all simply commanded to forsake our country, but we are commanded to deny ourselves. We are not commanded to come out of our father’s house, but to bid farewell to our own will and to the desires of our own flesh. Again, if father and mother, wife and children, hinder us from following God, we must forsake them all.

The commandment is given simply to Abraham to move; but we are commanded to remain steadfast, under a certain condition. For if in any place we cannot serve God, we must rather choose exile than to stay in our nest, being slothful and sluggish.

Therefore, let us always have the example of Abraham before our eyes. He is the father of the faithful; he was tested in all kinds of ways. Does he forget his country, his friends, and himself, so that he may give himself over to God? (Romans 4:16–17). If we are to be counted the children of God, we must not fall short of his example.

Which I shall show you. We must note what I touched on a little before: that Abraham is kept in doubt so that his patience may be tested. And we must also apply this to our own lives, so that we may learn to depend wholly upon God. And surely, this is a principal exercise of our faith: to put our trust in God, even when we see nothing.

God, indeed, will often show us a land in which he grants us an abiding place; yet, nevertheless, because we are strangers in the world, we have no certain and continual place of abode anywhere. Again, our life, as Paul says, is hid (Colossians 3:3), and being like dead men, we hope for salvation, which is hidden in heaven.

Therefore, concerning our perpetual habitation, God causes us to depend upon his providence alone when he commands us, as it were, to wander in a strange country. Lest such deferring discourage us, we must hold to this general rule of faith: that we must go wherever God calls us, even if he does not show what he promises.