The fact that Abram and Sarai left Ur at all is an incredible step of faith that is under-appreciated by modern believers and readers.  Journeying was a life-threatening act.   Abram and Sarai could have presented three very legitimate ancient "alibis" for not making the pilgrimage journey to Israel:

* Diminished reproduction

* Diminished money

* Diminished name

It was believed that travel diminished reproduction, for either one left his family at home, or if his spouse traveled with him, the hardship of the journey diminished marital relations, fertility, or was too difficult for the newborn or young children, an alibi that Jacob later offered to Esau, who accepted it, for it was quite valid.  Of course, Jacob used the alibi to stay IN the Land.  People could become ill and die from the harsh elements.  Journeying could kill you!  Flash floods still claim lives in Israel, and in ancient times, establishing and nurturing offspring was vital.

The second ancient alibi is that a journey required great financial investment. One's goods could be robbed by bandits, taxed heavily at territorial borders, or damaged in transit.  It would have be slow going to keep sheep and goats well-fed and watered. The photos below display the ancient caravan crossing of Scorpion's Ascent in the Aravah along with a Roman tax-collection house that was likely built on an even more ancient Customs chokepoint to the merchant road across the mountains.  In fact, tradition suggests that it was at a tax collection point into Egypt that Sarai came to Pharaoh's officials' attention. Journeying to Israel definitely reduces one's coin.  If you don't believe it, book a flight to Tel Aviv and see how much of the ticket cost is taxes and fees.

Akravah, or Scorpion's Ascent, an ancient merchant trade route in the Aravah

Tax collection building along Scorpion's Ascent

The last alibi was that a journey reduced one's influence in the world by requiring him to rebuild his reputation and financial stability in a new location, or his influence in his hometown would suffer in his absence.  Take too much time off of work, and someone climbing the ladder will take your place.  Go to a new place, and you'll have to establish yourself all over again as an honest person, reliable person, Godly person.  You might lose leadership privileges or reduced wages.  In ancient times, establishing one's good reputation and his "house" was a legitimate alibi.  

These three ancient alibis are still in use.  One may offer one or more of these alibis either for not obeying the commandments or for not making a pilgrimage to Israel.  Believers today still complain about the giants of Canaanites, Sodomites, and other imperfections in the Land of Israel.  Abram and Sarai didn't wait for Messiah to "carry me home," so why should we? Even one journey to Israel for a feast is a proclamation of faith that for every alibi, there is an assurance and a blessing.  We will go, grow, and bestow.  

If going to Israel is truly impossible, then what prevents us from learning and obeying the commandments while we wait for the coins to grow?  That is a step anyone can take anywhere, anytime, anyplace.  Although like Abram and Sarai, we will encounter crossings in the commandments that are difficult Brussels sprouts, in time they will taste Kentucky Blackberry Buttermilk or SuperFudge. Those commandments are so that we can walk for ourselves into spiritual growth and in turn bless others.

That is what distinguished Abram and Sarai.  Up until their Lekh Lekha blessing, certain righteous men in Scripture received a blessing from Adonai, but Abram and Sarai received the blessings AS WELL AS the ability to activate blessings (or curses) on other people:

...so  you  shall  be a  blessing ; and  I will bless those who bless  you and  the one who  curses  you I will  curse.  And  in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Whether we go to Israel on a pilgrimage journey or whether we simply say yes to a commandment because Yeshua and the Father said so, we are Abraham and Sarah's children.  We go because we will grow, and then we will bestow those blessings and help The Holy One of Israel influence more souls obedient to the Covenant.  

The blessings address all three of Abram's legitimate concerns:

* Reproduction, or an heir by fathering a great nation

* Financial resources, for "blessing" frequently connotes money

* I will make your name great, one that will be respected by other nations, not just the local yokels, so much so that they will be cursed or blessed according to their relationship with you

The three ancient alibis are legitimate concerns in the physical realm of existence.  Faith, though, puts more weight on the spiritual rewards of physical sacrifice.  We can birth children into the Kingdom and "make souls" like Abraham and Sarah.  We change our perception of what constitutes wealth, and the more we invest in the Kingdom, the wealthier we are, even though we're still driving older model cars and there's always $20,000 worth of repairs that need to be done to the house.  The less we care about climbing social and business ladders, the more access we have to Jacob's ladder, where Abram and Sarai pitched their tents in Lekh Lekha.  The Brussels sprouts mitzvot of the journey begin to taste like Coffee Stout and Salted Caramel.

So which alibi will we offer for not making a journey to Israel or keeping His Word?  Will it be too hard on our children or spouse?  Does it cost too much money?  Will we sacrifice our standing in our social, family, or business circles? And which one of those alibis has the Father not guaranteed to address if we will go, grow, and bestow?