An Altar

DEVOTION

GENESIS

AN ALTAR

Gen 12:6-9

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

NIV

Well this answers any questions as to how God spoke to Abram as we see here he had appeared to him. Abram was on the move because God had told him he would show him the land he was to go. It would appear from the description here he had arrived in the land of the Canaanites. This was the land  he was to have, but at this time it appears he did not know it, as he continued to travel on to the hills east of Bethel then set out toward Negev. Yet this was the land of the Canaanites which some time later Joshua and the Israelites under the direction of God drove from the land and occupied it. This follows exactly what God told Abram when he arrived there. He told it was the land he would give to his offspring. We should note we have been told his wife Sarai was barren. We would think Abram would have questioned that, but he did not as we are told he built an altar to the Lord where he had appeared to him. What use the altar was for we are not told. Did he make a sacrifice to the Lord? As he moved on and pitched his tent in another place he built another altar and here we are told he called upon the name of the Lord. It seems that everywhere Abram pitched his tent he built an altar. Was this his way of making his faith known? Was an altar needed in order to make a sacrifice? We know men have brought sacrifices to the Lord from that time of Cain and Abel, who had to have learned that from their father Adam, who had to have been told to do so by God. But why the need of an altar? Was it just a way to show his faith? Today we still have churches with altars of sort, maybe just an altar railing. Back some years ago, it was customary to come to the altar when we confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Some churches have people knee at the altar to receive communion. Some have as many people who want to come, gather around the altar for prayer. We bring our children to an altar of sorts to either baptize or dedicate. There is certainly altars throughout the Old Testament, in fact it was a central figure in the design of the Tabernacle Moses built under the direction of God. Perhaps the altar was simply a point of contact for Abram to speak to the Lord who had appeared to him. We do see that when he pitched his tent near Bethel and built an altar, he called on the name of the Lord. It would appear God is close to Abram, he is showing him what is to come. When God told him he would give this land to his seed, his descendants, it may well be he saw Jesus.

John 8:56

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." 

NIV

God had revealed to Abram all that was to take place, is it no wonder he built altars and called on the name of the Lord.  But what do we learn for our lives? Certainly we do not build any altars in our homes to God as Abram did. But have we confined any altars to our church buildings? Why shouldn’t we have some form of an altar where we live? We do, it is our bodies.

1 Cor 6:19-20

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

NIV

What better way to have an altar then to be that very altar within ourselves.  Every temple the Israelites built included an altar. The churches today have altars in some sense, certainly not like the ones in the temple but nevertheless an altar. Yet our altar is not one built with human hands, but by the hand of the Lord. We live within our altar, our body, and the sacrifice we make upon that altar is ourselves.

Rom 12:1

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.

NIV

We need not have a special room in our home dedicated for an altar, or shrine as some religions of the world do. We do not have to build an altar to call upon the name of the Lord. We are the temple, the altar and the sacrifice when we are in Christ who was the final sacrifice needed for all our sin. After Jesus offered himself on the altar of the cross there is no more need for altars built by men for sacrifices upon. But here we are, the temple, the altar and the sacrifice. We can call upon the name of the Lord anytime anywhere for we carry our temple and altar within us.