Men in the Bible: A Man of the Altar
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he 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. – Genesis 12:7-8
In continuation of our exploration of Abraham’s personality, a unique element that stood out in his life and behavior was his disposition to worship. He was a man of the altar, as he always erected altars of worship to God at various stages of his journey.
From our reference passage today alone, which contains two verses, although many things must have happened in the life and journey of Abraham that were not mentioned in the passage. However, the chroniclers did not forget to mention the fact that he built two altars at two different places, representing different bases in his journey, which says a lot about his heart of devotion.
In fact, Abraham built more altars to God than virtually everyone else in the Bible. The only person who equaled his record in altar building was his grandson, Jacob. Even though Abraham built several altars, there were records of five distinct altars credited to him in the Bible: in Shechem (Genesis 12:6-7), Bethel (Genesis 12:8), Hebron (Genesis 13:18), Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:9) and Beersheba (Genesis 21:33). Each altar marking significant moments in his relationship and encounter with God. Little wonder that he was so blessed by God.
It is common knowledge that God craves nothing more than worship (John 4:23). This is a secret that God Himself might have revealed to Abraham or perhaps Abraham stumbled upon the secret himself in the course of their interactions. But, unlike most people who do little with the secrets they discover, Abraham made the most of his by going on to erect several monuments to God at different turns to attest to his heart of devotion and life of worship. He was the better for it.
Selah!
Also read:
- Men in the Bible: A Laidback and Complacent Man
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Safeguard from Evil
- Prayer
- This Is Our Treasure
- When You Walk through the Fire
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