Abram Builds an Altar

September 1, 2024 Background Scripture: Genesis 12 — 13 Lesson Passage: Genesis 13:8 - 18 Genesis 12 and 13 record Abram's movement as he followed God's instructions as well as responded to a famine in the land of Canaan. It is worth noting that the famine occurred after Abram arrived in the place where God told him to go, Canaan. Was this famine an early test of Abram's faith? Whether it was or not, Abram responded as any responsible head of household would have based on their concern for the welfare of their family. He moved his family to a land where there was no famine. Abram left Canaan and took his family to Egypt. That move was very risky for Abram and his wife; however, God had promised to protect Abram. The scriptures describe Abram's wife, Sarai, as a very beautiful woman, and Pharoah had a right to any woman he found attractive in Egypt. He could have killed Abram for Sarai. God protected them by plaguing Pharoah and his house. Pharoah returned Sarai to Abram untouched and sent them away. Abram returned to Canaan, the land God promised to give him and his posterity as an inheritance. Abram had his nephew, Lot, with him throughout the journeys he had taken. On a hill between Beth-el and Ai, Abram resumed what he started before the famine. This was the place where Abram built his second altar in Canaan. He returned to that altar and again called upon the name of the Lord. This was the practice Abram had become known for by the other tribes living in Canaan. Abram openly worshiped an invisible God. Abram did not bow down to an idol god as would have been common-—and perhaps expected by the other tribes. But rather, Abram offered sacrifices upon the altar he built to an invisible God. Over the course of time, the herdsmen of Abram and Lot quarreled with each other. This led Abram to suggest that they separate. Lot traveled east to the plains of Jordan. After Lot's departure God appeared to Abram again and renewed the promises He had previously made to him. Then Abram went to the place he would become known for, Hebron. And as he had done in the other two locations in Canaan, Abram built a third altar in Hebron. And in Hebron, Abram again openly called upon the name of the Lord. The topic of our lesson focuses on Abram's public display of piety and reverence for God at the altars he built for that purpose. The bible does not record that Abram built an altar prior to coming to the land God promised to give him. Neither does it record Abram building an altar in Egypt during his stay there. But in the land God promised to give him, Abram built three altars. Where Abram pitched his tent as a homesite, he built an altar there to offer sacrifices to God. Worshiping God publicly became part of Abram's lifestyle. The other tribes in Canaan took note of it. For those tribes, worshiping the invisible God would have become synonymous with the person of Abram; to know one was to know the other. Christians have had only one altar, and it was used only one time. A cross on Mount Calvary is the altar Jesus was offered to God on as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. It was one offering that will last throughout eternity. If we are to become synonymous with the God who orchestrated and accepted that offering, it must show up in our lifestyle. He is the same God Abram worshiped. We must live even as Jesus taught that we should live. It is not living by a list of commandments. It is living by the law of love for each other as demonstrated by Jesus with His followers. We didn't build the Christian altar, but we should become known for it. Robert C. Hudson August 17, 2024