Lord's Day Devotion - He Built Altars

 Abram, for all his ancient years, was quite the pilgrim migrant.  What stamina he had had to be trekking here and there.  Then at certain milestones along his wanderings, to have the energy, not to flop down on his bed and snore, but to build an altar!

"He built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the LORD" (Genesis 12:8 NIV).

Amazing man who knew where to place his trust - in the LORD.  That was his secret strength.

If you read the narrative in chunks like from Genesis 11 to 20 in one go, you can take better note of Abram's faith in the LORD of His promises.  He liked to show it by his altar building - a visual memorial, NOT to be worshiped, but to give worship to the LORD, as

 "he went from place to place" (Genesis 13:3-4MIV).

He found a shady place of repose near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron and built another altar (Genesis 13:18 NIV).  If you trace his footsteps and follow in his wake, you'll be able to know and say, when you see yet another altar in the middle of nowhere,

"Ah, Abram was here."

The altar to the LORD, showed it.

In many ways I see this as good practice.  In our own personal lives we can make "altars" of remembrance of how the Lord preserved us; our faith and answers to prayer, and vindication thereof.

Abram, or as he was later known, Abraham, did see the son he had been promised by God, but he did not get to see the uncountable multitudes as many as the grains of sand on the seashore, nor the numbers of stars in the sky...but...he believed it would happen.  Yet through all the years of waiting for the promised son, he still built altars and worshiped the LORD, God Most High, Who is the Creator of heaven" (Genesis 14:22 NIV) and made covenant with Him.  God was a Personal Friend as well as Diety to be worshipped.

For us today, one of our "altar" remembrances can come, 

"as often as we eat the bread and drink from the cup" (2 Corinthians 11:26),

on any given Lord's Day.  We  can meet together physically or virtually and remember what Jesus has done for us through His death on the cross and through His resurrrection.  Our strength and salvation come from the Lord.  We do well to build altars and worship Him, even if it is only in our closet.

                                                        ~ERC  August 2021~

Based on Genesis 11-20 NIV.