Altars and Abraham

Genesis
12:7 -
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

12:8 -
Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.

Ai means "heap of ruins." Bethel means "house of God." Perhaps it is true that the altar means a bridge of sorts, (Perhaps a shadow of things to come in Christ Jesus.)between the house of God and the place of ruins. How to get from a place of loss to a place of goodness.

This altar was memorial of promise to Abraham to his him and his family.


13:18 -
Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

The word Hebron means "association." It is where Abraham met with the Lord.

Mamre speaks of fatness or strength. The Lord God is our strength. Fatness in this context speaks of provision.

22:9 -
Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

This altar for Abraham is where he met the Lord of provision. The supply came to him through Jehovah Jireh.

Through out the life of Abraham, he had memorials to the greatness of the Lord. In one, a receipt of the promise, another a place between two worlds and another for provision.

It is our hope as we pursue the family altar project that we provide you with meaningful insight and practical hands on applications.

Here is one of our first.
I. What Is the Purpose of the Family Altar?

1. To worship God together and learn more of His ways. What could be a better purpose. Children should learn to worship God in their early years that they might have respect for Him in the later years. They need to learn how to regard Him and to realize that He is the Creator, Holy, and to be honored in all that we say and do.

This is a critical step in our leaving a legacy.