God sent Abraham off on a journey that will eventually birth a nation!
God came to Abram and said, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you”’ -Genesis 12:1
‘By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out. And he went out, not knowing where he was going’ -Hebrews 11:8
When Abraham arrived in Canaan, he could not take immediate possession of the land because at that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land (Genesis 12:6)
However, Abram had a different ingenious strategy for taking possession of the land.
Abram built altars!
Building altars is often associated with taking territory for a specific deity. Building altars can be seen as a way of establishing God’s presence in the land…
‘After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.’ – Genesis 13:14-18
So Abraham walked the length and breadth of the land building altars in his wake…
These are the 4 main altars he built, as recorded in scripture:
Shechem (Genesis 12:6-7)
‘Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh’ – Genesis 12:6
It is likely that the terebinth or oak of Moreh served as a landmark. Moreh means ‘teacher’ or ‘instructor’ and in a broader context can signify someone who provides guidance or instruction, stretching one’s understanding…
‘Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him’ -Genesis 12:6-7
Abram set up camp there at Shechem beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. So what does Abram do? Right after the LORD appears to him and says; ‘I will give this land to your descendants’ – Abram builds an altar there and dedicates it to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Don’t miss this, Abram builds his first altar in a land inhabited by Canaanites. The land is not officially Abram’s at this stage- but following the promise and appearance of the LORD – Abram steps out in faith and claims land by building an altar that draws the presence of God.
And once there is a landing place. a portal on earth dedicated to the LORD, it means the LORD can show up – mediating a space between God and man – the Canaanites may not have realised this – but Abram was already possessing the land in the spiritual realm by his act of setting up an altar in the land.
Later, Abraham’s grandson Jacob returns to the same area…
‘Later, having traveled all the way from Paddam-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. And there he build an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel [which means “God, the God of Israel.”]’ -Genesis 33:18-20
Bethel (Genesis 12:8, 13:3-4)
‘After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD. Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev’ -Genesis 12:8-9
It’s notable that after Abram built this altar, a severe famine struck the land of Canaan! Building altars precipitate spiritual warfare!
Much later, Abraham’s grandson, Jacob arrives in Bethel…
‘Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”’ -Genesis 28:10-22
Later, Jacob returned again to Bethel…
‘Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.
Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.
Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).
Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.
Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.’ -Genesis 35:1-15
Hebron (Genesis 13:4, 18)
‘So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he build another altar to the LORD’ -Genesis 13:18
Mamre means ‘strength’ or ‘vigour’
After building this third altar, war broke out in the region!
‘The LORD appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing to the ground’ -Genesis 18:1-2
Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:9-14)
This is the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”)
Moriah means “seen by Yahweh,” “chosen by God,” or “taught by Yahweh”
What altars are you building as you take territory?
