Life Lesson: Altars

An altar is for worshipping God by offering all that we are and have to God for His purpose.

The first altar recorded in the Bible is that erected by Noah (Genesis 8:20). Altars were erected by Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 13:18;22:9), Isaac (Genesis 26:25), Jacob (33:20; 35:1–3), Moses (Exodus 17:15), and Saul (1 Samuel 14:35).

Noah's altar at Ararat 

This is the first altar recorded and built in the Bible, built after the judgment by the deluge. The passing through the flood is a type of passing through death into life when we first believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as a believer, the first experience of Christ should be consecrating our lives and offering ourselves up to the Lord to worship and serve Him.

Gn 8:4And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Gn 8:20And Noah built an altar to Jehovah and took of every clean beast and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Abraham's Altar

Scechem, by the oak of Moreh: This altar was built by Abraham as he was motivated by God’s reappearing, an anti-testimony to the building of the tower of Babel. In our Christian walk, we live a testimony against the tide of the world. This is the result of our walk with God and fellowshipping with Him. The world and all its allies began to separate from us gradually to the point that we become a light of the world and a salt of the earth as the testimony of Jesus!

Gn 12:7And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.

East of Bethel: As we progressed in our walk with the Lord, we also encounter ups and downs, between Ai and Bethel. Some kind of spiritual fluctuation seems to go on for a while. Nonetheless, as a believer, we have learned to call upon the Lord for salvation in time of need. But these are all individual experiences of Christ.

Gn 12:8And 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 Jehovah and called upon the name of Jehovah.

Gn 13:4To the place of the altar, which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of Jehovah.

Hebron, by the oaks of Mamre: By and by, the Lord has been leading us forward where He not only meets our needs but we also begin to meet His need. The mutual fellowship with us and the Lord has gradually been strengthened. Mamre means strength. We have been much strengthened as we began to dwell and fellowship together with God.

Gn 13:18And Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to Jehovah

Moriah, the vision of Jah, later became Mount Zion: The enjoyment and fellowship with the Lord cause us to live a life of obedience and faith, wherein we are willing to give up the very best we have, in fact, even the very best we received from God. We are able to offer up our "Isaac" at Jehovah's command, giving up everything the Lord demands. This is because we love the Lord and are one with the Lord. Therefore, we are willing to do what He says and go where He sends. This is the experience at Moriah. Everything is consecrated to the Lord by faith!

Gn 22:9And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Isaac's Altar at Beer-sheba

This is the unique place of God’s appearing where Isaac also called upon the name of Jehovah. As blessed children of God inheriting everything God the Father has ordained for us, we are blessed with His appearing again and again which is indeed a great blessing. Through such an enjoyment of the Lord's appearing, we also called upon Him to enjoy His working in us in this unique place Beer-sheba, where we receive the rich supply of life from God, as Beer-sheba is a place with the well of life supply and the tamarisk tree as the expression of the rich flow of life (21:25, 33)

Gn 26:23And he went up from there to Beer-sheba.

Gn 26:24And Jehovah appeared to him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and multiply your seed for My servant Abraham’s sake.

Gn 26:25And he built an altar there and called upon the name of Jehovah and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Jacob

Shechem: In Shechem, Jacob built an altar where his grandfather Abraham had also built an altar. He called the altar, El-Elohe-Israel. This is an individual Christian life that we have been experiencing which others who have gone before us have also experienced. We can assuredly testify that God is our God, the God of Israel. But surely, we need to move one from here too.

Gn 33:18And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and he camped before the city.
Gn 33:19And he bought the piece of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money.
Gn 33:20And there he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

Bethel: In Bethel, Jacob built another altar. Here he called the place El-bethel, meaning God of the house of God, signifying his spiritual progression from being an individualistic person to a corporate one, caring for God's dwelling place among men on earth. This must also be our spiritual experience today in the corporate church life where we are no long individualistic but our Christian life now is for the church and for the fulfillment of God's purpose.

Gn 35:1And God said to Jacob, Rise up, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; and make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.

Gn 35:7And he built an altar there and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.

Moses' altar at Rephidim: This altar is named Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah is my banner, signifying the victory over the Amalekite, our flesh, as we progress in our Christian life. Through the experience of the cross crucifying our flesh, such an experience even becomes a memorial for our victory. This should always be our testimony.

Ex 17:15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi;

Saul's altar at Gibeah, Ephraim:  Saul built his first altar tool late, and when he did so, it had no meaning at all.  God did not speak to him nor approved of what he did as he had already rebelled against God, disobeyed Him, and God had rejected him. This should be a stern warning to us believers not to take God's anointing for granted. We must pay absolute heed to the inner anointing and seek for the Lord's presence, which is Himself as the Blessing, in humility and obedience. Brothers beware!

1S 14:35And Saul built an altar to Jehovah; it was the first altar that he built to Jehovah.
1S 14:36And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in your sight. But the priest said, Let us draw near to God here.
1S 14:37And Saul inquired of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel? But He did not answer him that day.