Build Your Altar

"Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord."

Genesis 12:7-8 NKJV

In the Bible, we have over four hundred references to altars, structures on which sacrifices are made. Although the idea was present when Cain and Abel brought their gifts to the Lord (Genesis 4:3-4), the word is first used when Noah came out of the ark and built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 8:20). The altar is a place of encounter between God and humanity, and it has evolved over time from a simple stone structure to an elaborate construction in the Temple. Biblical stories such as the sacrifice of Isaac, Elijah on Mount Carmel, Jacob at Bethel, and Jesus overturning the tables in the Temple illustrate the themes of faith, obedience, divine encounter, and true worship. Jesus, the only mediator between God and humanity, shifted the focus from stone altars to spiritual worship. Applied to daily life, we are invited to create spaces for prayer, to consider our hearts as offerings, and to recognize everyday moments as opportunities to encounter God. Altars can be seen as metaphors for the spiritual life of a believer.

Every time Abraham pitched his tent, he built an altar to offer sacrifices and worship God morning and evening. When he moved on, the altar remained, and those who passed by knew that Abraham had stayed in that place. Abraham, after leaving everything behind, reached the city of Shechem in Canaan with his wife and nephew Lot. There the Lord appeared to him and promised him that land. In that place Abraham built the first altar, the altar of choice, since it was in Shechem that he chose to believe in God. After Shechem, Abraham went to Bethel, where he built the second altar, and it is written that in that place he called upon the name of the Lord. Bethel means “house of God,” so the second altar speaks to us of prayer: a powerful weapon at our disposal, through which we can relate to the Lord. When we pray with faith, God reveals himself, makes himself known. Sometimes we relate to him as if we were at a fast food restaurant, demanding speed in listening and responding.

Abraham and Sarah could not have children, which is perhaps why, when God asked him to leave his country, he decided to take his nephew Lot with him, whom he had raised and brought up as a son. At a certain point, Lot's shepherds and his uncle's shepherds quarreled, and Lot preferred to separate and pitch his tents in Sodom. After this separation, God spoke to Abraham and promised him a country and descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth. In Hebron, Abraham built an altar to the Lord, the altar of promise, which is a testimony to all those who have chosen to follow the Lord and have made their lives a house of God, where prayer reigns. The fulfillment of the promise is the culmination of a journey that began with the divine call and overcame unfavorable circumstances, sometimes real battles, over time. Keep your flame alive on the altar of promises, because what God has said, He will do. Hope against hope! (Romans 4:18).

The last altar is that of sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the most difficult to build (Genesis 22). Moriah means “God's command.” Abraham rises early in the morning and does everything God has commanded him to do to sacrifice Isaac. Once he has built the altar and laid the wood, he is ready to offer his only son when the angel of the Lord stops him. Abraham had shown his deep faithfulness and loyalty to God. Today, we build the altar of choice when we choose Jesus as our Savior; we build the altar of prayer when prayer becomes our way of life; we raise the altar of promise when we dwell in faith despite adverse circumstances; we elevate the altar of sacrifice when we obey God's command to the end. You have a throne in your heart. If you decide to seat Jesus there, you are laying the first stone on the altar of sacrifice. The result will be that your body will be presented to him as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to him, because this is spiritual worship. Abandon the idea of a God who is exclusively at your service, open your heart, your mind, and your eyes to a more realistic view of Christianity. You and I are at the service of Jesus, not the other way around. We are called to build spiritual altars with our whole being and not with stones used only on the day of worship. Not even feeling that sense of well-being during worship with our hands raised and tears on our faces makes us disciples.

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Weekly Bible Reading Plan #19

May 5, 1 Kings 19-20; Luke 23:1-25

May 6, 1 Kings 21-22; Luke 23:26-56

May 7, 2 Kings 1-3; Luke 24:1-35

May 8, 2 Kings 4-6; Luke 24:36-53

May 9, 2 Kings 7-9; John 1:1-28

May 10, 2 Kings 10-12; John 1:29-51

May 11, 2 Kings 13-14; John 2