“Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.” Genesis 13:18
This scripture tells us that Abram (later known as Abraham) built an altar for God. These altars were used for sacrificing animals as a form of worship. Abram wasn’t the only one from the bible that performed this ritual. In fact, this was often done after a victory in battle or some other blessing had been revealed.
Building an altar and subsequently offering sacrifices seems like a thing of the past. Most Christians (none I know of) don’t build altars in their backyard and slaughter goats, sheep, cows, birds, etc.… God doesn’t require us to offer blood sacrifices anymore. Not since he sent his only begotten son to live a perfect life, die on the cross as payment for our sins, and rise again on the 3rd day-conquering death and revealing his power to do so. Praise his holy name, Jesus!
I have spent the last several years reading through the whole bible every year. This has been a tremendous blessing to me in my spiritual walk, and one significant benefit I have noticed is seeing a more complete picture of scripture.
One of the things that has stuck out to me is how many parallels we can draw between the physical and spiritual.
As I pondered Genesis 13:18 through this lens, I began to see a parallel here.
It is so very easy to go along with the culture and society without even realizing it. We almost all have some form of social media, some video streaming app, and some form of audiobook/podcast app. I am not saying there is anything inherently wrong with having, using, and enjoying these things. I am, however, warning against slowly allowing ourselves to be desensitized or hardened to the evil parts that are so prevalent in these areas of entertainment.
How much is “too much” cussing? Is a movie with one cuss word enough to take it off our watchlist? Or is the magic number 5? Or 10? Or does it depend on which cuss word is used? What about sex scenes? Is one ok? Only if it doesn’t show total nudity? Violence? How much violence is ok?
As I mentioned earlier, I have fallen into this trap many times. I have also fallen into the trap of going to one of these avenues for comfort when life is hard (which has been A LOT lately). It is SO much easier to let my mind wander to some fictitious place than to have to think about my life problems. How wrong! I have placed my trust in some worldly devices rather than the one who can truly deliver me.
As I came to the realization that I had allowed myself to fall prey to one of the enemy’s traps, I prayed. I prayed for forgiveness. I prayed for deliverance. I prayed for guidance.
That is when Genesis 13:18 came along. Seeing how Abram went and built an altar, I began to think, “How can I build a spiritual altar? What does that look like?”
My conclusion is that we build altars by forming habits. Both good and bad. Just as an altar takes time to build one stone upon another, so do habits take time and intentionality.
When we stop and pray before every meal, that is an altar on which we sacrifice to wait to dive into our food to be thankful.
Another example would be reading scripture. Build that altar (habit) and sacrifice that time. A very important altar would be to take time. Stop. Shut down the noise and listen. Listen to what God has to say. Take time to thank him, To ask him for guidance, To read his word, and get to know him.
Build your altars, friends, and go there daily to sacrifice to the One, True, and Living God!
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds:) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; ”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Friend,
If you’re reading this and you don’t know our God. If you haven’t been covered by the blood of Jesus and been given his Holy Spirit as a comforter, please reach out! He is waiting for you and wanting for you to accept his FREE gift of salvation. Don’t wait. It is THE most important decision you will ever make. Make it today.
With love,
Mollie
Meet Mollie
Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.