By Andrew Williams
Genesis 35:1 NLT- 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.”
Good morning fellow disciples.
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. It was usually a raised platform with a flat surface. An altar always represented a place of consecration and was often built to commemorate an encounter with God that had a profound impact upon someone. An altar usually represented a person’s desire to consecrate himself fully to the Lord.
Sometimes God Himself commanded that an altar be built after He had delivered someone in a miraculous way. Such an altar would be a memorial to help future generations remember the mighty works of the Lord.
God commanded Jacob to build an altar to Him. Jacob was to consecrate himself to God. Here’s Jacob’s response in Genesis 35:2-3 NLT- 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.”
In these verses, we recognize that Jacob had an encounter with God, and he was now returning to that place where he first encountered God. He consecrated himself and his family. He ordered them to purify themselves and to get rid of all their pagan idols. It was after this that Jacob built the altar to God.
Have you had encounters with God?
Have you designated a place as an altar where you can meet with Him on a regular basis?
Have you consecrated, purified yourself and your family, gotten rid of your idols and are now worshipping God alone?
Even though Jacob made an altar where he could offer sacrifices to God and use it as a memorial so that his family could recall the encounters that he had with God, he recognized that God wasn’t only to be found at the altar.
He states that even though he encountered God there, God has always been with him.
Is this the way it is with you? Have you encountered God at your altar, but you also recognize that God is with you wherever you go?
Prayer: God, I recognize that You are with me wherever I go. However, there are places where I go to meet with you in prayer and in reading of Your Word. I have set apart places where I can meet with You, and I consecrate myself to come into Your presence.
Help me to be like Jacob, who led his family to put aside their idols and to build an altar to You, to continually worship You as the one true God. Amen.