Building Altars

Scriptures: “Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’ ‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied. ‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’” (Genesis 22:7)

The story of Abraham offering his son Isaac is one of the most fascinating stories in the bible. Every time I read this passage, a picture would pop up in my mind. In the picture, Isaac would be carrying the wood and going along his father as though going for an outing or a picnic.

I don’t know how old Isaac was at that time. He could be humming some unknown melody to himself and sharing with his father in awe of the beauty of the Moriah Mountain region. He could be excitingly examining rocks and stones of different shapes, colors and sizes. I don’t know exactly what he was doing. But I can picture him having a wonderful time there with his father.

Then, all of a sudden, something hit him. He realized that, since they were on their way to give a burnt offering, they had everything but the lamb. So, he might have tilted his head, with a puzzling look on his face, and looked up to his father and asked, “The fire and wood are here. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7) An excellent question, and a thought provoking one, too.

However old Isaac was, apparently he was quite familiar with the requirements and the process of a burnt offering. He realized that the most important part of the burnt offering, the lamb, was missing. So, he asked the question. I wonder where did Isaac get the idea that a burnt offering requires fire, wood and a lamb. Abraham, of course. It seems appropriate to infer that Isaac had learned from Abraham all the things about burnt offering.

Here we see a great man of faith whose relationship with his Lord and Creator was so wonderful that he built altars for God wherever his Lord led him. Bible tells us Abraham built altars for God in many places, like Shechem (Genesis 12), Bethel (Genesis 12), and Hebron (Genesis 13). He built altars for God as tokens of appreciation and of his desires to please God.

We often say that we are like travelers, moving through life from one stage to another. Well, in a much more literal sense, Abraham was like that. He was called by God to leave his family, relatives and home town to go to a place he didn’t even know at the time. But he obeyed. More than obedience, wherever he went, he built altars to acknowledge the faithfulness and the guidance of God. His life was a great testimony of a life with God.

But, he did more than that. From Isaac’s question, we see that Abraham not only built altars himself. He built them with his son, Isaac. In the process, he taught Isaac how to build altars also. Later on, when Isaac was having problems with Gerar (Genesis 26), he responded to God with an altar, just like his father.

Abraham set a wonderful example of how his life, his worship and relationship with God, has influenced his son. We can learn from this great example also. It’s really not the instructions of Abraham that taught Isaac how to build altars. It was his life and his relationship with God that brought Isaac into building altars for God.

If we will, let’s include our loved ones in our worship and fellowship with God. There’s no more powerful way to demonstrate the love and power of our Lord than to tell through our live interactions with Him. May God help us so that we are both an altar builder and a teacher of building altar to everyone around us!

Prayer Requests:
For those praying earnestly for the salvation of their loved ones

Prayer:
Gracious Lord, thank You for calling us out of this dark and falling age and for ushering us into Your glorious eternal kingdom. We ask that You continue to nudge and build our lives and make us altar builder and teacher like Abraham as we seek to worship You and fellowship in You with our loved ones. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!