“There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 12:8
God said to Abraham, “Time for a trip. You and the wife pack the Winnebago and travel to where I tell you”(Genesis 12:1). So Abraham pulled out of the driveway and headed south with no destination in the GPS but with his possessions and God’s promise. “You will become a great nation. You will have a great name. I will bless you, and everybody else will be blessed through you”(Genesis 12:2-3).
They came to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan—and Abraham built an altar. He then moved between Ai and Bethel—and built an altar. He later moved to Egypt. (Things there weren’t good but God was.) He moved back from Egypt and settled at the place where he had built the altar between Ai and Bethel, and then he moved to Hebron—and built another altar.
His nephew Lot, whom he should have left at home, moved to Sodom and was soon a spoil of war. Abraham and 318 personal soldiers ran to the rescue, routed the four raiding rulers, and returned with Lot, a lot of others, and all the loot. The grateful king of Sodom said, “Keep what you’ve collected,” but Abraham took no pay and no prize. “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward’”(Genesis 15:1). Abraham had refused the goods of men, and his rich reward was the presence of God.
Abraham didn’t need stuff. He needed a son, and so he asked, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless? My servant will be my heir”(Genesis 15:2). But God replied, “No, not your servant. Your own son.” He took Abraham outside and ordered, “Look up to the sky. Tally the stars if you can, and you’ll be totaling your descendants”(Genesis 15:4).
“Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness”(Genesis 15:6). And Abraham built an altar.
God’s blessings are beyond what we can figure. Look around and count, and offer your thanks on the altar of faith.
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