Tents and altars play a significant role in the story of Abram’s call. When Abram left Haran to go to the land of Canaan, he lived the life of a nomad in a tent. Genesis 12: When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.[1]
Abram didn’t own any land. He just knew that God had promised it to his descendants. Hebrews 11: 8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.[2]
Altar at Moreh
When Abram first reached the promised land, he camped by the oak of Moreh. Pagans often worshipped by groves of trees, and they considered them sacred. Moreh means teacher.[3] God chose this stronghold of idols to reveal His presence and blessings to Abram.
Here, Abram built an altar to worship God for the promises he had received. Abram had an altar but no idol, which must have confused his neighbors. He boldly worshipped his God and proclaimed His name in a Canaanite place of worship and instruction. This is a model for us. We, too, need to worship and proclaim God’s name and authority over places of idol worship and teaching.
Altar at Bethel
After his worship at the Oak of Moreh, Abram picked up his tent stakes and moved again. Genesis 12: 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.[4] Even though he had moved, Abram continued to worship God.
Often, names of places have significance, and here, I think the names describe what is happening to Abram. “Bethel means “the house of God,” and Ai means “ruin.” Figuratively speaking, Abraham and Sarah were walking in the light, from east to west, from the city of ruin to the house of God!” [5]
God has Abram on a journey with tents and altars. At the beginning of Genesis 12, some verbs describe this: v4 went, v5 set out, v6 passed through, v8 moved, and v9 journeyed. Faith is a journey of growth in the relationship with our God. We may not be living in tents and building altars like Abram, but we are on a faith journey just as he was.
Jesus, a descendant of Abram, brought a blessing to the world. 1 John 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God… 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.[6]
To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/called-to-a-promise
[1,2,6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ge 12:7–8). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). Be Obedient (p. 19). Victor Books.