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Genesis chapter 12:8: He removed from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Abraham’s journey of faith is a very fascinating one.
As you read it, there are so many details; you see the places he goes to that are very significant in the future history of Israel and God’s purposes for them. But God continued to lead him. So after the Lord had told him when he got to Canaan that this was the land, Abraham continued moving beyond the Promised Land, and God showed him different places to go.
In Canaan, he built an altar to the Lord, but then he continued moving; he didn’t settle in Canaan. He journeyed toward Bethel, and at Bethel, though the Lord did not directly indicate that the land was his, he built an altar to the Lord. So, in Canaan, God says it’s your land; he built an altar to the Lord. In Bethel, God doesn’t say it’s your land, but he still builds an altar to the Lord.
That shows us some very interesting things: there are things that God gives to you directly, and he promises them to you, and he blesses you with them, like he said to Abraham in Canaan, «This is the land.» But then there are things that we take by faith; we possess new territories by faith, although God has not spoken to us about it. We can sense that we have the ability, we have the strength, we have what it takes to possess the land, and that’s what Abraham is doing. There are places that God gives to him, but there are also places that he exercises faith to possess, and that’s what he does in Bethel. He gets to Bethel, and he also plants an altar.
Every altar that Abraham built reminded him of the places that God had taken him because he’s on a journey, and the altars are marking spots or signposts to tell him, «You moved from this point to that point.» Many times, we go through life without remembering where we have come from and where we’re going. If you don’t remember where you are coming from, you won’t appreciate your progress; you won’t even see that God is blessing you. There are people who have been so blessed, but they don’t even see the blessing.
Just think about where you were five years ago; think about what your life was like ten years ago and remember. If you could have signposts of your progress, you would have seen them. So, although you haven’t arrived yet, you are still not where you used to be. Abraham built altars to remind him of where God was taking him and the progress he was making. He also built altars to remind him of the new territories that he was taking. So, every altar is a new territory for the Lord. May the Lord lead you to take new territories for his kingdom, because there are things that God wants to do with you-some you know, some you’re yet to know-but every step you take must be a territory you are possessing for God.
So the altars reminded Abraham, «This is my territory; this is my land.» Later on, if you read your Bible well, these are the lands that God gave to Israel, and they had to fight for them, but these are the lands because Abraham built altars there. Every altar Abraham built was also a place of worship, a place that is set apart to honor God. So he is reminding himself of his journey; he is taking new territories, and he is establishing places of worship.
That’s exactly what Abraham is doing, and that also tells us that any time God is leading us, we must mark the progress we are making, we must take new territories for God, and we must dedicate whatever God gives us for his purposes and for his glory. The things that God blesses us with must end up being used in the service of the Lord and for his glory.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, thank you for what you have given me. I take hold of new territories for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»