Outline // Monuments #1: Build Where God Shows Up

*Rabbit Trail*: Read Genesis 11-25, Abraham: A Life Marked By Faith

Genesis 15:6, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

Abraham believed God for what seemed impossible:

• A child in extreme old age
• A descendant line when his wife, Sarah was barren
• The willingness to sacrifice Isaac, trusting God would still keep His promise
• His life shows faith not just in words, but in costly obedience.

Noah was the first one in the Bible to be recorded building an altar.  He built one because he saw the Lord do an AMAZING thing.
Abraham builds them for other reasons.

Genesis 12:6-8
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. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.

Abram built altars based on God’s PROMISES, not based on His actions.
He built an altar there because God showed up there.  Just to mark the occasion and honor the Lord.

Genesis 13:12-18
12 So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. 13 But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.

14 After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. 15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. 16 And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! 17 Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.

God Appears → Abraham Builds

The altar follows revelation, not results
Marking the land as a place of worship and acknowledging God’s promise.

Abraham’s altars Mark Promise, Not Perfection!

Abraham still struggles, he’s not perfect…yet builds anyway.
This isn’t celebrating HIS obedience, or God’s actions, but God’s promise.

Jewish article about Abraham's altars

Love leaves marks!
Faith does the same.

Public Faith Leaves Physical Marks
Altars were visible declarations of trust and love.  Abram was marking a place, he was demonstrating his love for God OUTLOUD.

If we looked at Abraham’s path through life, following God, we would see a trail of altars. Could we say the same about your life? Are there places where you have declared your faith in God publicly?  Are there places where you have invited Him to the table, invited Him into your everyday life?  

Where has God shown up in your life recently?  Where has God moved and changed things for you?  These are the places where we should be thanking Him, remembering Him, inviting Him into our space.  

What intentional marker helps you remember His promise? (Examples: Sunday church, small group participation, outreach ministry, a specific place or time you spend with God)

MAKE time.  BUILD space.

An Altar can also represent something we sacrifice….as a payment for sin, or as an offering to God. You have to kill something in order to offer something…So it can be where we lay down some things, and only pick up what God gives you.  There are various forms of altars, that some scholars have attributed to Abram’s blueprint here..

• Altar of praise (honor)
• Altar of prayer (intimacy)
• Altar of peace (restoration)
• Altar of provision (surrender)

Genesis 22:2, “Take your son, your only son–yes, Isaac, whom you love so much–go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering…”

Total surrender means you have to be willing for something to die.  And it’s usually that thing that you’ve been hoping and praying for…the thing that you think you can’t live without.  God’s going to ask for it.  Not because He needs it, or because He’s even going to take it…but because HE deserves your worship, not it.  

We worship the GIVER, and not the gift. 
We TRUST the giver, and not the gift.

That’s the example Abraham set before us, the Father of our faith.  

Application:
What reminders do you need to build into your life this year, to honor God?
What sacrifices do you need to make right now, that would bring you closer to God?
Where do you need to trust God for ultimate provision?