January 25, 2014 Stop and Call

Stop and Call

Genesis 13

Genesis 13:3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

ABRAM, who will become Abraham, has experienced some remarkable life changes in a short time. He has traveled on foot, with his servants and his livestock about 1,000 miles from his home in Haran ultimately to an area called Bethel, about 10 miles north of the future city of Jerusalem. Abrsm went from there to Egypt, got into some trouble there (See Gen 12.) Then he returned to Bethel in this account today.

      Bethel means “house of God”. Of course, there was literally no house or building here. These nomadic people and small tribes only lived in tents. But “house” contains a larger meaning as it points to a place of safety and refuge. A house is a place where you can sit down to have a meal and to rest at night. A house is where order and peace reign as a wise, godly man oversees it.

      Abram goes to Bethel after his trouble in Egypt, it seems to get his “faith feet” back under him. He needs to rebuild his relationship with God. So he goes to a place he has previously experienced God. Note how he goes to worship. He built an altar and “calls on the name of the Lord”.

      “Father,” he might have said, “help me. I need to know your care, your tender touch, your firm direction.”

      Abram worshiped God to reconnect with God, and he was prepared for the next challenges God would send his way.

LIFE Link: Worship connects you with God.