Abrams Memorials

 Abrams Memorials

When Abram journeyed through Canaan and to Egypt afterwards he made some altars at very specific places. In Genesis the places where altars were made were often named a certain way to give a reminder of a certain event.
No sacrifice is specifically mentioned, but when someone would journey through the land and find this altar it would remind them of a certain experience or event.
Let us look at the example of Abram:

[Gen 12:7-8 KJV] 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.


[Gen 13:3-4 KJV] 3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.


[Gen 13:18 KJV] 18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.


In these passages we see that Abram made a lot of altars.

In all of these cases God either spoke to him in the situation or he called to God. It seems to be that when he had a connection with God, he made this altar.

In one of these cases he found the altar he had made before. He called on the name of the LORD there again. 

These altars could in this way serve as a memorial just like names do.

When Abram would see the altar or even other people, the event that had happened there could come to mind and move someone to seek God again.

Symbols and memorials for the use of remembrance and to stir people up is not a wrong thing to do.
In fact, humanity works well with visible signs. God has often worked with visible signs to accommodate to humanity.

It would be good to do similar things. Of course we don’t have to build an altar, but we can make or use visible signs and memorials to remind ourselves of certain events we have personally experienced.

This can be in a collective as a group, but also personally. When we know that God has really spoken to us or guided us we can use these visible signs to remind us of these events later in life. Sometimes this will encourage us a lot. Or it may stir us up.

We may call upon the name of the LORD again like Abram.

The principle is that visible signs help much to remind us of the things we need to remember and to stir us up to do more.


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