Genesis12_8

Genesis 12:8

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.

Bethel means the house of God in Hebrew. Contrarily, Hai on the east of Bethel means a heap in Hebrew. Obviously, it expresses that everything is like a heap without meaning and value except the house of God. Thus, Abram pitched his tent on the east of Bethel. A tent is a temporary dwelling, because it is pitched quickly and removed conveniently. It indicates that Abram lived a life without root on the earth, and he was seeking a heavenly hometown from God Elohim.

After building an altar, Abram began to pitch his tent. This expressed that Abram put the things of God first and later dealt with his own living issues. It is not a religious creed that we should do what Abram did. It simply teaches us that when we fear and follow God, we will take Him as our center and put His things first. Yet it does not mean that God is a dictator who rules over us.

Since we have fallen, our natural beings have become rebellious. For example, if a man falls into water with a deeply rebellious nature, you may want to save him. However, he does not listen to whatever you instruct. Hence, you cannot save him because of his uncooperative behavior. In other words, we are similar to the man who has fallen into the water. Although God has called man and led them again and again throughout human history, they rebel and refuse to listen to Him.

Therefore, a man who follows God is also an obedient person. We should build an altar everywhere throughout our whole life to show that we obey God and take Him as our center, because we listen to Him.