Genesis13_18

Genesis 13:18

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.

Abram removed his tent to a new place where he experienced more communication with God Elohim. After receiving the promise from God, Abram began his new journey on the earth. He came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron. Mamre means strength in Hebrew, and Hebron means union or communication. With his movements on the earth, the places where Abram passed through or dwelt carried spiritual meanings. Especially, the names of those places indicated the significance of what Abram experienced. It was not an accident but the arrangement of God Elohim, because those places with their names stood there before Abram arrived, except for a few places that Abram himself named.

Since Abram experienced more communication with God, he received more strength from God. The more communication we have with God, the more strength we get from Him. Although we do not have the same situation as Abram, to whom God appeared and spoke directly, we have the Bible with the whole word of God. In some sense, we receive a more thorough and complete word than Abram did. Therefore, if we read only one or two verses in the Bible and reflect on them for several minutes, we will receive strength from God. If you keep reading the Bible for several months, you will come to experience your God in a particular way.

While experiencing God, Abram also built an altar to God in the plain of Mamre. It is the second time that Abram built an altar. It is a testimony to the world that a people following God live a different life from the fallen world. If a man cooperates with God on the earth, there will be a universal proclamation against God’s adversary Satan. An altar is used for burning sacrifices offered to God. Hence, Abram expressed that he was a man of sacrifice before God, giving up all that he had and offering himself to God Elohim. Abram believed the word of God and offered himself to God.