There are countless examples in Scripture of God’s people either building an altar or going to the altar in order to repent, worship, or ask God to do something incredible in their lives. While you may not have access to the same kind of altars that people in the Bible had access to, there is nothing stopping you from setting up your own altar. Today, discover what it means to come to the altar and how doing so can change your life.
“O come to the altar
The Father’s arms are open wide
Forgiveness was bought with
The precious blood of Jesus Christ”
-O Come to the Altar/Elevation Worship 2016
The Bible is ripe with stories of men and women who either built an altar to the Lord or went to an existing altar where they could meet with God. In some cases, these heroes of the faith went to the altar because they needed God to do something incredible in their lives. Their backs were against the wall, and the only hope they had of surviving what was in front of them was divine intervention from God. Other people in Scripture went to the altar because there was some type of sin in their lives that they needed to repent of. They realized the error of their ways and knew that they needed to encounter the presence of God if they were going to get their lives back on track. Finally, the Bible tells stories of some people who went to the altar simply because they wanted to thank God and to spend some time in worship because they recognized His goodness in their lives. All of those are good reasons for us to find our own altars.
One of the most important aspects of today’s study is determining what an altar is. Depending on the layout of the church that you attend, there may be an elevated platform at the front that is referred to as the altar. While this is certainly one example of an altar, altars are not only about construction. In fact, you can visit an altar in your own life without even being in a church building.
While people in the Old Testament frequently constructed stone or wooden altars in order to commune with God, this was because God did not live inside those believers. Those events took place thousands of years before the Holy Spirit came, so Old Testament heroes of the faith had to construct an altar in order to commune with God. We don’t have to do that.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with visiting the altar that is found in your home church, we have the ability to set up an altar for our souls anywhere at any time. Our altars are about the posture and position of our hearts, which means we can set up an altar and communicate with God anywhere that we are. Today, come to the altar. The Father’s arms are open wide.
The Altar is a Place for Repentance
Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
The story of David’s fall from grace is one of the most popular in the Old Testament. We’re not going to take a deep dive into his fall today, but in order to understand this verse, we do need to understand what he had done. David was King of Israel, and had sent his armies out to war. Instead of leading them, he stayed in the palace. While there, he saw a woman bathing on the roof of a nearby home. He asked who she was and found out she was married to one of his soldiers, Uriah. Instead of backing away because she was married, David sent for her, had an affair with her, and got her pregnant.
In order to try to cover up his sin, David made an even worse mistake. He sent for Uriah, and tried to get him drunk so he would go home and sleep with his wife. David assumed Uriah would take him up on his offer, and they could pass the baby off as Uriah’s. It didn’t work, so David sank even farther into sin. He wrote a note to the captain of the army ordering them to set Uriah at the front of the battle and then fall back so Uriah would be killed. Uriah delivered the letter himself. David became a lying, adulterous, drunken murderer. He needed an altar.
The mistakes that you have made may not seem to be as large as what David did, but God does not quantify sin. What David did is no worse than when we gossip about someone or tell a lie in order to get ahead at work.
Today, ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas where you have sin in your life that you have not repented of. When He does that, visit the altar of your soul and ask for God’s grace and forgiveness.
The Altar is a Place of Worship
Genesis 35:6-7 (NIV)
Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Jacob had lived a troubled life. In fact, he was born into conflict with his twin brother. You can read more about their rocky relationship in the chapters the precede this one. After cheating his brother out of his inheritance, Jacob was forced to flee his home. While Jacob was good at many domestic activities, his brother, Esau, was a tough, strong, rugged hunter. He was afraid for his life. After he ran away, God appeared to Jacob one night, and Jacob wound up in a wrestling match with the angel of the Lord. This interaction changed Jacob’s life forever, prompting God to tell him to build an altar in that place.
You can set up an altar for your own soul where you can have a true interaction with God. When we commune with Him, worship is the natural byproduct. Jacob didn’t worship from a place of perfection or even joy. Instead, He was scared, broken, and alone. However, He chose worship.
Turn off everything that would distract you and spend some time in worship at the altar of your soul.
The Altar is a Place of Surrender
2 Kings 19:14 (NIV)
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.
The letter that Hezekiah received was filled with bad news. It had been sent from the king of a nearby country, and it was sent to let Hezekiah know that the king who sent it had brought together some allies and they were coming to destroy Jerusalem. Hezekiah knew he was outnumbered, and there was no way that he could win this battle.
Instead of panicking, Hezekiah took the letter to the altar in the temple and “spread it out before the Lord.” Hezekiah surrendered and asked God to do the miraculous. That’s exactly what God did. When the opposing armies came against Jerusalem, God supernaturally defeated them.
If you’re overwhelmed by a situation in your life, take it to the altar. God will do what you can’t just like He did for Hezekiah.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for meeting me at the altar of my soul. I need You to do what only You can do because I am overwhelmed. Forgive me for any unrepented sins in my life today. I worship You because I have been in Your presence, and I know there is peace. In Christ’s name, Amen.