Between the House of God and Ruin
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
8/19 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 11; Romans 9; Jeremiah 48; Psalm 25
Genesis 12:8
From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.
CHRISTIANITY
In Genesis 12:5-7, when God had spoken to Abram, he was in Shechem, located in the lower Galilee region. Abram built an altar there after he received the promise from God. He moved about 16 miles south of Shechem (as the dove flies; 25-30 miles of actual travel through the mountainous terrain) and pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai.
Bethel was not named Bethel until Abram’s grandson Jacob named it (Gen 28:19), when Jacob fled from Esau who wanted to kill him (Gen 27:41). Bethel, בֵּית־אֵל (bāyt-ĀL) in Hebrew, means “house of God” (Gen 28:22). Obviously, this name, like the name of YHVH (Ex 6:2-3), is given as a reference by the Holy Spirit through Moses so the reader can know where the patriarch was on his journey. Ai, or “Hai” (KJV), עַי (a-EE) in Hebrew, comes from a root that means “heap” or “ruin.” Yet here we have a verse that gives us spiritual insights into a life that is “hidden in Christ with God” (Col 3:3), dwelling between the blessed presence of God in Christ (Bethel) and the ruin of sin, wavering faith, the corruption of flesh, the evils of an ungodly world, and the spiritual forces of Satan’s minions (Ai).
In one place, the apostle expressed his Christianity like this:
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing…. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:18-19, 24
Here in our verse, it is as if the Holy Spirit winks at us to give us the solution, whereas Abram, the man of faith, built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. The apostle explains the same in his epistle:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
And again,
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13
Often, we see the latter verse in its context of initial salvation from the Christian’s evangelistic efforts and sometimes forget that the power of this verse also ties into the ongoing work of that initial salvation (Phil 2:12-13). We are to call upon the name of our Lord Jesus always. We are a simple and sinful people. Our wise and wonderful God hasn’t given us a complex roadmap for sorrowful repentance unto the joy of salvation (2 Cor 7:10). He simply tells us to trust Him and call upon Him by name (Acts 4:11-12).
Hallelujah! What a Savior!