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The Altar - A Place of Declaration

 Hebrews 10:23 - "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”

The altar is a place to make declarations of faith. 1 Timothy 6:12 - “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” In Genesis 28:10-12 Jacob journeyed to a place named Luz. Genesis 28:11 says, “So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.”


In verse 12 he dreams of a ladder reaching up into heaven. The angels were ascending and descending on it. In verse 13 the Lord is standing at the top of the ladder. Verses 13-15 records the words of the Lord to Jacob, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”


An overnight stop became a meeting place with God. Genesis 28:18-19 gives the details of Jacob’s reaction, “Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.”


Jacob built an altar and renamed the place Bethel, meaning the house of God. He then made this declaration in verses 20-22, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.’”


New revelation, new vision, and new assignments are revealed at the altar. God desires to meet with us at the altar. The altar is a place of declaration.

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