Genesis: A Bloody Table
“The Lord appeared to Abram and said,
‘To your offspring I will give this land.’
So he built an altar there to the Lord,
who had appeared to him.”
Genesis 12:7
Do you have an altar in your church? Most do, but may not realize the significance. The notion of an altar goes back as far as man’s religious inclinations go. Before the Ten Commandments were issued, there were altars; before Noah built the ark, altars were built for worship. One of the early references to an altar is cited in Genesis 12. Abram obeyed the voice of the Lord, left Babylon and arrived safely in Canaan. There, God informs his servant that this land of Canaan is given to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendents. Abraham, in response, builds an altar and sacrifices to his God. A lamb was spent. Altars have always been bloody places.
So what about the altar in your church? You may think of it as “the communion table”. What blood is spilt upon this table? Jesus’ blood. The communion cup speaks of His blood, shed for us. It is His blood upon this table that covers our sin. This is truly is a “bloody table”. And at this bloody table, this altar, we find salvation – through faith.
© 2004 Donald D. Reigstad