Genesis, Message 14: Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 14

Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

In the last week's message, we learned about the experiences of the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Spirit - in the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The experience of only one or two of them is not enough for us to be God's people. We need the experiences of all the 3, realising that God is the Source of everything, we are the receivers of God's grace, and we are to have our natural life dealt with.
And now we are coming to the life of Abraham, the father of all the believers. No one who has read the book of Genesis can ever forget the name of this man of faith. He is one of the most important persons in the bible. God called Him out from his home to the promised land, Canaan. Even though he lived long time ago, we can by no means say that we have nothing to do with him. All the believers have received God's grace and blessing through his Seed, Jesus Christ, and by corporately becoming his sons, the Hebrews.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16 NKJV)
... just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-7 NKJV)

Let's learn some spiritual lessons from Abraham's life together. Firstly, I'm going to discuss about God's appearing to him. Then I will detail the 3 key places in Canaan in which an altar was built, and conclude with the principles of the altar and the tent.

God's appearing to Abraham

God's purpose of calling Abraham

¹ Now the Lord had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)

In Haran, God appeared to Abraham, and and called him. He clearly told him what the purpose, the plan, the promise and the predestination of his calling were. The threefold promises to Abraham shown in these 3 verses: the land, the nation and the blessing to all the families of the earth. And in these three promises, we also see the threefold goal of his calling.

1. To show him the land of Canaan

God called Abraham to leave his home, his country and his kindred, to cross the river, and to enter the land of Canaan.
Why did Abraham have to leave his home and his relatives? His home was in Ur of Chaldea, which was referred to in Joshua 24:2 as a land that served other gods. Moreover, his father was an idol-worshipper. God therefore called him out of the land so that his life would be fully consecrated to God, being set apart for Him, to fulfil His purpose in the promised land. The first goal of his calling was that he and his descendents would possess the land, carry out His authority, and express His glory to the land.
To enter the land, he needed to cross the river. This may be the reason he was later called "Abram the Hebrew," since the word Hebrew means "to pass over." In the context of his life, the Hebrew probably means the river crosser. Symbolically, Chaldea and Babylon signify the ruined and corrupted man filled with idolatry. In order to fulfil God's purpose, Abraham had to cross the river and become a new man, as symbolised by Canaan.
Like Abraham, we are also called to cross the river. We are to be consecrated people, being in the world but not of this world. Every believer is to be the river crosser, by going through the process of baptism, according to its spiritual meaning, and coming out of the water, thereby becoming a new man who belongs to God and lives for God. By this means, we can be used by God to express Him and participate with Him in bringing His authority and His will to the earth.

2. To make him a great nation that would become God's people

God called him out alone, but He would eventually make him a nation. His desire was to gain a group of people who would become His people. And this people would be His vessel of mercy that contained Him and become His testimony on the earth.
Brothers and sisters, one-man show or individualism is not the means whereby God carries out His plan on the earth. We all are called by Him individually, and we are also to experience Him subjectively and individually, but we cannot live alone and grow alone. We are to be with His people. Only when we all are His corporate vessel can we become an effective testimony on the earth, bringing many people to His kingdom. We are not made a great man, but His great nation.

3. To bless all the families of the earth through him.

Even though God selected Abraham to be his testimony and to be made a great nation of His people, God's grace was by no means limited to this nation. God's ultimate aim was that all the nations will also be blessed through Abraham and His nation. Not only did God call him to receive grace, but he also called him to transmit this grace to all the families of the earth.
Likewise, through our faith in Christ, we have become "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people." (1 Peter 2:9) This is by grace alone. However, we are not only called to receive grace, but we are also called to transmit this amazing grace to other people. We are blessed to be blessing. We are given grace so that we can give this grace to others. We are to be the nation through which God blesses all the nations.

The callings of Abraham

If we read Abraham's story superficially, we may think that Abraham must have been a super human being with giant faith. It seems that he obediently followed God's calling without any delay or reluctance, thereby being recorded in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11. And it is also tempting to think that because we have too little faith, we cannot do a great thing for God as Abraham did.
However, if we carefully investigate his story, we will see that God appeared to Abraham more than once, and Abraham refused to fully obey what God told him to do. As he was a human, he was not without flaw. God had appeared to him at least twice until he successfully entered the land.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, "Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you." (Acts 7:2-3 NKJV)

God first appeared to him while he was living in Mesopotamia, and called him out of the land. The instruction indicated that he had to leave his relatives as well. But according to Genesis 11:31-32, we know that he failed to completely follow God's command. He left the land, but for some unknown reason, he stopped in Haran and did not go further to the promised land. Moreover, instead of being the leader who came out of the land, he was a follower being led by his Father. Instead of leaving his relatives, all members in his family came out with him.

³¹ And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32 NKJV)

Not until his father died did God appear to Abraham again in Haran (Genesis 12), and told him to continue his journey to the promised land. Even though he eventually got into the land this time, he took Lot with him. And the story afterwards tells us that bringing Lot with him was a big mistake. Abraham had to go through difficult situations because of Lot, and Lot's descendants were becoming enemies of Israel.
However, regardless of Abraham's failure to follow God's command, God kept appearing and speaking to him. God never gave up on Him. God was the One who initiated the plan, and God was also the One who accomplished it. Doesn't this show God's loving-kindness and grace?
Furthermore, God did not only speak to Abraham, but He also appeared to him. In the previous chapters, we see that since the fall of Adam, God had spoken to quite a few people, such as Noah, but He had never appeared to anyone. He started to appear to man again here. This implies that Abraham's calling was so special. God was about to start His redemptive plan, delivering man from sin, with Abraham. Therefore Abraham's calling was not a little thing. It was a part of God's greatest plan to redeem the people He loved. Hallelujah that God did not appear to a perfect one. God appeared to Abraham, an ordinary man, and accomplished His redemptive plan through him.
Brothers and sisters, we are not different from Abraham. Perhaps we are just ordinary people among numerous people in this world. But you must know that the same God will never give up on us. He keeps speaking and appearing to us. The rest is our part to pay attention at His speaking, behold His appearing, and voluntarily respond to His calling.

The land of Canaan

In the land of Canaan, God appeared to Abraham quite a few times, and he built an altar in the places that God appeared to him. There are 3 key places in which the altars were built: Shechem, Bethel, and Hebron. These three places represent the whole land of Canaan, which symbolised a new man in Christ. The meanings of these names tell us what the land is like.

1. Shechem (Shoulder)—the Place of Strength

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (Genesis 2:6 NKJV)

The word "Shechem" means "shoulder," which is a strong part of body. Therefore the first characteristic of Canaan is the strength. It is not our own strength, but God's. And it not only represents God's miraculous strength, but it also signifies His power of love that brings us to eternal life!
In this place, there was also the oak of Moreh, which means "teaching." The oak was in Shechem. Therefore this teaches us that without the power of life, the doctrine and knowledge are but nothing. We need to abide in this power of life so that we can comprehend the spiritual truth and can teach it to others.

2. Bethel (the House of God)—the Body of Christ

And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 2:8 NKJV)

Bethel means the House of God. The second characteristic of the land is the house of God, which is the Body of Christ.
It is very important that we see the principle of the Body, the Church. God needs to build a house for Himself, and this house is not a material one. It is an organism composed of His people who are fulfilling His purpose. And to create this house, He needs to deliver us from individualism, and blend His people together. This is not only a principle; it is life. We not only need the power of life, but we also need to live in the Body and avoid doing anything independently.

3. Hebron (Fellowship)—the Principle of Fellowship

Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. (Genesis 13:18 NKJV)

Hebron means fellowship. And in this place, there is another oak named Memre, meaning "fatness" or "strength."
When we clearly see the meaning and the significance of the principle of the Body, we will automatically see how important the fellowship is. Consequently, we will treasure the fellowship with other brothers and sisters, and spontaneously do it. We will not feel that spending time with saints is a burden, but a joy. We will treasure this fellowship without the feeling that it is a burden to us. And it is by this fellowship that we will gain all the fatness, riches, and strength from the Lord.
May God open our eyes so that we see how important it is to experience the power of life, to live in the Body and to fellowship with His children.

The Principles of the Altar and the Tent

The principle of the altar

Wherever Abraham encountered God, he could not help but build an altar. And the altar was for burnt offering.
Likewise, whenever we encounter God, we can't help but build an altar. And the burnt offering that we are going to offer to God is our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to offer all that we are, so that He can live the resurrection life in us. We are to realise that we are not our own, but we are already crucified with Christ, and the life we now live is Christ. This is the principle of the altar.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The principle of the tent

Abraham not only built an altar when God appeared to him, but he also built a tent. Interestingly, Abraham did not build a big palace or castle, even though he seemed to be rich enough to build one. He decisively built a tent, which was temporary. Therefore the principle of the tent is that all that we have are just temporary. This world is not our permanent home. We are just strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We have to see this principle. If we do, we will be able to praise the Lord even when we experience losses or face troubles. We will confess that there is nothing else on the earth that we will desire but God. And when we fix our eyes upon the Lord, we will have the mind like this automatically, as we will see the things on earth grow strangely dim in the light of Christ's glory and grace!

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21 NKJV)
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:24-25 NKJV)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Helen Howarth Lemmel, hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus")

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 14.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapters 2 and 3.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)