God’s Altar and Jacob’s Altar
“And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not” (Gen. 28:16-1916And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. (Genesis 28:16‑19)).
Jacob’s journey of 1000 miles must have caused him to spend many nights sleeping with a pillow of stone. God appeared to him in that particular place, the very spot where He appeared to Abraham and where Abraham built his altar (Gen. 12:88And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12:8)). God begins in Genesis showing that He has a place of His choosing where He meets with man.
There is a difference between this altar, which Jacob builds on his own, and the next, which God instructs him to build. He calls this altar El-Elohe-Israel (God the God of Israel), referring to himself and his individual blessings. He has chosen the place where he will live and build his altar. But, after learning painful lessons there, he is ready to submit to God’s choice of a place to live and worship.
The altar in the place of God’s choosing, called El-beth-el (Gen. 35:77And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. (Genesis 35:7)), means the God of the house of God. This altar suggests to us worship on the basis of the whole house of God worship in the very presence of God. He does not ask Jacob to build an altar while he is away serving Laban. He names the place where He desires communion with Jacob, the place of His appointment.
God’s Warning to Moses
Moses dared not choose a place according to his thoughts. He didn’t know the place or even the tribe, nor did he know how or when God would identify the place. But he did know that God would choose one place and that His people were not to offer their burnt offerings in any other place.
The Lord’s Command to David
Failure and Faithfulness
Though God allowed His people to be divided, He affirms that His appointed place is still Jerusalem. The failure of God’s people did not change His appointed place, nor would it be changed until God’s own Son was cast out of it (and later His messenger Stephen) with the message, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:1414But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (Luke 19:14)).
The Person and the Place
“Jesus saith... The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (John 4:21-2321Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (John 4:21‑23)).
Jesus prophesies that the physical location of worship will be set aside; it will be replaced with a spiritual location: true worship in spirit and truth. The Lord Jesus identifies this place of communion: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)).
Unity of the Place
This little group of believers was not part of the assembly until they had been baptized by the Spirit into the body (1 Cor. 12:1313For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)). Notice how God carefully guards against there being a separate Samaritan assembly. All through Scripture God has a place of His appointment where He desires His people to meet with Him. It is not for us to decide where we will meet the Lord, but to ask, “Am I in the place of His appointment?”
The Place for All Believers
There is a place of His choosing. The Spirit of God (typified by the man with the pitcher of water) guides to it. It is a large place room enough for all believers (who are not disqualified by evil) to be there. It is not a place devoted to a particular doctrine or to a special (sectarian) group of Christians. It is an upper room, morally separate from the world. It is a furnished room, where there is no need for man’s appointments or “aids” to worship.
P. M. Hadley (adapted)