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. 28:16-19).
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. 12:8). God begins in Genesis showing that He has a place of His choosing where He meets with man.
“And Jacob came to... a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel” (Gen. 33:18, 20).
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.
“And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee” (Gen. 35:1).
The altar in the place of God’s choosing, called El-beth-el (Gen. 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
“Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes” (Deut. 12:13-14).
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
“The Lord commanded... that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (1 Chron. 21:18).
Why did the destroying angel stop at this point? Why was David told to build at this spot? This was the very spot where Abraham, by faith, offered up his only son Isaac in obedience to God. It was the same mountain about which the prophet Isaiah spoke, where death would be swallowed up in victory (Isa. 25:7-8). Golgotha was on this mountain!
Failure and Faithfulness
“I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand... even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David My servant may have a light alway before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen Me to put My name there” (1 Kings 11:35-36).
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 19:14).
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 4:21-23).
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. 18:20).
Unity of the Place
“Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:14-15).
This little group of believers was not part of the assembly until they had been baptized by the Spirit into the body (1 Cor. 12:13). 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
“And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare.... And they said unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare?” (Luke 22:8-9).
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)