Altar Of Identity

At some point, we must all face the altar of identity. 

At Genesis 17, God made His covenant with Abraham, giving him a new name and ordaining his identity and purpose: “Walk before Me and be blameless…” Abraham’s identity and purpose was to walk in the likeness of God— blameless. Then, God ordained Abraham’s job: “And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.” We have the distinction being made here between Abraham’s purpose (Gen 17:1) and Abraham’s work (Gen 18:18,19). But the problem that mankind tends to have, is to grasp at many other things to become our identity and purpose rather than walking in the image and likeness of God. 

God will not allow those who bear His image to find their identity and purpose in anything other than Himself, which brings us to Genesis Chapter 22 where “God tested Abraham.” In Abraham’s Mt. Moriah moment, we see God asking Abraham to lay upon the altar the one thing that would forever be a temptation for him to find his identity and purpose in other than God Himself. Abraham’s identity was not to be found in his posterity in Isaac. That would be his great work for God, not his identity. His identity was to be solely found in His walking with God. Because walking with God is mankind’s purpose. 

So we see “Abraham built the altar there… He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar.” Because you cannot make a name for yourself when what you “do” for the Lord is utterly consumed by Him… we can attach no name, no legacy to ashes on the altar. What will our answer be when the Lord asks of us our Isaac? To lay upon the altar our very identity? To lay upon the altar our “great work for the Lord”? Are we willing to “Come out of her..”? Does our heart look back like Lot’s wife? Are we reluctant to lay down our bricks like the men of Babel? Do we consider taking something from the house or retrieving our cloak? 

At the midnight cry, will we be ready to walk away? At the midnight cry will you leave a legacy or will you leave ashes?

(Matt 25:44) For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

(Phil 3:20-4:1) But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

(Gen 12:7,8; 13:3,4,18; 22:9,15-18) The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD… From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent… There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD… From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel.. where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD… Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre.. and there he built an altar to the LORD… When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood… The angel of the LORD called to Abraham.. and said.. “because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you.. through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

(Heb 11:8-10) By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents… For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 

(John 14:3 -6) “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”