(Sorry, I had an operation and have been away from, ‘The Scarlet Worm’ for awhile but I am feeling better. First a little review!)

We have talked about, Adam the Garden-Tiller; Enoch the God-Pleaser; Noah the Ship-Builder, and now we turn our attention to Abraham the Altar-Builder. God created man (adom) in His own image, after His own likeness and Adam walked and talked with God bare naked in the garden, Gen. 2:25. Until he ate the forbidden fruit; Until he disobeyed God’s commandment; Until he rebelled against God; Until he lied to God and hid from Him; Until he refused to confess his sin and blamed his wife! But Adam taught us three things in the garden (gan) ‘the enclosed place’ about prayer before the fall, Gen. 3:8-10: 1-He knew the place, why? He was accustomed to it! 2-He knew the voice, why? He was accustomed to it! 3-He knew the time, why? He was accustomed to it! Adam and Eve were cast from the garden and gave birth to Cain and Abel. Cain slew Abel and was marked, then Adam and Eve bore Seth and he gave birth to Enosh, which means ‘mortal’ and in Gen. 4:26 we have the first mention of prayer in the Bible and it began with Enosh. “Then began man (mortal man) to call upon the name of the LORD.” (YHVH – the GOD of redemption) ‘Very Important!’

Then came Enoch the seventh from Adam who walked and talked with (eth) God for 300 years and he was not, for God took him. Gen. 5:21-24 (A pre-rapture rapture, the Hebrew word is ‘Translated’) From Enoch we learned three things about prayer in Heb. 11:6-7, along with his life, three life principles; He walked with God; He talked with God; and He lived with and for God! Without faith (pistis – noun) we are absolutely powerless to please God. We must believe (pisteuo – verb) that God is Who He says He is and we must believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently (ek-zeteo) seek Him. The key to Enoch is Faith, Believe, Trust, Confidence, etc. Enoch was a God-Pleaser not a man-pleaser, and that is the key to ‘E.F.P.’ An, ‘Effectual Fervent Prayer’ life.

Then we talked about No-akh the ship-builder, a man who (eth) ‘with God walked’ for 450 years and we learned three more principles for prayer for this godly man: 1- “No-akh found grace (khan) in the eyes of the LORD;” 2- No-akh was a just man (tsa-deek) righteous, lawful in conduct and character. In fact, he was the heir of righteousness by faith. Heb. 11:7; 3- No-akh was perfect (ta-mim) a man of impeccable integrity and a preacher of righteousness. II Peter 2:5. Three things you and I must have to have ‘E.F.P.’ with God; 1-Grace, unmerited, undeserved, unwarranted favor; 2-Righteousness, ethically, judicially and theocratically; 3-Integrity, moral purity of mind, body and spirit; II Pet. 1:5, add to you faith ‘virtue.’ As Micah 6:8 puts it, “Do justly, Love mercy, and Walk humbly before God.” Adam, Enoch, and Noah were men of faith, men of prayer, men who literally walked and talked face to face (paw-neem) with their Creator God. Not to mention Enosh – mortal man, who began to call on the name of the LORD. Question, is there prayer in Genesis? Is there?

Now we come to Abram or Abraham, the father of a multitude, the founder of the Hebrew nation, the first Jew, the friend of God, and the father of the Patriarchs. There are many types of Christ in the Scriptures but Abraham is the only type of God the Father. I don’t know how you remember this Bible character but let me offer you one suggestion; Abraham the altar builder! Everywhere he went, God had an altar! Matthew Henry said of this ‘Friend of God.’ “Wherever he had a tent, God had an altar and an altar sanctified by prayer.” I like that! Gen. 12:7 says, “And the LORD appeared unto Abram and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land;” and there builded he an altar unto the LORD who appeared unto him.” The Hebrew word for altar is (miz-bay-akh) a slaughter place, from the root (zaw-bakh) to slaughter, to kill, to sacrifice; (miz-bay-akh) is simply the place to do it. This is typical of the fact that the only way to God is through the sprinkled blood of a sacrifice picturing the blood of His Redeemer, Yeshua/Jesus. But why build or establish an altar? Remember No-akh built an altar in Gen. 8:20 when he got off the ark with his family and offered burnt offerings to God. But you say, the book of Leviticus was not written yet to tell him how to do it and besides was he a priest? Was Job, or Isaac, or Jacob? How about Abel in Gen 4:4? He brought the fat of the firstlings of his flock to God on an altar (miz-bay-akh). How did Abel know how to do all this? Ready for this great Biblical secret? His father Adam taught him?

The ‘Altar’ (miz-bay-akh) indicates that from the earliest times ‘Sacrifice’ (saw-bakh) accompanied prayer and worship, it’s a trilogy! Here is Abram (exalted father) building or establishing an altar in Shechem by the plain (el-own) oak or tree of Moreh. I don’t believe this was his first one, do you? He didn’t need instructions like Noah with his ark. The very next verse he moves to Bethel and the first thing he does is build an altar for prayer, worship and sacrifice, Gen. 12:8. Bethel on the west, ‘The House of God’ and ‘Ai or Hai’ on the east ruin or heap, translated bald or hard. Question, are you between God and a hard place right now, between Bethel and Ai? Then you need to build an altar for prayer, sacrifice and worship! Abram built or established an altar ‘to the Lord,’ why? V.8 “To call upon the name of the LORD!” Let me spell it out for you, in case you are having difficulty with this; Why did Abram build an altar? For ‘P-R-A-Y-E-R! Who is with him when he builds his altar in Shechem? Sarai, Lot and Abram’s household servants. Let’s sum it up in one word, his, ‘FAMILY!’ Who is with him when he builds an altar between Bethel and Ai? One word, his, ‘FAMILY!’ Who was with No-akh when he built an altar in Gen. 8:20? His wife, his sons, Shem, Ham, Japtheth and their wives or his, ‘FAMILY!’ Are you getting the same picture I am getting? Just about every time an altar is built to God in this Book it is for corporate – ‘FAMILY WORSHIP!’ Question? How is your ‘FAMILY ALTAR?’ Do you even have one anymore? Mine is missing quite a few stones. Always keep one thing in mind, an altar is a place for three things; ‘Prayer – Sacrifice – Worship!’ It is not a place for an in depth Bible study, a game of life or monopoly, or a family play time. It’s a time for ‘Prayer – Sacrifice – Worship’ and those three things cost; C-O-S-T!           ‘BETWEEN THE LINES’

“Father, we have been negligent, derelict,  in our family altars, please forgive us and help us to rebuild them, ‘stone by stone!’ Only You can ignite that fire once again, and may it ever be burning on the altars of our hearts and may it never, ever go out again. We bow before You in shame and disgrace with no right to call You Abba, Father but for the blood of Your Son Yeshua/Jesus Who died on a cross to give us access into your throne room. Oh, God hear the anguish of my heart, catch the tears from my eyes, I know You must feel the pain in my soul, so restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation and hold me in Your hand.” In Jesus Name!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Abram – Part #1)   9/14/11