As Abraham’s offspring something remarkable has been given to us by YHWH. It was pictured originally by the land of Canaan that YHWH gave to Abraham and his offspring as an everlasting possession in Genesis 12:7 and 17:8. But what Paul understood that to mean in Romans 4:13, was that YHWH had promised “Abraham and his offspring they would be heirs (or possessors) of the whole world.”
The “land of Canaan,” then, pictured the entire world and the children of Abraham inheriting it, which is exactly what Paul preached as “the message of salvation” in Acts 13:26. This was “the good news” he referred to in verse 32, that “What God promised our fathers (verse 33) he has fulfilled for us, their children.” In other words, ever since Jesus was “raised up” (33), the promises YHWH made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the “fathers”) are now being fulfilled in us, their children. Meaning that the blessing of all nations promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 is in the process of happening in his living children right now.
And it’s when this reality of YHWH and what he was promising hit Abraham, that’s when he built an altar of rocks. It stood as a sort of permanent “living” memorial and reminder of the brilliance and love of YHWH, not only in his plan for all humanity, but also in his plan for them as the ones he’d be fulfilling his plan through.
It’s not surprising, then, that this picture of a living altar in celebration and constant reminder of YHWH’s plans for the world, hit Peter the same way.
Because Peter, when describing our purpose as Christians, used the analogy of “living stones” in 1 Peter 2:5. We are “like living stones,” he wrote, “being built into a spiritual house.” And it tied in perfectly with why Abraham built his little “spiritual house” of rocks too, because in verse 9 Peter writes, “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises (excellence) of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Abraham’s altars or Peter’s stones, the meaning for us is the same. We are living stones and altars in this world, “being built into a spiritual house” displaying the brilliance and love of YHWH. Wherever we are, and wherever we go, therefore, that’s who and what we are. So next blog: “What’s it like being a living altar?”
