Day by Day with Martin Luther

Read: Exodus 5:22-7:25 Matthew 18:21-19:12 Proverbs 5:22-23

“An Altar to the Lord”

“Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
[Genesis 12:7]

Here for the first time you see that through the holy patriarch is an exile and a sojourner, nevertheless, on account of the promise made to his seed, he gives consideration to a definite habitation. Now for the first time he builds an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. That is, he appoints a definite place where the church should come together to hear the Word of God, offer prayers, praise God, and honor sacrifices to God; for this is what it means to build an altar. The Lord Himself, who appeared to Abraham there, selected it; for the Lord is the first founder of all things. As we read in Genesis 28:17: “and he was afraid and said, ‘how awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ “ At a place such as this, where the Word is truly proclaimed, God dwells among us.