An Altar or a Tree?

So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines.  Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.  And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days. (Genesis 21:32-34 NASB)

In a few locations (precisely 3) Abraham builds an altar on a spot where God speaks to him.  One is Shechem, one is at Bethel, and the third is in Hebron.  He has been to the Negev before, and from what I hear, there are plenty of rocks with which to build an altar, but he doesn't.  Here, Abraham plants a tree, a shade tree, and calls on the name of Yahweh, El Olam.  Why the tree and not a stone altar?

In this place, Abraham has found an unexpected pocket of righteousness in Abimelech and his people (except for the grumpy shepherds who stole his well).  Here God spoke on his behalf to the king and Sarah is protected and Abraham rewarded (for lying, but that's a previous entry).  In this place Isaac is born, circumcised, and weaned.  And, most recently, Abraham buys a well back.  So why the tree?

It's the desert.  One typical characteristic of deserts is the lack of trees.  When they are seen, it usually means the presence of a spring or oasis.  To desert folk of nearly any culture, they represent life.  But there are desert trees that do not necessarily mean water or a spring.  Tamarisk trees do well in deserts and can be found on three different continents and wide varieties of deserts, from high to valley deserts.  In the US, they can be found in West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  They are present in the Sahara of Africa, the Arabian Desert of the Arabian Peninsula, and in the southern wilderness of Palestine. 

Found at this website

When my oldest sister was married, she and her husband planted a "Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Tree" at the church.  It lasted many years (not as long as their marriage, they're still going!), and was a growing thriving reminder of their relationship.  I think the tree serves a similar purpose here.  It isn't that uncommon in the desert, it doesn't necessarily mark water or refer to "life", rather it marks a meaningful event in the life of Abraham.  That location became a place of meaning for him.  Rather than an altar of stone, he plants something that the Philistines would not have considered remarkable.  It wasn't a symbol for them, it was for him.  For them it marked his well?  Possibly.  But for him it marked a place where he met and received from his God.

Where is my "tree"?  Where would I plant them if I were to follow this practice?  Where has my Master fulfilled His promises to me, protected me, blessed me?  Where have I "redeemed a well"?  There are several places for me that fit this description, but the most recent is here in Northern Nevada.  I would have to be blind and foolish beyond description not to notice how clearly I have been led here, established here, and blessed here.  It's really amazing to review.  I am still experiencing blessing and the presence of my Master.  Ironically, I'm in the desert too.  I could plant a tree, and a Tamarisk might do really well here.  I wonder where I could find one.

Meandering Around Canaan

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."  So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.  Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.  Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.  Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9 NASB)

Abram completes the journey from Ur begun by his father years before (see Gen. 11:31-32).  He took with him the ones of his family who would go, all their stuff and headed out.  He left Haran, a place probably named for his little brother who died in Ur before they left, and he left behind his brother Nahor and his family.  His father had died, never completing the trip around the "Fertile Crescent."  So, in a real sense, he's not necessarily leaving "home" per se, but half his family.  It was still hard.

The promise begins as a promise that he will be a great nation; a nation that will bless all the families of the earth.  It begins there and begins to take shape as Abram travels the length of Canaan.  His descendants will possess Canaan; the land he walks through.  And as he passes through, he builds altars; stone object of worship.  These are things used to literally give something up to the One sending him through the land, away from his family; as if he hadn't given up enough, and he hadn't.

God speaks to him at Shechem, and he builds an altar.  He proceeds to Beth-El and God does not speak to him, but he builds another altar anyway.  He then proceeds to the Negeb, a more difficult, more arid place.  There he does not build an altar; at least not yet.  Could it be that the trouble he winds up in during the latter half of this chapter is due to him not building an altar in Negeb?

At what point do I need to stop giving stuff up to my Master?  When is it a good idea to not build another altar and send stuff up in smoke to the One giving it to me in the first place?  It's not that I would withhold the stuff, but the rather the attitude that doesn't see giving it up as necessary; it's just not important to build the altar at this point.  Is that as dangerous as it sounds?  Could the apathy that ignores the importance of offering as a part, the central part, of worship be devastating? 

It is easy for me to get caught up in "worship"; the elements of song and word.  But it is not always easy for me to see the part where I give up something as valuable, or at least as valuable as the other parts.  It was in worship at the Temple that the poor widow gave all she had (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4).  It was her Creator who made a point of stopping to watch what everyone else missed.  Isn't that the part of worship I want to leave off, or leave out?  It's the hard one where I do the expression instead of the worship leaders or preachers.  I like spectating, and I have a wonderful church in which to spectate worship.  But I must be the one making the altar, and giving something precious back to my Master.  Only then have I truly ascribed worth to my Master in faith.