Genesis 13:3-4 "And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD."
Abram had built an altar to the LORD between Bethel and Hai (Ai) when he first journeyed into the land of the Canaanites. A great famine drove him into Egypt. Even though Abram failed to fully honor God in Egypt, God brought him up out of the land again in prosperity. God made His power known to Pharoah and the Egyptians as well as to Abram. The LORD demonstrated His faithfulness to the promise He made to Abram to bless him and to cause him to be a blessing.
Abram came out of Egypt and returned to the place where this sojourn had started. The scripture tells us that this was not the first altar Abram had built (Genesis 12:7). However, it was at the place of this altar between Bethel and Hai that it is recorded that Abram called upon the name of the LORD (Genesis 12:8). After his experience in Egypt, Abram returned to the place where he had sought out the authority and character of God.
Have you ever found yourself in a season of famine? I do not necessarily mean the physical kind. Has there ever been a time in your life when there seemed to be a famine of your ability to hear God or feel His presence like you would like? Perhaps this prompted you to move away from the altar where you first called on the LORD.
In times of such distress, we tend to want to fix things ourselves. We hear of “another country” where the famine does not exist. We make our own determinations about where we will go and what we will do when we get there. I have found that these decisions often prove two things to me: my plans are not the best, and God never ceases to watch over me.
Like Abram, we may find ourselves returning to the place where our “tent had been at the beginning.” We return to the altar of a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. We again call upon the name of the LORD and find ourselves better able to deal with the next challenge. What a wonderful blessing it is when we can return to the place in our hearts where we learned to serve, trust, and love the LORD!