Altars, Part 1

God has made Himself known to humanity since Eden (Genesis 3:8). In Genesis 6, The Word Says that, through the generations, corruption increased on the earth.

Genesis 6:4 first outlines the propagation of the Nephilim (giants). Such beings are often referred to as "demigods" in other religions, being the offspring of a human and a god. The Hebrew word is "nepilim". According to Logos Bible App, the root of that Hebrew word is actually "naphal" which means: 1: to fall. 2: to be cast down. 3: to cause to fall. 4: fugitive. 5: inferior. 6: to be judged. 6: lost. 7: lying, etc (Strong's 5307).

Scripture uses the term "god" repeatedly, in both the Old and New Testaments. Here is a link listing some of those Scriptures. Christians also know God as the name of Yahweh. But the Hebrew word "Elohim" can refer to The Supreme God and to pagan gods.

• Deuteronomy 10:17 (ESV) For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

• Psalm 135:5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

• Psalm 136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

To be clear: Yahweh Created all other beings, both temporal beings and spiritual beings. Yahweh Alone is Alpha and Omega. Genesis 6:2 refers to "the sons of God" mating with human women by which the Nephilim were born. There's a deep dive to be had here, but this post is to discuss altars. For that purpose, let us realize other gods exist. And they are spiritual entities that desire to be worshipped.

God then Announces His Judgement in form of The Flood. Pay attention to God's Wording here:

• Genesis 6:11-13 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

God Chooses to preserve Noah and his family. Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

Noah fathered Ham, who fathered Cush, who fathered Nimrod. Nimrod founded Babel as "the beginning of his kingdom." Then the Tower of Babel is built. So within 3 generations we have human empires being built, with monuments to human effort and human ability to "ascend to the heavens" themselves.

Noah had another son, Shem. In Shem's bloodline, Abram was the 9th generation down. Abram was living in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were renowned astrologers and magi, and they built large ziggurats (similar to the Tower of Babel) as temples to their gods. The "Great Ziggurat" at Ur was the most famous ziggurat in Mesopotamia. Ur was a city in ancient Mesopotamia, close to Babylon. The area is now modern-day southern Iraq. The word "Ur" actually means "fire." In that region, there was an earlier pagan leader named Zoroaster, whose followers later used large fire altars (containing what they deem is a sacred flame) as central in their pagan worship. Nebuchadnnezar was associated with the Chaldeans, as well.

Abram's father, Terah, decided to move the family unit to the land of Canaan. Scripture does not give a reason for his decision to start this move. They stopped in the city of Haran, about halfway there. In Haran, Abram's father (Terah) dies. Haran is also where God Calls Abram for the first time. So, Abram heads the family unit towards the land of Canaan, which is Promised to him and his descendants. (Genesis 12)

So God Pulls Abraham from the Babylonian region, the hot-bed of pagan worship. And God Makes a nation for Himself.

• 2 Samuel 7:23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?

God later Instructs His People, this new nation, in how to worship Him. Because all they knew was how the pagan gods liked to be worshipped; as pagan worship was all. around. them. And Yahweh Desired a different type of worship from His People.

• Deuteronomy 12:29-31 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

• 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

• Exodus 20:3-6 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

• Acts 17:29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

We then see throughout Scripture that God's People struggle by consistently engaging in idol worship through the generations. Worshipping of other gods, as the idols were idols of these gods. Jeremiah 44 is an example where God's People are confused about which gods (that they've worshipped) have prospered them. This Scripture from Kings talks about pagan gods and the regions associated with them. These clans that worshipped these gods, are also associated with the Nephilim:

• 2 Kings 23:13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

So, they built altars on the "high places". More on that in a moment. I want to note that God did Call Abram to go to a High Place (which would later become The Temple Mount), to make a sacrifice:

• Genesis 22:9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

Mountains were often seen as an access point to the gods, to the heavens. Later, as human ability progressed, men built the Tower of Babel first, then ziggurats, pyramids, and obelisks as access points to the gods. Constructed 'mountains', as it were. These temples were usually built in central city locations. But throughout the more rural areas where people lived, they would find high hills, readily accessible high places, to build altars for daily worship that was local.

We see through Scripture that:

1. Other gods (also called the sons of God) interacted with humanity, to the point they mated with human women.

2. This mating between gods and humans created giants called the Nephalim (also called Anakim and Rephaim).

3. After this, corruption and violence increased on the earth.

4. Humans worshipped these gods in detestable ways.

5. Yahweh - the Name above all names, the God above all gods - made a nation for Himself and taught His People worship that is Worthy of His Name.

Part 2 will focus on modern day altars.

In Jesus's name,

Christy Hale

Customer service:

want to be notified of new posts?

© 2024. All rights reserved.