In ancient times, worship often took place in particular consecrated locations. These elevated sites were where spiritual interactions occurred between God and humanity.
The first recorded spiritual interaction with God occurred between Abraham and God in a mountainous region between Bethel and Ai in Genesis 12. There, Abraham (originally Abram) built his first altar to the Lord, marking the beginning of the three promises or covenants God made with Abraham.
Years later, Abraham’s grandson Jacob also visited the exact location. This encounter is recorded in Genesis 35:15 and Hosea 12:4-5, where God again met Jacob and renewed the covenant with his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac.
Other significant mountain experiences are documented in the lives of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, including the Mount of Transfiguration, the Sermon on the Mount, and the ascension of Jesus.
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The encounters at Bethel teach us many lessons today. First, believers of Christ, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), have been hand-picked and chosen by God (1 Peter 2:9-10, Exodus 19:5-6, Hosea 2:23).
Second, these believers have been separated from an old sinful lifestyle and, through Christ, adopted by the New Covenant of richer blessings. As Paul would remind us, we are blessed with heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-4).
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Furthermore, the New Covenant is more remarkable because of the work of the Holy Spirit, sealing this covenant in our hearts (Jeremiah 31: 31-34, Hebrews 8:6-9). In Psalm 16:5-6, King David alludes to the more extraordinary inheritance beyond land and riches that we can accumulate on earth to a heavenly inheritance because of the boundary lines of demarcation or separation that Jesus’s blood made at the cross.
Third, the inherited blessings are generational and should be enjoyed throughout our bloodline. Fourth, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Elijah all had spiritual encounters; New Testament believers are already seated with Christ in higher places and have direct access to God at all times uninterrupted (Ephesians 2:6-7, Romans 8:17).
Within you is a Bethel; you are the mountain of the Lord because, as a believer, you are the temple of God, and the fullness of God resides in you.
You are the carrier of God’s glory and presence! The altar or the tabernacle for spiritual transactions with God is now you, the born-again.
Hebrews 4:16: uncourageous you come boldly into God’s presence for grace and mercy. Romans 8:26-27 assures us of the Holy Spirit’s support in intercession to transact the will of God for us in each situation.
Hebrews 7:25 informs us that Christ is already interceding for us before God. These promises teach us that we do not necessarily need to go to a mountain to pray. We do not need to travel to Bethel in Israel to pray.
We are the sacred altars, temples, and mountains that God is open to transact with- when we seek him, we will find him. (Jeremiah 23:19, Jeremiah 33:3).
You are the house of the Lord, the open heaven where spiritual transactions for your destiny, marriage, children, business, present, and future can occur.
Pursue prayer, pursue intercession, pursue the word of God, and engage the Holy Spirit. Transact through the Bethel within!
Written by: Pauline Adongo
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The Bethel Within: We Are The Sacred Altars and Temples
