July 7, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12.6-7)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In Acts 17, we hear the telling of how the apostle Paul presented the gospel to those who had gathered in the Areopagus of Athens. It was there that a number of altars were placed bearing inscriptions to a variety of pagan gods worshipped there. One of those altars was simply inscribed “To the Unknown God.” Paul seized the moment to declare the presence of “The One True God” who loved the world that He gave up His only begotten Son for the sake of the world’s salvation. He preached Christ and Him crucified.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked the disciples “Who do people say that I am?” They scene was in the highlands rising above Caesarea Philippi near the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was in a place where shrines and small temples were built to honor a multitude of pagan gods worshipped by the various populations who had lived there over the many years. While the disciples gave a number of popular answers such as “Moses, Elijah or one of the prophets,” it would be Peter who spoke his own opinion saying, “You are the Christ of God.” Jesus affirmed Peter’s declaration and assigned to his statement the proposition of it being the foundation upon which the Church would be built.

It is with those two scenarios in mind that I read what happened to Abram as he and his “community” entered into Canaan. They arrived. They did not stay. They did not settle. They did not set up camp. They came to a place where the whole of what God was intending for His people could be seen. I remember a sight, not quite to that proportion but close enough for illustration, which I experienced on a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Highway 3. We went through one open valley in the core of a massive thunderstorm. The sound was so concussive we couldn’t hear our own fears. Then we took a turn back into the mountains and there was a valley that opened to us that was lush green and wide and deep and the sunlight passed through it like a beacon highlighting every detail. I have to think that was what God showed Abram at the entrance to Canaan. It was a broad stroke invitation to take in all the details.

One of those details was the Great Tree of Moreh at Shechem. Like the Areopagus in Athens or the cluster of temples above Caesarea Philippi, the Great Tree of Moreh was seen as a sacred place where many cultures worshipped their own gods and deities. It was a massive tree. I have seen pictures of such trees even here in the United States such as in Boonesborough under which camp meetings and revivals were held in the shade of their great branches and limbs. It must have been a similar place for Abram. It was there that God spoke to him, “I will give all this land to your offspring.” It was a similar situation, I think, as Abram gathered in the temple of the Ur of the Chaldees or in Haran and heard the God of gods speak to him. Abram built an altar there and sacrificed to his God of gods. He did not acknowledge the other gods as powerful or even present. He knew that God may have spoken to others in that same place. The difference was that Abram listened in his spirit while others were following the desires of their hearts for a word that pleased themselves. This would not be the last time that Shechem would play an important part in the history of Israel but it was the first. It marked the beginning of what God was doing to establish the future of His people among the people of the world. It was not a political or social gathering but a spiritual one. It would do us well, mighty ones of God, so see such places where we gather with a familiar consideration: this is the place where God speaks and dwells.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.