Somewhere Between Bethel and Ai

Text

Genesis 12:6–8 KJV 1900

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

Introduction

Abraham got out his Coleman brand tent. He got out his Coleman gas lantern. He hammered in the stakes and set up that tent somewhere right in the middle, between two lands: Bethel… and Ai.

Where We Live

Where a person lives - where they make their house, their tent - carries great significance. It says a lot about a person.

Introduction

It says a lot about a person.

Some might make their home near where they work. A person might live somewhere because they are close to family.

There was one music band who desired to come back to their home in sweet Alabama. And so they wrote a song serenading the state. For some reason that resonated with a lot of people and there are many who sing it loud for all to hear. Even though many of them don’t know Alabama from Possum Grape, AR… they sing it anyway: “Sweet home Alabama!”

There’s another fella who didn’t particularly like Texas because of some of the acquaintances he had made there… and so he wrote a song about hanging his hat in Tennessee.

Oh yes, there are many reasons why we choose to live where we live.

But when you make that decision to place your home somewhere, you are making a statement about yourself and your family.

You have accepted that place. You are showing that this place has met your standards and is where you would like to live.

And Abraham’s tent was placed in the midst of Bethel… And Ai.

The Subway Sports War!

I went into a Subway recently where there was a sports game playing and many gentlemen in this establishment were paying close attention.

I was paying close attention to the feeding of my face… which I happen to be very good at.

But as I ate my sandwich I suddenly realized that I was sitting right between to rival fan groups who were paying attention to this game.

And every 30 seconds there was an outburst from either side. They had me so on edge from shouting and slamming hands on the table that I had shook out the contents of my sub and now I was holding a slice of bread in front of my mouth, pitifully.

I looked to my right and there was a fellow with the sourest, disgusted look on his face. The look was pointed in my direction, but it was clearly reacting to the game.

It was quite an uncomfortable lunch to say the least.

I felt as though I was between two worlds!

Maybe you, too, at some point have felt as if you were in the midst of two competing, warring worlds.

In the midst of a family dispute.

In the middle, between two political sides.

In the middle, between the sweet presence of God you often feel, and the worldly, sinfulness you witness outside...

Body

In The Middle

Bethel and Ai

In a way, that is really where Abraham had found himself. In the midst of two worlds. Bethel… and Ai.

It’s important that we know where it is we’re talking about today.

SIDE ILLUSTRATION: Sometimes I like to tease my wife. She’ll see the name of a town in Arkansas, like Booneville. And she’ll ask, “Where’s Booneville???” And I’ll say: “You’ve never heard of Booneville?! Everybody knows where Booneville is! That place is great!” …and I have no idea where or what Booneville is.

Someone will add her on Facebook. “Babe, do you know who Jerry Benson is?” “You don’t know who Jerry is?! Come on, sweetheart! Everybody loves Jerry!”

But we can’t just talk like we know Bethel and Ai. It’s important we know what these places represent. It’s important that we know where they are at.

In the Middle

I’ve got a map showing Bethel and Ai.

As you can see, they are not a very far distance apart at all. But Abraham had been given so very much of this land and his tent was set up right in the middle of it all. Not in Bethel or Ai, but in between.

Genesis 12:8 KJV 1900

And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

And so Abraham - Abram at the time - made his tent, and he made that statement of where he was living: between the two.

Behind the Names

Now, names in the Bible hold so very much significance. They were often tied to the person’s personality, destiny, or fate. Don’t ever discount the meaning of names.

Bethel and Ai each contain very, very important meanings.

Bethel

Bethel, which I have preached of before, has a very widely known meaning behind its name.

Bethel means “house of God.” Which is why you may often see churches with the name Bethel church or even simply Bethel. It is the house of God.

Let me extend that a little further: the house of peace, the house of goodness, the house of miracles, the house of the Holy Ghost!

We could say right now that we have found ourselves in Bethel!

And, what a great name!

Ai

And now I would bring your attention to the name of the place called Ai.

Now, the meaning of this name won’t gather me any amens here today, because it is quite the opposite of Bethel.

Ai means “house of ruins.”

It sat in the same direction as Sodom and Gomorrah.

If I may extend that meaning, it was the house of evil. It was the house of destruction. It was the house of ungodliness. It was the house of the evil one. The house of the lost.

Where Our Tents Are

And so, according to biblical names and the important meaning that is behind them, we can correctly say today that Abraham had set up his tent between the house of God and the house of ruins.

And God has sent him here, because He is giving Abraham all of this land. He has made the promise: “I’m going to bless you, and your family is going to own this land.”

Now - you and I too, friend, have been given this land that we stand on. And we have also been dropped into the middle of two worlds.

Over here on this side is Bethel: the house of God. And over on this side is the house of this world!

I’m sure that you feel in between sometimes. You leave the wonderful, pulling feeling of the presence of God, and on Monday morning you begin to feel the pulling of this world, and you notice how it tries to break down your spirit!

You leave the house of God and the house of ruins begins to pull at you! This is the nature of living for God.

And we all have a tent with which we will each set up our home - that place that we have accepted and we have approved as appropriate and good for us and our family to live! And our home is going to be somewhere between Bethel and Ai!

And I don’t know how you feel about it, brother! I don’t know how you feel about it, sister! But I want MY HOUSE TO BE CLOSE TO THE HOUSE OF GOD!!!

Where Will Your Tent Be Found?

Where Will Your Tent Be Found?

At the end of days, the bible says that Pastors, the men of God, are going to have to give an account for each of us.

And in a way, it will be like pointing to a map and showing Jesus where our tent was (closer to the house of God, or closer to the house of ruins!)

My question today is: Where is your tent at?

We Are At War

I’m going to tell you the truth of it today!

And that is that this church, and the people in this church have steadily been moving closer and closer and closer over to Bethel (the house of God)!

We’re in a flow that is taking us closer to the Master!

But when you do this, there is always that tug back from the house of ruins - the world, and the one of this world.

I’m telling you today, whether you realize it or not, we are fighting a war! It’s a war against the house of ruins!

Ephesians 6:12 KJV 1900

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Oh yes, there are spirits and forces which are not pleased with our actions and our desire and our fervency in the Spirit!

And they are acting! They are working to diminish to destroy and to distract! To leave certain ones in ruins!

There are some who are looking at the ruins in their life and they don’t understand why.

But it’s coming from being too close to the house of ruins! They have gotten too far from the house of God.

Did you know that it was Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who chose to go toward Ai. And even though he was not too far from Abraham, the bible says that he ended up going as far as Sodom and Gomorrah. If you look at the map, you’ll notice that he ended up pretty far away.

When you get too far from Bethel, it’ll take you a lot further than you ever intended!

Oh, there are people we know today who are being pulled so very far! So very hard! And they need somebody to make war for them!

2 Corinthians 10:4–6 KJV 1900

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 KJV 1900

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Can I tell you that it’s not going to be the doctor! It’s not going to be the mayor! It’s not going to be the school teacher! It’s not going to be the soldier! It’s not going to be the president!

It can only be the people of God!!!

I’m calling on some children of God to MAKE A STAND today!!! And come against the forces of evil that have tried to take control!

I don’t know what you think about it, but being smack dab in the middle ain’t good enough for me! I’ve got to get closer to Bethel!

Abraham ended up getting closer to the point where he WAS IN Bethel!!!

How He Made It To Bethel

He built altars!

Genesis 12:6–8 KJV 1900

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

Abraham was a man who built altars! He was a prayer warrior!

And when Lot was in trouble, and was about to be destroyed over with the House of Ruins, it was Abraham at the altar that changed the history and the very mind of God!

You may get tired of hearing it, friend, but the only answer today is prayer!

James 4:7 KJV 1900

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Satan is pulling at our momentum! He’s pulling at it, trying to break it down!

But I wish there’d be a saint of God today who would say, “No. NO! You’re not going to stop this thing, devil! I’m going to keep it moving!!!!!”

I want to get close to the house of God!

And OH what can HAPPEN the closer we get to the house of God!!!!!

Conclusion

It’s time to take up some weapons!

I’ve never heard my grandma Edna preach. She’s got after me with a paint stick before. But this I will tell you: that woman can pray. And she’s prayed over me. And her kids and grandkids.

And today, I’m not living at the house of ruins!

Somebody took up the weapon of prayer and went up against the plans of the devil!