The Oak of Moreh

 I completed reading through the Bible again yesterday. This morning I sat back and started over in the book of Genesis. I spent over a year teaching through the book of Genesis recently. I've read through the book numerous times. One of the things I love about God's word is that it is living and active. [Heb 4:12] No matter how many times I read it there is always something new to discover. 

I sat back in my chair and with the soft glow of the lamp on this little desk off from the living room illuminating the word of God. I started reading. Wanting God to speak to me. I read the creation account. Then about the curse of sin. About the Noah and the flood. I read the story of the tower of Babel with great interest. Then I settled in on Genesis chapter 12. I have long loved this chapter because of the first verse. The call of Abram to leave Ur and his relatives to follow God to an unknown destination. 

I slowed the reading pace when I came to that verse hoping God might speak to me again through it. He did not. He did speak. He did so in Genesis 12 but used verses this time I've never noticed before. Let me set the stage. Abram, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and his servants all started following God toward Canaan. Then I saw it. A few little verses nestled in the chapter that begged my attention. Here they are. 

Genesis 12:5-7 (NASB)
⁵  Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
⁶  Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
⁷  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. 

The oak of Moreh became sacred ground where God again encountered Abram. It was just a simple tree. A spot in the road. It was at the oak of Moreh where God appeared to Abram and gave him the covenant for the promised land Israel occupies to this day. A much-contested land with the Palestinians.

God does that. He meets us in unexpected places at unexpected times to reveal His plans and purposes. We never know where or when the next God encounter will happen. This morning it was in the pages of the Bible in verses I least expected to discover Him. I thank God for the oak of Moreh experiences. That is what pulls me out of bed at all hours of the night and morning to keep plowing through the scriptures. I know from past experience that I will meet Him in those pages. Life altering encounters with God await the serious student of scripture. 

As a young believer I used to read through devotional books and materials in my quiet times. Nearly twenty years ago I adopted a different approach. I just started reading through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation at my own pace. I tried those reading through the Bible in a year plans. I would fall behind and read furiously to keep up with the plan but got little out of it. When I started reading through the Bible at my pace, God started meeting with me. Don't misunderstand. Every day is not like today. Some days I read with no fresh word from the Lord. Other days like today, I read, and God meets me in unexpected places. I live for those encounters. Those unexpected divine appointments at the oak of Moreh. 

I am sure Abram was exhausted when he arrived at the oak of Moreh. Traveling back then was taxing and labor intensive. I am also sure Abram had a lot on his mind. Following God in blind faith. Not knowing where He was going. Not being able to answer all of Sarai's and Lot's inquisitions about where they would settle. With all of that going on God chose to meet Abram in an extraordinary way at an ordinary place. He still does that. 

Maybe your devotions have been lacking lately. Let me invite you to change your religious routine. Set aside some time with God. Meet with Him on a porch, in a lounge chair, in an office, at a cafe, or on a slow stroll. Don't rush through your time with Him. Read His word slowly praying for God to meet you in the pages. I assure you in God's time, you too will have your own oak of Moreh experience. I live for those moments. Maybe the crumbs from the spiritual food I feasted on today will whet your appetite for more. Your oak of Moreh lies ahead.