The Altar, Tent, and Well

One of the places that Abraham lived in the land of Canaan was Beersheba, “And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33).  This was where he dwelt soon after Hagar and Ishmael left the family and before Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac.  Much later Isaac came back to the place and established his residence for some time.  This was later in Isaac’s life after he was well established and left Gerar because of conflicts with the other occupants of the land.  He finally   settled in Beer-sheba as they tried to find a place where they could dig a well that wouldn’t be contested: “And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.”  The Lord appeared to Isaac the night of his arrival in Beer-sheba, saying to Isaac, “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.”  This must have been a glorious experience for Isaac to know that the Lord who was with his father was also with him and that he could have the same blessings God promised Abraham.      

              In a BYU scripture discussion that I listened to, they pointed out this symbolic verse that follows about what Isaac did there in Beer-sheba after he received this promise of the Lord: “And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well” (Genesis 26:22-25).  So Isaac built an altar to worship the Lord, pitched his tent for his family, and then dug a well to provide for his household.  Theodore Tuttle commented on these three items mentioned in this verse: “Altar, tent, and well: his worship, his home, his work. These basic things of life signified his relationship to God, his family, and his fellowmen. Every person on earth is touched by these three.”  Isaac, though we revere him as one of the great patriarchs, still needed to focus his day to day life on these basics of faith, family, and livelihood.  And I believe the order is significant: first came the altar to worship God, then came the tent to care for his family, and then came the well to provide for their physical needs.  Though we can’t make universal statements about what is most important in all circumstances, among the competing demands for our time, in general and on average I believe this is indeed the order of importance we should establish: God first, family second, and work third.  We must build our lives first and foremost around the altar—each day we must find a place to kneel and seek direction from our Father in Heaven.  The altar is also symbolic of the covenants of the temple, of things of eternity.  Those are to be at the center of our lives.  Next to the altar we symbolically pitch our tents where we take care of our families and keep them also close to the altar.  With that established, we dig our well so that we will have a long-term way to make it through the daily challenges of life.  It’s significant that the record doesn’t say they went and fetched water for the day; rather, they dug wells to provide water for the many future days to come.  This brief account of Isaac’s life provides a relevant example for us to follow today as we try to focus on what is really essential.