Repairing The Altar Of God; Reentering The Covenant

This revelation is the result of a larger study of the book of Acts that our house church had been led to go through since the beginning of last year (2025). This is part of our study in Acts 2:1-4.

I was led to 1 Kings 18 when Elijah confronted the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of the Asherah that ate at queen Jezebel’s table (v.19) in a showdown. Its purpose was to reveal to Israel who was the true God, since they were trying to worship both (i.e. double-mindedness). It seemed, as I looked at it, that the Holy Spirit was tying it into the present state of our nation. What follows is what has been revealed to me.

My question: “Is repairing the altar in the Bible comparable to restoring or reentering the covenant with God?”

AI overview on the internet:

“Yes, repairing the altar in the Bible can be understood as a symbolic act of restoring or reentering the covenant relationship with God. It signifies a renewal of worship, a recommitment to God's principles, and a cleansing of past transgressions. The altar itself represents a place of sacrifice, communication, and covenant activation between God and humanity. [I see the altar of the Lord within His people as a heart posture before Him. It’s a heart of humility and willing submission to God’s lordship over them.]

Elaboration:

• Covenant Renewal: In the Old Testament, altars were central to the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites. Repairing a broken or neglected altar symbolized a return to God, a recommitment to the covenant, and a desire to restore the proper worship of God.

• Symbolic Act: Repairing an altar wasn't just about physical restoration; it was a spiritual act of cleansing and recommitment. It represented a turning away from sin and a turning towards God, mirroring the process of repentance and renewal.

• Examples in Scripture: The prophet Elijah's restoration of the altar at Mount Carmel is a prime example. He repaired the altar and then called upon God to demonstrate His power, which resulted in fire consuming the altar and proving God's sovereignty. This event highlighted the importance of restoring true worship before seeking God's intervention.

• Modern Application: In modern contexts, the concept of repairing the altar can be applied to individuals and communities seeking to restore their relationship with God. This might involve a recommitment to prayer, a renewed focus on God's word, and a cleansing of any idolatry or compromise that has crept into their lives.

• Living Altar: The New Testament also speaks of believers as the temple of the Holy Spirit and a "living altar". This means that our lives, as expressions of faith and worship, should be a continual offering to God.

1 Kings 18:30 – See the note below.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired [7495] the altar of the Lord which had been torn down [2040- “to break down, to destroy, to pull down, ruined, to overthrow”].

NASU

OT:7495 rapha' (raw-faw'); or raphah (raw-faw')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root; properly, to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure:

KJV - cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, thoroughly, make whole. See OT:7503.

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

OT:7495

to heal, to make healthful

   a)   (Qal) to heal

      1)   of God

      2)   a healer, a physician (of men)

      3)   used of the hurts of nations involving restored favor (figurative)

      4)   used of individual distresses (figurative)

   b)   (Niphal) to be healed

      1)   literal (used of persons)

      2)   used of water, pottery

      3)   used of national hurts (figurative)

      4)   used of personal distress (figurative)

   c)   (Piel) to heal

      1)   literal

      2)   used of national defects or hurts (figurative)

   d)   (Hithpael) in order to get healed (infinitive)

This chapter describes the showdown of Elijah against the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of the Asherah that ate at queen Jezebel’s table (see Rev. 2:18-23, 1 Cor. 10:14-22). The false prophets were to prepare a sacrifice on the altar of their own making (v.26), and then call on the name of Baal, their pagan god. They would wildly seek him all day, without a response.

Near the end of the day, “at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:36), Elijah would then call the people near him, and repair the altar of the Lord which had been torn down (v. 30). Throughout Israel’s history, during times of rebellion and idolatry, the Lord’s altars would fall into neglect. This has occurred in the church today in America. We are in desperate need for the altars among His people to be reestablished, one last time before His return.

Afterward, when everything had been arranged on the altar, Elijah would pray a simple prayer of few words, calling on the name of the Lord. The God who answered by fire would then prove Himself as the one true God, turning the hearts of His people back toward Him again (v.36-39).

From the internet;

“Eating at someone's table generally signifies a close relationship, implying shared meals, hospitality, and possibly a degree of dependence or intimacy. It can be a sign of friendship, fellowship, and even a familial bond. In a biblical context, ‘eating at someone's table’ can represent being in a position of favor, receiving provision, and being under someone's protection.”

Jezebel is a familiar name within most biblical circles. It is the name given for a conniving, manipulating, wicked demon working through someone in the church. To eat at her table is to partake of that which she is seductively offering (i.e. false teaching for gaining control). This wicked spirit’s agenda is to ruin the altars of God within the hearts of His people, for them to serve and worship her rather than God.

In his final book of Revelation given to John, Jesus refers to this “woman” in His rebuke of the church in Thyatira;

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”

(Revelation 2:18-23/NIV)

This wicked spirit has infiltrated many places of leadership within the church. May the Lord open the eyes of those of His children who have come under her spell of lies (i.e. false teaching) and get out quickly from being held under her power of spiritual seduction, before it’s too late and you are cast on “suffer intensely” with her!

In Paul’s rebuke of the church in Corinth, warning them to not make the same mistakes their forefathers had made while on their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, he said to them;

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing [2842- “fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, contact”] in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing [2842] in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers [2844- “a partner, associate, a partaker, sharer”] in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers [2844] in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake [3348- “to share or partake of”] of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?”

(1 Corinthians 10:14-22/NASU)

From this we can see that to participate in the idolatry of the world is to be in joint participation with the demons that control them. This “partaking of the table of demons” is what breaks down and destroys the altar of the Lord within us. It’s a joint participation of fellowshipping with them that must be separated from lest we “provoke the Lord to jealousy” (see Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24, 5:9, 6:15).

The Idol Of Jealousy

In Ezekiel, chapter 8, the prophet was given a vision of the abominations that were taking place in God’s temple in Jerusalem;

“The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.”

(Ezekiel 8:3/NIV)

This “idol of jealousy” was at the entrance of this gate. The Lord said this caused Him to be “far from My sanctuary” (Ezekiel 8:5-6). From here the Lord showed Ezekiel even more abominable forms of idolatry that were taking place in His temple. Here is a brief description of the four things revealed to him;

• The image of jealousy set up at the gate of the altar. (v. 5-6)

  
  

• The elders of Israel worshipping all kinds of images in secret. (v. 7-12)

  
  

• The women weeping for Tammuz, a pagan deity. (v. 13-14)

  
  

• Twenty-five men worshipping the sun, in the inner court of the Lord’s house, at the entrance to the temple, “with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east.” (v. 15-16) This was a picture of those who have turned away from the Lord through an idolatrous heart, provoking Him to jealousy. (See the Bible study The Sons Of Jephunneh for insights on those who are turned towards the Lord.)

The Lord then asks Ezekiel whether they, in their blatant idolatry, should be shown any pity;

“He said to me, ‘Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose. Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.’”

(Ezekiel 8:17-18/NASU)

“Putting the twig to the nose” is an idiom that signifies an act of defiance, contempt, or idolatrous worship. In the next chapter, the Lord gives His answer to their defiance through a merciless vision of slaughter. The good news is that, first, a mark of protection was placed on the forehead of those were sighing and groaning over all the abominations taking place in the midst of Jerusalem. The “executioners of the city” (Ezekiel 9:1) were then commanded to start from the Lord’s sanctuary with the elders who were before the temple.

Understanding the condition of the church at this very moment in our nation, and the multiple abominations that are occurring within it, this is a question from the Lord that we should be taking a good look at. This is not just an Old Testament occurrence. In Revelation we see something very similar taking place through the sealing of the bondservants of the Lord on their foreheads for their protection before the wrath of God is poured out in judgment (Revelation 7:3, 9:4-6).

The Altar Of Twelve Stones

In 1 Kings 18:31-33 we read the following account of what Elijah used to restore the altar of the Lord;

“Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name.’ So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.”

(NASU)

The 12 stones represented the nation of Israel (v.31). It was a picture of the healing of their “national defects” (i.e. “repaired” def.) by God that were plaguing their nation. I believe the Lord is saying what should be obvious to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, and that is that the church in our nation has been wavering for a long time in their devotion to the Lord. We are in great need of the altar of God being rebuilt within His people.

Earlier, before the showdown, Elijah had confronted all the people, saying;

“‘How long will you waver [6452- “to hesitate; also (literally) to limp”] between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing.”

(1 Kings 18:21/NIV)

Hesitation between following God or the world will cost some Christians their place of safety in the days ahead when He judges our nation, and the rest of the world. Thankfully, the Lord knows the hearts of His children and will, like “righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2:4-9), and his family, mercifully seize their hands and bring them out of the place of judgment if possible.

I posted this on the internet on 7-2-25:

As we near the 249th birthday of our nation, I have been looking over different insights the Lord has given me over the years. I thought I might share this one because of its significance in this critical moment of our history. May it stir the hearts of those who can still be stirred.

“While reading a portion of Scripture on August 30, 2007, the Holy Spirit revealed a nation-changing truth to me. I was reading Malachi 4:5-6 which says; “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” [To restore a heart is to restore the altar of God within His people. As stated earlier, within mankind, the altar is a heart posture of humility and willing submission to God’s lordship over them.]

As I read verse 6, the Holy Spirit clearly said “FORE” to me before I could read “fathers.” It now read as; “…and the hearts of the children to their [Fore]fathers. ”My heart stirred within me as the Lord began to reveal details concerning an “Elijah” anointing that is being placed upon the messengers of His covenant. They will be used to restore the hearts of the remnant of His people within our nation back to the original call and covenant of our Founding Fathers, which was first declared in the Mayflower Compact as; “For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith…” Under this anointing, they will rise up and become the “Finishing Fathers.”

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will complete the corporate call of God upon His people who inhabit this land. May our hearts be stirred by way of reminder as we read the last line of the Declaration of Independence which manifested the united hearts of America's Forefathers;

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Their signatures were a death sentence if they had lost their fight with Great Britain. They would have all been killed for treason. It was this type of public commitment, acknowledging their dependence upon God, and one another, that birthed this nation into existence. The Lord would have all of his children in our blessed country remember their words and deeds, in order to re-enter His covenant [see Nehemiah 9:38, and 2 Chronicles 29:10] and spare many people from the horrible destruction that is soon coming. May the Lord pour out a spirit of repentance lest we perish. Glory, glory hallelujah, His truth IS marching on.”