That is the rule and the law for the people of God, to this day, and therefore we meet together publicly. We profess our faith publicly. We seek to reach other people for the Lord, and with the message of the gospel. There are the two aspects to everything that we do: the personal walk with God and devotion, and the public devotion. Consequently, so time after time we read that Abram erects an altar which can be seen and there he worships with his people.
We notice in this chapter and the following chapter Abram's great humility. We are looking at a true man of faith. People want to know about manhood and what constitutes manhood. One great feature of manhood is humility. Abram is extremely rich, but he is a humbled man. He knows he has gone wrong. Now he has been delivered; he has been brought back on track, and he is humble enough to retrace his steps and go back to the place where he had first made an altar, and there he calls on the name of the Lord. He lamented his condition. He repented of his sin. That is what is implied. He asked for God’s help, his guidance, submitting himself to it. Despite his wealth and the degree to which he had been prospered, he takes a low view of himself. That is manhood. What is strength according to the New Testament? It is found in such things as meekness and gentleness, humility and faith or dependence and trust in the Lord, in this readiness to see faults and to repent. The proud man is a menace in the family. When he's criticized, he's furious. When anything is said that maybe casts a shadow on his conduct, he cannot take it, he cannot stand it. His emotional muscles are actually as weak as they could possibly be. If he doesn't fly into a rage, he seethes inwardly, because he's too proud to be confronted with his mistakes and his errors. Humility will listen and accept and make a right response.