Genesis 13:4

The place of the altar. Moses emphasizes Abram’s return to a place in which he had previously conducted public worship. Bethel was dear to his heart because of the sacred memory of communion he there had enjoyed with the Lord. Perhaps, also, he expected to find ready ears and willing hearts among the people of the vicinity, who must have remembered his earlier sojourn there. The site of each encampment of Abram was marked by an altar at which roving Canaanites learned of the true God and where, after Abram had moved on, they returned to worship Him. An important point to consider in choosing a home is “the place of the altar.”