Exodus 27:1-8, “You shall make the altar
of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be
square, and its height shall be three cubits.
(2) And you shall make horns for
it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall
overlay it with bronze. (3) You shall make pots for it to receive its
ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its
utensils of bronze. (4) You shall also make for it a grating, a
network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four
corners. (5) And you shall set it under the ledge of the
altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. (6)
And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and
overlay them with bronze. (7) And the poles shall be put through the rings,
so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. (8)
You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the
mountain, so shall it be made.”
The altar would become the central place of worship for the vast
majority of Israel. They would come before this altar several times a year to
bring offerings for sin, for cleansing and for thanksgiving. It would be a
constant reminder to them of their sinfulness and God’s holiness, that their
sin had to be dealt with first, before God could be approached. The altar and
the need to bring these sacrifices continually would also teach them that these
sacrifices where in fact insufficient and inadequate to effectively deal with
their sin. As people they were constantly sinful, God was constantly holy, they
therefore need to constantly seek after forgiveness and God needed to constantly
extend forgiveness, but this required blood to be shed, a sacrifice to be
offered. Therefore there would be the need to forever offer up these animal
sacrifices, unless a better sacrifice could be found.
This then is the great point and purpose of the altar, to point to the
need for a better sacrifice. No matter how many animal sacrifices an Israelite
offered, the curtain remained in place, the need for mediators and further
sacrifices remained, it did not remove the distance between them and God, nor
did it remove the stain of sin. They remained sinful, God remained holy and
therefore a personal relationship, acceptance before the presence of God
remained impossible, a better sacrifice was required. The primary design and
purpose of the altar and the sacrifices offered upon it, was to point to Jesus
Christ, who would be that better sacrifice, sufficient and adequate to deal
with sin and bring us into God’s presence as acceptable and justified.
Therefore we as believers in Jesus Christ should be filled today with
immense gratitude. For Christ has come and has offered up His life as a perfect
and completely sufficient sacrifice for sin, for our sin. Christ has opened the
way, removed our sin, removed the need for countless sacrifices, and led us
into God’s holy presence. Once Christ’s sacrifice has been applied to our
lives, we never have to offer up another sacrifice. How incredible and
comforting this truth should be to us! Our sin has been paid for by Christ,
taken away by Christ, and we have been justified, declared as righteous,
blameless and guiltless and therefore acceptable in God’s sight. How great our
joy and privilege is as Christians! To God be all the glory and thanks for
providing for us such a great salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ!
Merciful and most gracious Father how we
adore You today for the love and grace that You have extended towards us
through the sending of Your Son. Lord Jesus, how we worship You today, with
hearts overflowing with thanksgiving, for Your obedience to the will of the
Father in the offering up of Your life for our sin. Father, how we thank You,
that You have accepted the sacrifice of Your Son’s life, placing upon Him the
punishment that we deserved, and extending forgiveness and righteousness to us.
Lord Jesus, thank You for opening the way to eternal salvation for us, through
Your life, death and resurrection. To God, Father, Son and Spirit may all the
glory be given. Amen.
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