THE BRAZEN ALTAR
Ex. 27:1-8; 38:1-7)
The word altar means "to lift up."
Immediately we are reminded of Him who said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32)
Also, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up (John 3:14).
We may expect to see much of Christ on the cross in the altar of sacrifice.
1. The materials.
• The altar was made of wood covered with brass.
• Strange to have an altar made of wood, when the fire was to burn continually upon it!
• Remember this was not Moses’ idea for he built it "accord¬ing to the pattern shown . . . on the mount."
• The wood in the altar was not consumed by the fire because air did not get to it.
• Oxygen is necessary to combus¬tion. The two materials spoke of His twofold nature.
• His body did not corrupt in the grave because there was an eliminate missing which has caused all bodies to
corrupt
Psalm 16:10
Acts 2:27
Luke 17:1-35
Heb 4:15
2. The size and shape.
• It was square Sides = 7.5’, Height = 4.5’
• It was by far the largest piece of all the tabernacle equipment.
• It was large enough to hold any other piece in the tabernacle.
• This showed the importance of the altar, and speaks to us of the fact that all blessings flow from the death of
Christ.
• Even when inside the Holiest of Holy, when faith gives way to sight, we shall sing of redemption (Rev. 5:9).
• The four sides faced the north, east, west, and south respectively. Someone has called attention to the fact that
the first letter of each of these four words spells "N-E-W-S," and that the best news on earth is the Gospel.
• The four sides may also repre¬sent the four great truths connected with His sacri¬fice; namely, propitiation,
(atonement) substitution, reconcilia¬tion and ransom.
The names.
• This altar had three distinct names.
• It is called THE ALTAR. (This spoke of its im¬portance).
• It is called the BRAZEN ALTAR. It was the place of judgment.
• It was called the ALTAR BY THE GATE. It was the first thing that met the eyes upon entering the gate.
Exodus 40:29 says, “
29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and
offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
• So then, we have DECISION at the gate and ACCEPTANCE at the altar.
• Christ on Calvary, as the sacrifice for sin, is the first step toward God.!!!!!!!!!
The blood and the ashes.
• The blood was care¬fully sprinkled upon the altar (Lev. 1:11),
• Or poured out at the bottom (Lev. 4:7) (depending upon the par¬ticular offering)
• It was carefully used for "the life was in the blood."
• All spoke of Him. His life's blood was poured out on Calvary.
• The ashes were carefully preserved, and carried outside the camp to a clean spot (Lev. 6:11) where they were
used in the sprinkling of the unclean (Num. 19:9).
The fire.
• It came from before the Lord (Lev. 9:24).
• It probably leaped from the glory cloud where God dwelt.
• This fire was never allowed to go out (Lev. 6:13).
• There are many lessons connected with this:
1. Fire is a terrible element. It spoke of judgment for sin and pointed to the One who was to bear the judgment of
God's wrath in the sinner's place.
2. It was never allowed to go out. This had a twofold truth.
• It spoke of the fact that God was always ready to accept the sin¬ner's sacrifice. Man could approach God--day
or night, the fire was burning.
• Secondly, and perhaps the greater truth, that the Real Sacrifice had not yet come and that these sacrifices did
not make an end of sins, but there had to be a continual offering (Heb. 10:1-12).
The staves.
• The altar had two staves, one on either side, by which it was carried.
• Both had to be used in order that it be carried properly.
•We have a two-fold truth to carry to the lost world.
• This was the message that Paul took to Corinth; namely, "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
and that He was buried, and that He arose again the third day according to the scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3, 4).
Anything less than this is not the Gospel
1 Cor. 2:2
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
The Horns - Horns are scriptural symbols for power and authority, (Dan 7:8).
• Daniel, in his vision described a person as a little horn that became a mighty Ruler, (Daniel 8:9).
• Daniel describes four horns upon a goat and ten horns upon the fourth beast
• The Horns were made from Acacia wood and overlaid with brass (bronze)
The Horns were overlaid with Bronze (judgment)
1 Kings 1:51
And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the
horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
1 Kings 2:28
Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab
fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
Psalm 118:27
God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
There were four horns- four is the number of a world system
The Acacia wood speaks of the humanity of Jesus but also that mankind is judged. The complete power of mankind is under the Judgment at the altar of Calvary.
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Think about the mountains that refer to the power of the horn in their name
• Matterhorn
• Aarhorn
• Wetterhorn
• Schreckhorn
6. Warning.
• There was but one altar of sacrifice. Jesus Christ
• There was no other approach to God save by this altar.
• Beware of false altars; they abound on every hand today.
• One day God sent an unnamed prophet to pronounce a curse upon the false altar erected by Jereboam in
Bethel
(I Kings 13:1-5).
•There is but one altar of sacrifice. It is the place where He "himself purged our sins" (Heb. 1:3).
2 Samuel 6:3-8
I Chronicles 13:7-11…
BETTER DO IT GOD’S WAY OR A PRICE WILL BE PAID!!!!! UZZAH WAS SINCERE…EVEN DAVID WAS MAD AT GOD FOR KILLING UZZAH WHEN HE WAS “DOING GOD A FAVOR” BY STEADYING THE ARK.
THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMETH RIGHT UNTO MAN BUT THE END THEREOF IS DEATH
