Exodus
37:25
The Bible says in Exodus 37:25-29, And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length
of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two
cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. And he
overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round
about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.
And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two
corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear
it withal. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.
And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices,
according to the work of the apothecary. What
is being called here an altar was actually a small table of about a foot and half
square. It was called the incense altar because incense was burnt on it.
We know that incense symbolizes the
prayers of Gods people because it says in Revelation 8:1-13, And when he
had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of
half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them
were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar,
having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he
should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was
before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of
the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel
took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the
earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and
lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there
followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth:
and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And
the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third
part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third
part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a
great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third
part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star
is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many
men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel
sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the
moon, so the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was
darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying
with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters
of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!
Incense stands for something that is
pleasant, sweet, enjoyable, and fragrant. O how much the Lord must love to hear
the prayers of His children! God answers prayer. Prayer moves mountains. Prayer
stops the mouths of lions. Prayer heals the worse of diseases. Through prayer
the dead are raised to life again. Through prayer the course of the worlds
events are changed. Because God loves the prayers of His children and always
answers them, it is not surprising that the prayers of the saints are mentioned
in Revelation chapter 8, and then right afterward is a very graphic description
of Gods judgment that will finally fall fully on the earth. God will avenge
His saints because He loves us, and He loves our prayers.
The book of Exodus tells us about the altar of
burnt offering that was placed within the tabernacle. It says in Exodus 38:1-7,
And
he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length
thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three
cubits the height thereof. And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of
it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. And he
made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons,
and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network
under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it. And he cast four rings
for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. And he
made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. And he put the
staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the
altar hollow with boards.
Exodus 20:24 tells us the purpose of
the altar. It says about what an altar is used for, An altar of
earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings,
and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I
record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Exodus 40:6 tells us the location of the altar. It says, And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before
the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. Leviticus 1:1-17 is one example of how the altar was
used. It says, And the LORD called unto
Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of
the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering
of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt
sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it
of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering;
and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill
the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the
blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt offering, and
cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon
the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron's
sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that
is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he
wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt
sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour
unto the LORD. And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or
of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and
the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest
shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the
altar: But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest
shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
LORD. And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then
he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. And the priest
shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the
altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: And
he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on
the east part, by the place of the ashes: And he shall cleave it with the wings
thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the
altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
LORD.
As we have seen with other objects
associated with the tabernacle, there was usually a spiritual symbolism that
was the most important aspect of each particular object. Concerning the altar
of burnt offering, it is interesting to try and consider its spiritual
significance. It is always good to look at any references in the New Testament
to see if we can find any clues to the spiritual meaning behind the altar of
burnt offering. The altar is mentioned in the New Testament quite a few times.
Jesus referred to the Jewish altar
several times. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus said, Therefore if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. This is
simply a reference to the Old Testament Jewish altar, and an emphasis on the
fact that the spiritual condition of a person and his or her relationship with
other believers was more important than any sacrifice that was brought to the
altar. Jesus mentioned the altar in His insightful criticism of the Pharisees,
and Jesus said to them in Matthew 23:16-21, Woe unto you, ye blind
guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but
whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and
blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth
the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye
fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the
altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And
whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and
by him that dwelleth therein. Notice that Jesus makes a close association
between the altar and the gift that is upon the altar. The gift is that which was sacrificed.
The altar gets its spiritual significance from the sacrifices that were killed
right next to the altar, and then were burned upon the altar. Jesus is our
sacrifice. Jesus was sacrificed on the cross of
Therefore, the cross of
The other uses for the word altar in the New
Testament are found in the book of Revelation, and all of these references
refer to an altar that exists in heaven. This altar in heaven is obviously
there in order to be an eternal reminder that Jesus was sacrificed for us. For
example, it says in Revelation 6:9, And when he had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held. It also says in Revelation 4:18, And another
angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud
cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
In present-day Christianity even in the most
conservative of circles there is a usage of the
word altar in regards to the inside of a
church building that really has no basis in scripture. It is very clear that
the Bible in no way teaches that the area before or
below the pulpit should be considered an altar
or should be called an altar. For one
thing there are no church buildings described in the New Testament. The word church refers to a group of people who gather
together. It does not refer to a building, and of course, the word altar is constantly misused in many conservative
denominations. The concept of the altar should remind us that Jesus was totally
consumed for us to pay for our sins. Jesus gave His all for us.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2011 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved