LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Bronze Altar
Following the order of the book of Exodus, in chapter 27, we find the brazen altar. It is the first thing the worshipper encountered at the entrance of the tabernacle. It was also known as the altar of sacrifice or burnt offering. There the victims were received and sacrificed.
The altar at the entrance of the tabernacle speaks to us of the cross of Christ, through which we have access to God. No other dependence of the tabernacle was available to the worshiper if the problem of sins had not been solved, at the entrance, at the altar. For us, the Christian life is full of blessings and wonderful experiences, but none of them would be possible if we have not passed through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, to receive forgiveness, the cleansing, of all our sins.
It is not only in the tabernacle that the altar is the beginning; it was also in the life of Abel, of Noah, of Abraham, and of every servant of God, whether in the New or Old Testament. The altar reminds us of our condition as sinners, and that in order to approach God, sins must be put away. God's judgment on sin must be executed; only - in God's grace - the victim is not the sinner, but a substitute, an innocent animal.
This altar, made of acacia wood and covered with bronze, also speaks to us of the Lord Jesus. The wood shows us his humanity, and the bronze his condition as the Lamb of God placed under God's judgment, under God's wrath, for our sake. When John sees him in Revelation 1 he says that his feet were like burnished bronze (1:15), indicating that he had passed through the judgment of God.
The altar was perfectly square; it was five cubits long and five cubits wide; it is the perfection of God's salvation. The 5 is the number of grace, of redemption. Its height was 3 cubits, which is the number of God; that is, the altar was to satisfy the justice of God. The altar also had horns at its four corners. When a sinner was in great affliction, and in need of mercy, he would cling to the horns of the altar to claim forgiveness. Thus, the altar satisfied God's justice and also man's need for mercy.
The altar had various utensils, all of bronze, necessary for the Levites and the priests to fulfill their work. They were of brass because they all participated in the work of judgment on sin. With the bowls the ashes were collected - the ashes, which are the ultimate state of matter, indicate to us that everything associated with sin must disappear. The bowls were used to receive the blood, part of which was poured out under the altar, and part of which was brought into the Holy of Holies. The hooks were used to place the animal on the altar, and the braziers to keep the fire under the altar.
All this speaks of judgment on sin, and mercy for the sinner. The altar is, for us, in the form of a cross, and it has all the spiritual resources necessary for every man, no matter how sinful his condition, to be perfectly at peace with God.