Exodus 27:1-81And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 3And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. 4And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof. 5And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. 6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. 7And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. 8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it. (Exodus 27:1‑8)
As soon as one entered the court of the tabernacle the first thing he came to was the brazen altar, and here we find the instructions which God gave to Moses for making it. There could never be any approach to God except through a sacrifice, and it was upon this altar of brass that the sacrifice was to be offered.
It was to be five cubits long and five cubits broad. Five, as we have remarked before, speaks of weakness, and surely this would bring to our minds a verse in 2 Corinthians 13:44For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. (2 Corinthians 13:4). It says, “Though He (Christ) was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God.” God, as God, could not die, so the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, became a man so that He could die for us. What wondrous love! The altar was foursquare, we are told, as though God delighted to remind us that the work of redemption is for “whosoever will” out of any nation under heaven. This makes us think of the heavenly city which is also foursquare. There the redeemed from all nations will join to sing about the precious blood by which they have been brought into it (Rev. 5:99And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9).) Dear reader, will you be there?
The height of the altar was three cubits. Three in the Bible brings before us complete testimony, for “In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Matt. 18:1616But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (Matthew 18:16). God has given perfect witness to the fact that He is satisfied with the work of His Son, for He has raised Him from the dead and seated Him, at His own right hand in glory. He bore the full heat of God’s judgment against sin, for just as this particular metal used for the altar was one which could stand extreme heat, so we hear the Lord Jesus saying prophetically, “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow; which is done unto Me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted Me in the day of His fierce anger.” Lam. 1:1212Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. (Lamentations 1:12). We shall never fully know what it cost the Lord Jesus to “bear our sins in His own body on the tree,” but faith rejoices in the testimony God has given as to His acceptance of the work which His Son has accomplished.
God would never have us forget the awful judgment of sin, however, and so everything connected with the altar was also to be made of brass. The pans, the shovels, the flesh hooks, and all the necessary things for its use were all of brass. How often the truth of this is passed over or forgotten today, and people attempt to approach God through works of their own. What a solemn day of reckoning is coming for them, when with few sins or many, they stand before God to be “judged according to their works.” We who are saved, know that judgment is passed for us. It took place at Calvary, and we rejoice in our present perfect standing in Christ.
The horns of the altar were the means by which the sacrifice was tied to the altar—there was no escape. The Lord Jesus’ strength, like the ram caught by his horns (Gen. 22:1313And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Genesis 22:13)), was devoted in obedience even unto death. The staves in the side were used to carry it from place to place in the wilderness, and so may we ever carry with us the sense of what the Lord has done for us at Calvary.
ML 01/15/1950