A big grill in the house! – The Altar of burnt offerings

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭27:1‭-‬2‬ ‭ESV‬‬ [1] “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. [8] You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the mountain, so -shall it be made.

A prominent place in the outer court of the temple

Placed right inside the doorway, The Bronze Altar was accessible to all who brought the required offering. It was the first piece of tabernacle furnishing upon entering the tent and must be faced before going further. Notably, the journey inward first requires a sacrifice for sin to be forgiven. One could not go into the Holy Place without first atoning for their sin. Once forgiveness is obtained through the shedding of blood, then the priest could go further into The Holy Place, a place of sanctification, and finally the Holy of Holies, the place of glorification. The Altar of Burnt offering is a bloody and burning place, a paradox in religious thinking. Imagine building God a house and placing in the door a big bloody burning Altar. Unlike the gold in the holy place and the beautiful Ark and Mercy Seat, this Altar is covered with bronze. Bronze represents the judgment of God on sin, the fire of judgment, and the shedding of blood. This was not a pretty sight in the doorway. Or…was it?

The significance of bronze

The Alter being covered in bronze speaks of God’s judgement. The judgment of God must be satisfied before entering his presence. The fact that Jesus’ feet are described as burnished bronze speaks to His authority to judge.

Revelation‬ ‭1:12‭-‬15‬ ‭KJV‬‬
[12] And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; [13] and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. [14] His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; [15] and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Jesus’ feet will crush the head of satan and tread the winepress of the wrath of God.! Rev 19:15 The Bronze Altar where the judgment of God on sin was satisfied. The requirement of God was met there. Both bronze and fire speak of the wrath of God on sin. All authority in heaven and earth has been laid at Jesus’ feet.

What was the spiritual significance of the altar of burnt offering?

The Altar of Burnt Offering where sacrifices for redemption, played an essential role in Jewish worship. The place to offer animal sacrifices as a way to atone for sin and seek forgiveness from God represents the ultimate blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus offering Himself we would die in our sins.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭ESV‬‬ [22] Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

It was made of acacia wood and covered in bronze, with four horns on its corners. The altar was hollow, with boards that could be removed for cleaning. It was five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high (a cubit is roughly 18″). This was a big grill! Over seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. A southern man’s dream!

God himself lit the fire

According to the account of the consecration of the Tabernacle in Leviticus, it is mentioned that God Himself initiated the fire on the altar as a sign of His acceptance.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭9:23‭-‬24‬ ‭KJV‬‬ [23] And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. [24] And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their face.

The fire was burning perpetually

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭6:12‭-‬13‬ ‭KJV‬‬ [12] And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. [13] The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out

The coals of the Altar were carried into the Holy Place to light the Altar of Incense. I believe the coals were carried from place to place as they traveled in the wilderness. This of course is not a new concept. Issac carried the wood and the FIRE up the mountain.

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬
[7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

God was pleased with the aroma

The analogy between an altar and a big grill often draws upon the imagery of sacrifice and burning offerings. In both cases, there is a fire used for a specific purpose – whether it’s for cooking on a grill or for offering sacrifices on an altar. The smell of a wood fire and the cooking of meat is one that most of us enjoy, No wonder its smell pleased God! Seriously though, the altar, especially in ancient religious practices, served as a place where animals or other offerings were burnt as a symbolic act of devotion or atonement. The idea of a pleasing aroma rising from the altar is a metaphorical representation of the offerings being consumed by the fire and reaching God in a spiritually significant way. This metaphorical connection helps people understand the significance of the ritual and the symbolism associated with the act of sacrifice.

The Altar was the only way to obtain forgiveness and Jesus fulfilled its purpose

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:1‭-‬10‬ ‭KJV‬‬ [1] For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. [2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. [3] But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. [4] For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. [5] Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (In the volume of the book it is written of me,) To do thy will, O God. [8] Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Glory to God! Jesus satisfied the requirement

The offerings on the Bronze Altar were meant to point to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ would make. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as a human being and offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all people. Just as the animal sacrifices were a way for the Jewish people to seek forgiveness for their sins, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a way for all people to be reconciled to God. The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as the “high priest” who offers himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He says, “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once and for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:24-26). The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was the ultimate expression of God’s love and mercy toward humanity. It was a way for all people to be reconciled to God and experience his grace and forgiveness regardless of their background or circumstances. The altar of burnt offerings holds spiritual significance as a symbol of sacrifice and redemption. It reminds us of the animal sacrifices offered by the Jewish people as a way to seek forgiveness for their sins and the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus Christ on the cross. Through his sacrifice, we can be reconciled to God and experience his mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus is the only way!

‭‭John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭KJV‬‬ [6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but

Has his sacrifice been applied to you?