“You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits[a] 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. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.
9 “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel. (Exodus 27)
Introduction
Today as we consider Exodus 27 we have instructions concerning the bronze altar, the court of the tabernacle, and the oil for the lampstand. The bronze altar would be placed in the court of the tabernacle, which was of course, outside the tabernacle. The court would be enclosed by curtains hanging from various pillars and hooks, with a screen entrance, the linen of which is made with blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, just as we see a couple weeks ago with the curtains inside the tabernacle. So the only way into the court of the tabernacle was through the screen, through the blue, scarlet, and purple – which shows us the only way into heaven, or into the presence of God, is through the God-man, Jesus Christ – the blue: His divine perfections, the red: His blood of human flesh that was spilt, and the purple: His royal kingship over His people.
Now verse 7 repeats to us, and reminds us, of one of our principles of interpretation that we’ve discussed concerning the Tabernacle, as it says, “As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.” So as it says in Hebrews, what Moses made was patterned after the heavenly things, the tabernacle being a copy and shadow of the heavenly. So today we will look at that, particularly concerning the Bronze Altar. We will also consider the big themes of not only the bronze altar but also the court and the brief instruction concerning the oil for the lamp at the end of chapter 27.
Approaching God
The first thing that the bronze altar in the court of the tabernacle teaches us about is about approaching God. This outer court is where the people could enter, unlike the holy place, and when they entered, the first thing to arrest their attention was the bronze altar, which was built slightly up on a small mound, like a little model of a mountain. It is likely that the smoke from the altar would be the first thing they would see on their way to the tabernacle, as this altar was supposed to be constantly burning.
Now this altar was also called the altar of burnt offering, so obviously this is where burnt offerings, that is, animal sacrifices were made. So upon entering the court, they would first be confronted with the reality of burnt offering, the point of which was sacrifice, or atonement for sin. Sin offerings were made upon this altar. We also read that the altar had four horns on the four corners of the altar. There were a few purposes for the four horns, which we will come back to in a moment, but one of the purposes was for blood. In Leviticus 4, instructions for sin offerings are given, and part of the instructions included the fact that at various times the priests were to put blood upon the four horns of the altar. So the people would enter the court and see the smoke of the bronze altar, and possibly even the blood of the sacrifice displayed upon the four horns of the altar.
When rightly done, think of what this would have taught and shown the people of Israel. This would teach, show, and remind the people of their own sin and guilt before a Holy God, and that there is no approach to God without atonement, offering, and sacrifice for sin. The blood displayed upon the four horns of the altar would include the reminder that the shedding of blood was necessary for atonement for sin. And when looked upon rightly, they would see the blood being shed for their own sins, as they are reminded of the gravity of sin, that the wages of sin is death, and in reality, it was their own blood – their own life – that is deserving of death for their sins. So as they approached the place where God dwelt in the midst of His people, the first thing they would see would be death and the shedding of blood. Thus, as one commentator puts it, “The altar witnessed to the guilt of man in God’s sight, and the need of an atonement being made for him before he could be reconciled to God.” And as A. W. Pink simply puts it, “Blood-shedding is the basis of approach to God.”
So a believing Israelite would see this sight, and in faith see that instead of themselves being put to death, there was a pure and spotless sacrifice in their place, which trained them to look forward to the Messiah, the pure and spotless Lamb of God who would come and be stretched out upon the altar, so to speak, and shed His own precious blood, and give His life for the life of sinners to be made right with God. And so by faith, this sight of death would be a testimony to life. Through the death of the one, the many live.
And so we are taught that the only way to approach God is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His life for ours. Without blood atonement and cleansing, one cannot approach the presence of God, as Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Think of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. As He was nailed to the tree, His blood was applied to the four corners of the cross, as it were. His nailed hands stretched out on both sides. His feet were pierced through below, and His bloody brow from the crown of thorns at the top. His blood was applied to the altar, displaying that sacrifice is made for sinners – He was a sin-offering to God in the place of sinners. And there is no other way for sinners to come to God except through Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.
It is a simple and yet deeply profound reality. It is fundamental and yet so vital and central to our entire lives that Paul can say that he “desired to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” We dare not ever become bored or lulled to sleep by this truth that Christ offered Himself on the cross for sinners. Because when we approach God through Jesus and behold the Lord of Glory on the cross, we should be reminded that it is our sin and our guilt for which He bled, suffered, and died. We should’ve been there. We deserve death, judgment, and the wrath of God. Yet, the Heavenly Son of God put on human flesh, that He might bleed great drops of blood to be applied to the four corners of the altar for our sins. His blood, His life, for ours. You can never get tired of that! The God of Heaven in the person of Jesus Christ was crucified outside upon the Mt. in the midst of the Gentiles, profaned, cursed, and spit upon – because we are sinners because He loved us and so gave Himself for us in order to bring us into the Holy Place with God! We don’t get the weight and gravity of that as we should, I don’t get it as I stand here before you, and so if nothing else is known in life, it is enough to know nothing else, but to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The bronze altar was fitted with pots and utensils and basins and fire pans for receiving the ashes from the burnt offerings. This is not a mere utilitarian feature of the altar, but as A. W. Pink says, “The ashes testified to the thoroughness of the fire’s work in having wholly consumed the offering. They also witnessed to the acceptance of the sacrifice on behalf of the offerer, and so they were to him a token that his sins were gone. The words of Christ from the cross express the fulfillment of this detail of our type: ‘It is finished’ announced that the sacrifice had been offered, accepted, and gone up to God as a sweet savor.” So as Pink gets at, the ashes were the result of the thoroughness of the sacrifice being consumed. This isn’t a cute little type, it testifies to the great and deep SUFFERING of Jesus Christ. As Christ offered Himself as sacrifice to God for sin, He was not consumed by literal flames of fire, but our God who is a consuming fire poured out the totality of His wrath and justice for the sins of His people upon the Son. There was not a drop held back. There was not anything Christ held back from being offered for the sins of His people. His suffering was so great beyond our comprehension. And yet what a glorious token this is for us, that our sins have been completely forgiven, completely dealt with, thoroughly and finally paid for with nothing else left to offer for them.
What a peace and joy to know that it is finished. One of the ways we are reminded that “it is finished,” is by the fact that there is no ceremonial altar in the New Covenant. We no longer go to a bronze altar, there are to be no altars in our worship, because the final sacrifice has been made – because “it is finished.” High Church traditions err in putting altars in their churches. Low Church traditions err in having “altar calls.” Christ is our altar. Christ offered Himself once and for all. And through His death, we live; and yes, we are living sacrifices to God, and we offer sacrifices of praise which are wrought by the Spirit of God after having already approached God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Now, when we consider that this bronze altar was patterned after heavenly things as a copy and shadow, we should not be surprised to find that there is a heavenly altar scene in the Bible, much like the other elements of the tabernacle that we have seen in heavenly visions in Scripture. What heavenly thing might this be patterned after? Turn to Isaiah 6:1-7:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”[b]
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
So in this vision of Heaven in the presence of the LORD, Isaiah sees the house filled with smoke. Where does smoke come from? Something burning. What is it? The angel takes coals from the ALTAR, with the tongs, like the utensils for the bronze altar. And just as the bronze altar was to remind the people of their guilt and sin, and the atonement for sin, so the coal from the altar is applied to Isaiah’s unclean lips and it is pronounced that his guilt is taken away and his sin atoned for. You see, the tabernacle is patterned after heavenly things. There is no approach to God without atonement for sin.
In John 12, John quotes from the prophet Isaiah concerning prophecies about Jesus and the unbelief of the people of Jesus’ day, and then John says in John 12:41, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his [Jesus’] glory and spoke of him.” So Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus, and we saw in Isaiah six that there in that heavenly vision Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord filling the whole earth as the smoke from the altar filled the whole house. So what heavenly glory is the bronze altar patterned after? The glory of Christ.
Holding on to God
Now one of the other uses for the four horns on the altar was for binding the sacrifice upon the altar. Psalm 118:27 says, “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” So Jesus, our sacrifice, was bound with cords when He was arrested. And he was fastened to the cross, nailed into wood, as the sacrifice was made. And so, ought we poor sinners, go and bind ourselves to Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and in death. Our only hope for redemption and forgiveness, let us be bound to Him, and found in Him. So Galatians speaks to our union with Christ as being bound in Him, saying, “For I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
But even more does the bronze altar speak to our binding ourselves to Christ. One of the purposes of the horns was that if someone was in trouble, they could run to the horns of the altar and grab hold of them and find refuge or sanctuary, as it were. In 1 Kings chapter 1 Adonijah sets himself up as King after David, but then old David anoints Solomon to be king, so Adonijah fears that Solomon will kill him, so Adonijah runs to the altar and grabs the horns of the altar, as 1 Kings 1:50 says, “And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Then it was told Solomon, ‘Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” Then in 1 Kings 2, there is more drama as Solomon’s reign is established and Joab also fears for his life and runs to the horns of the altar, as it says in 1 Kings 2:28, “Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and caught hold of the horns of the altar.”
So the horns of the altar was a place where guilty sinners who feared death could run to and cling to and grab hold of and find sanctuary and refuge. Are you a sinner? Are you deserving of death from a holy God? Does the justice of God cry out for your condemnation? Do you stand condemned before the perfect righteousness of God, have you sinned before Him? Then run, fly, as fast as you can to the Lord Jesus Christ for refuge. It is there and there only that you may find sanctuary and life. That you may be spared death and where you may live. Run and by faith grab hold of Christ and Him Crucified and cling to Him as your life depends upon it! Death comes after you, it comes sooner than you think, and as it is appointed once for man to die, then comes judgment. So run to Christ while you can and find refuge and life, and be spared from death and judgment. As Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” We find life in identifying with Christ in His death.
Praising God
Let us now conclude by briefly considering the court of the tabernacle and the oil for the lamp which will serve as an opportunity for more reflection and application. So the bronze altar where sacrifices were made was within the court of the tabernacle. The walls of the court were the linen hangings, so it was an extension of the tent, it was the outer court of the tent. What makes it a court is that there was no roof or covering over the top. Yet it still had to be entered through the gate, or the screen of the court.
And so we see this in Psalm 27:6, “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.” Two things here; first there is sacrifice in the tent. We understand this Christologicaly when we remember that the tabernacle as a whole was a type of the Lord Jesus in flesh. So it was in His flesh, the tent, which He offered Himself as sacrifice to God.
Second, it is obvious that the ceremony of sacrifice is a solemn event, but we must not only think of it that way. It is occasion for thanksgiving, rejoicing, and praising God, for sin has been atoned for. So the Psalmist offers sacrifice with shouts of joy, singing and making melody to the LORD. This is what we see also in Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” And in Psalm 22, the Psalm of Christ’s great suffering on the cross, there is yet praising as verse 22 says, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you!”
So the big theme here is that God establishes sacrifice as an occasion of thankfulness and praise to God. It is a display of great mercy and forgiveness and there is joy and gladness in the one whose sins have been forgiven! So today, as there is no more physical tabernacle, no more bronze altar, and no more sacrifice, it is because the final once and for all sacrifice of the Lamb of God has been made, so now we are to be in perpetual praise of God, with continual thankfulness to God for Jesus’ sake! Each week as we gather with the brethren, we are to enter with thankfulness ready to sing and give praise to God, for our sins have been forgiven, sacrifice has been made and accepted, and God’s Spirit dwells in us.
How is it that you enter into worship each Lord’s Day? Do you come with thankfulness to God in your heart, or are you ungrateful as you come into worship? Do you come ready to sing God’s praise and receive His Word with gladness, or is your heart and mind consumed with yourself and your struggles and trials of the week? Are there areas in your weekly routine that you could change so you could better prepare yourself and your family to come to worship thankful and ready to praise the Lord and receive from Him? Are you regular in family worship and private devotion so that your affections for Christ are attended to and warm as you come to meet with Him in worship?
Serving God
Consider also the instructions for the oil for the lamp. As we looked at the significance of the lampstand in the tabernacle a few weeks ago, I just want to consider the instruction in verse 20. The oil for the lamp was to be brought to the tabernacle by the people of Israel. Aaron and the priests would then take the oil and use it to keep the light of the lampstand burning in the tabernacle. This goes back to Exodus 25 where we saw the materials for the tabernacle were to be given by the people as their hearts so moved them to give. In that list of materials is the oil for the lamps. Being that the lamp was continually to be lit, they were continually to give to the service of the tabernacle on a regular basis, even after its construction.
We talked about how the seven flames of fire from the lampstand signified the Spirit of God and His presence. So if the lampstand were to go out due to a lack of oil being supplied, what might be signified in that? The lamp goes out, the ministry of the tabernacle and service to the Lord has not been faithfully attended to, and the presence of God has left His people. Recall the parable of the ten virgins and their oil lamps. How vital it was to remain watchful and faithful, or else be found rebellious and disobedient and removed from God’s presence, unable to approach God.
The people had an important role in aiding Aaron and the priests in their service of the tabernacle. In the New Covenant we no longer have the service of the tabernacle. We no longer have the levitical priesthood, or lampstands with oil. But by way of application, I humbly submit this for your consideration: as the people aided Aaron, do you aid those who minister the Word to you? Do you aid your pastors by regularly praying for them? It doesn’t do you any good to withhold your prayers for them – it is in your best interest to pray for them? Not only for your pastors, but for all the brethren, as we are all made priests unto God through Jesus Christ our Great High Priest, do you pray for one another, aid one another, exhort, encourage, and spur on one another to love and good works? This is your calling from God. May the work of the ministry that we all participate in never cease because we have failed to supply the love and the service that we owe to one another! Husbands and wives in your roles to one another, do you help your spouse faithfully carry out his or her duties? Parents and children? Don’t keep the oil to yourselves. You have it to give to one another, for mutual upbuilding.
How can you pray for one another this week? There are a lot of things to pray for right now, as always. How can you encourage someone this week? How can you serve someone this week?
When it comes to approaching God, Christ has done all and provided all of Himself to bring us to God. We don’t aid Christ in atoning for our sins. He paid it all and provided all. And He has given His people the oil that is His Spirit. He has deposited to us His very Spirit, which supplies us with all that we need to carry out these spiritual duties, not for approaching God, but for serving and helping one another, for Jesus’ sake. Don’t withhold what God has given you to give to your brother. Give as you have been given to.
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