{"id":5663,"date":"2023-04-24T15:33:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T15:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=5663"},"modified":"2023-04-24T15:33:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T15:33:32","slug":"an-altar-of-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/an-altar-of-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"An Altar of Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click HERE for sermon audio<\/a><\/p>\n

And the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cThus you shall say to the people of Israel: \u2018You have seen for yourselves that I have\u00a0talked with you from heaven.<\/span>\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup>You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.<\/span>\u00a024\u00a0<\/sup>An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen.\u00a0In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and\u00a0bless you.<\/span>\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>If you make me an altar of stone,\u00a0you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.<\/span>\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup>And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.\u2019 (Exodus 20:22-26)<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

After the 10 Commandments are given we saw how Israel was struck with fear of God\u2019s voice speaking from heaven, speaking from the cloud, and they retreated in fear, asking for Moses to be their mediator and speak to them on God\u2019s behalf, because they could not bear the Theophanic storm and God\u2019s words. So Moses goes near to God, in the cloud, on the mountain, and God speaks more words to Moses. In chapter 21, God begins to give Moses all these different case laws for Israel. But before He does this, God first speaks to Moses about how to build a proper altar to God. As we read, God describes the altar of earth that Israel was to make when they made an altar to offer sacrifices to God. These instructions are for the immediate building of an altar to God as they travel, before the construction of the tabernacle and temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When seeking to understand the structure and flow of the narrative in this passage, it is apparent that God, in first giving instruction pertaining to altars, is giving instruction and application concerning the 1st and 2nd commandments – that they shall have no other gods before Him, and that they shall not make idols or graven images. These commands prohibit idolatry and construction of images of God, or other gods. And now, after the 10 Commandments, God first gives positive instruction on the way they are to worship Him at that time. He gives positive instruction on how they ARE to build an altar to worship God through.<\/span><\/p>\n

Altar of Earth (No gods of Silver or Gold)<\/b><\/p>\n

But first, in verse 23, God reiterates and specifically prohibits Israel not only from making gods or idols, but He prohibits them from making gods of silver or gold to be with Him, as in, worshiped with Yahweh, or worshiped as images of Yahweh, and also, they are of course prohibited from making these gods for themselves, in their homes, or wherever, even if it is outside of the worship of God. Now, God has already prohibited idolatry, so why would He make this prohibition against using specifically gold or silver? There are a number of reasons that could be said.<\/span><\/p>\n

One reason is that Yahweh is distinguishing Himself from other gods. This clearly would be a temptation for the people of Israel, as it wasn\u2019t an uncommon practice to make gods of silver and gold. We even see that they break this command there at Sinai when they construct the GOLDEN calf with all their gold jewelry. This would be a practice they witnessed in Egypt, or in the surrounding Canaanite religions. God is not just one of these gods, and He is not like them, therefore, He is to be worshiped differently. He is to be worshiped as He says He is to be worshiped, not as they, or we would like, or think best. He is not a God that can be conformed to the cultural sensibilities of a pagan people. He cannot be brought down and modeled into our image, as we think He is or should be.<\/span><\/p>\n

One commentator gives another reason, \u201cGold and silver are mentioned specifically to make clear that even the most precious and valuable things could not be compared to Him who spoke from heaven. It does not mean that simple images made of wood or stone were permissible.\u201d\u00a0 So if silver and gold are prohibited, naturally, any other material to make images of gods or of God is also prohibited. You see, the most precious and valuable materials to men are not even fit to accurately display the image and majesty of almighty God of Heaven and Earth. He cannot be accurately made into an image by man. Thus, any forming of gods and images is idolatry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On this, Rushdoony says, \u201cIdolatry is the attempt to make God comprehensible to man by giving an intellectual concept a physical form. Thus, some gods are depicted, as in India, with many eyes, to indicate they are all-seeing, or with many hands, to indicate that they are omnipotent. The fallacy is, among other things, that it delimits God to what man considers important.\u201d So he is saying that any attempt to make God into an image or display His being with idols will always be limited and inaccurate. You see, if man is able to mold God into an image with their hands or tools, then they have successfully domesticated and controlled this God, and thus may be gods themselves, as crafters of divinity. But this is not so. We are to worship God as He is and as He says He is to be worshiped, not as we would like Him to be, or as we think He would like to be worshiped.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the triune God of heaven and earth, who is Spirit, and omnipresent, there is not even a need for idols. Of course today, Christians have the Holy Spirit indwelling them, we have His written Word preserved for us, He is present with us in worship – in the preaching of the Word, in sacrament, and in our fellowship. We commune with Him in prayer. But even for Israel, who was under an inferior dispensation, they had no need for a symbol of God’s presence – or as it was thought in ancient religion, an idol was a very real representation of the deity and so was the presence of the deity itself. They had no need for this, for God was with them. He was in the cloud. The Angel of the Lord never left them from the cloud that never left them throughout the wilderness. He has declared that He will come to them, bless them, and cause His name to be remembered where He chooses and takes them. He was not an absent God to them. As Matthew Henry says, He had given them sufficient demonstration of His presence among them; they needed not to make images of Him, as if He were absent.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The principle is this: we must come to God on His terms. Today, we come to God only in and through Jesus Christ, God\u2019s Son. There are no merits that we can substitute as a means to coming to God, no matter how precious or ornamental they may appear or be. Not even the best of man\u2019s works is good enough to come to God with. We may only come through faith in Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

So in verse 24, after prohibiting gods of silver and gold, God instructs that His altar is to be made of earth. So this is to be earthy materials, not precious metals or materials crafted by man. Specifically, we see that stones were of earth and were a proper material to use, so long as they were not hewn stones, which we will get to in a little bit. So in comparison to precious metals, God\u2019s altar in this case, was to have an earthy, more plain or simple look and construction to it. Some of the Israelites may have taken offense to this, and thought, \u201cHow could such an almighty God have such a lowly altar, it should be made of the best materials!\u201d Well, the use of gold and precious materials would come later in the temple and such. But God had a purpose for this altar of earth. Just as the temple was typological of Christ, so is this altar of earth in its use.<\/span><\/p>\n

What might this altar of earth, in its simplicity or plainness be typological of? One early church father said this, \u201cTo make an altar of earth for the Lord is to place our hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Our gift is accepted by God when, on this altar, our humility rests whatever it does upon faith in the Lord\u2019s incarnation. We place the gift we offer on an altar made of earth if we base all our actions on faith in the Lord\u2019s incarnation.\u201d So in other words, this altar of earth was typological of the incarnation of Christ. Christ came to earth not with the pomp and circumstance of kings, but He came to earth in a lowly manger. He put on the plainness of human flesh. He was nothing special to look at with eyes of flesh. God formed man in the garden with the dust of the earth and breathed life into him. Into such flesh, God came in the person of Jesus Christ. He became like us in the flesh, to redeem us from the corruption of the flesh and the curse of sin. He had to be man like us in order to be our representative and stand in our place and be tried as men. But He also had to be God to take upon Him the sins of the world and bear the curse and wrath of God for us. And so, in the simplicity and plainness of earth, the majesty of the Almighty dwelt, that man may be saved through Him. This may not make sense to creatures as us. It may not seem fitting for the King of Creation to stoop so low. But God is not like the other gods. So Christ is to be taken by faith, in His simplicity, without adding anything of our works to Him. He is sufficient, He is what pleases God, and in faith we must take Him as He is and as He has given Himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncut Stones<\/b><\/p>\n

So the altar was to be made of earth, and then verse 25 gives specific instruction about the use of rocks in constructing this altar. They were allowed to use stones, but they were not allowed to use hewn stones, or wield their tools on it, lest they profane the altar. So unhewn, uncut, or uncarved stones were acceptable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, we see the idea here that carving, molding, and images made of hands and tools were unacceptable. In fact, it would profane the altar, or the King James Version says, it would pollute the altar if they wielded their tools upon it. This shows us the idea that man is sinful and God is holy. In the Old Covenant there were all kinds of cleansing laws, and laws about not touching certain things in the tabernacle and temple with hands or tools. God was teaching them in the Old Covenant, they are unclean, ceremonially, and that uncleanness spreads, and purification was desperately needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is typological of the fact that we are unclean sinners. We need cleansing and sacrifice. The works of our own hands pollutes or profanes the work of Christ. Christ needs none of our\u00a0 works added to Him or His works. We are to just accept all of Him and only Him in faith. The way to God is not by the work of our hands, for our hands or dirty, sinful, and guilty. We do not come to God by our works. Sacrifice upon the altar shows us the need for mercy and grace. The need for a substitute to be sacrificed in our place. It is gift, not work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now why would there be such specific commands about not cutting stones? In other words, why are stones specifically mentioned? Well, stones are important throughout the Bible. Stones and rock is an important theme throughout the Bible. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the stone that was rejected, who has become the cornerstone. He is the rock of our salvation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But not only do we see stones throughout the Bible finding their fulfillment in Christ, but we also specifically see this theme of uncut or unhewn stones. In Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream which is interpreted by the prophet Daniel. I want to read this passage to you so that you can see for yourself the similar themes and images as our passage here in Exodus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.<\/span>\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup>The head of this image was of fine gold,\u00a0its chest and arms of silver, its middle and\u00a0thighs of bronze,<\/span>\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup>its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.<\/span>\u00a034\u00a0<\/sup>As you looked, a stone was cut out\u00a0by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and\u00a0broke them in pieces.<\/span>\u00a035\u00a0<\/sup>Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became\u00a0like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that\u00a0not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became\u00a0a great mountain\u00a0and filled the whole earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

36\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThis was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.<\/span>\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>You, O king,\u00a0the king of kings, to whom\u00a0the God of heaven\u00a0has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,<\/span>\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man,\u00a0the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all\u2014you are\u00a0the head of gold.<\/span>\u00a039\u00a0<\/sup>Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom\u00a0of bronze,\u00a0which shall rule over all the earth.<\/span>\u00a040\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron\u00a0breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall\u00a0break and crush all these.<\/span>\u00a041\u00a0<\/sup>And as you saw\u00a0the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the\u00a0firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.<\/span>\u00a042\u00a0<\/sup>And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.<\/span>\u00a043\u00a0<\/sup>As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,[c<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.<\/span>\u00a044\u00a0<\/sup>And in the days of those kings\u00a0the God of heaven will set up\u00a0a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people.\u00a0It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and\u00a0it shall stand forever,<\/span>\u00a045\u00a0<\/sup>just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.\u201d (Daniel 2:31-45)<\/span><\/p>\n

So here in this prophecy, the Kingdom of God is described as a stone not cut from human hands, which destroys the other kingdoms of the world which are made from gold, silver, iron, and clay mixes. The stone not cut from human hands shatters these false kingdoms, it strikes the images, and fills the whole earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So the altar of uncut stone is typical of the work of Christ and His Kingdom in the world. No longer is the presence of God restricted to where He visits their altars of earth, but now, over all the earth where God\u2019s people are, they are God\u2019s people, made by His own hands in Christ Jesus. God\u2019s presence is all over the earth where His Church is, built upon Christ the cornerstone.<\/span><\/p>\n

So we see that the Church does not create the Kingdom of God, or create their Christ by carving Him up or molding the kingdom into their own image. But it is a work of God, and the stone changes us. It crushes all opposition to God and lays the foundation of the Church and of Salvation. It crushes us and our sin, and builds us back up again in Christ Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Steps<\/b><\/p>\n

We have one final piece of instruction in verse 26. They are told not to build steps to go up to the altar. If they did, their nakedness would be exposed upon the altar, which would be uncleanness. So, we see a surface level but important principle here, and that is that God desires modesty in worship. Certainly there is a contrast with ancient pagan religions which had all kinds of immodest and impure worship practices upon their altars. God\u2019s altar is not, even in the slightest, to be like that. Protective measures are put in place to even prevent accidental impurity in worship. God does not call for impure acts in His worship. We also ought to be modest as we enter into worship. Nakedness in inappropriate contexts is a shameful thing, a reminder of the sin of our first parents in the garden who saw their shame and their need to cover themselves because of it, and of God\u2019s provision to cover and clothe them. God is here, again, covering His people, covering our shame in His presence.<\/span><\/p>\n

So they are not to make an altar with ascending steps. Again we have a great contrast between Yahweh and the other ancient pagan deities and false religions. Think about the ancient structures in the world that we know of today, like pyramids and ziggurats. Many were made of hewn stone and had steps and stairs ascending and descending, and they committed all sorts of abominations and human sacrifices upon them. But such is pagan, we serve a different God.<\/span><\/p>\n

But one of the reasons we find steps on pagan altars and architecture has more to do with mere functionality. The idea in some Pagan thought was that the closer you could ascend up to the gods, the more likely your sacrifice was to be accepted. If you could just ascend up closer to them, they just might hear and see and accept your worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is pagan thought, for the One True God of Heaven and Earth does not call men to climb steps, either of pagan altars or of Rome. He is not a God who says, \u201cmeet me halfway.\u201d For there is no stairway to Heaven which man can make. As A. W. Pink says,<\/span> \u201cThe very efforts of man to climb up to God only exposes his own shame.\u201d Instead, the Most High God is a God who comes down. He comes to earth. He comes to where sinners are, for sinners cannot ascend to Him on their own. He comes all the way down into the depths of earth to save sinners. This is what the incarnate Christ has done. God came all the way down to putting on human flesh in the person of Christ to save us. He did not call us up to put on the divine. He came down to put on the flesh, that we may then be made like Him in eternity. This altar of earth made from uncut stones without stairs to ascend is a picture of the incarnation of God in Christ. Christ is the stairway. It is only in Him that man may ascend to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n

So today, we have no altars in the Church, we are no longer commanded or permitted to make altars for worship, for they were provided for a temporary time in preparation of Jesus Christ, who is the final sacrifice for sin. Christ has put an end to the use of altars in the Church. It is only through Him that we ascend to God and are made right before God.<\/span><\/p>\n

A. W. Pink makes one final keen observation of the flow of the text in Exodus. God gives the law of the covenant in the Ten Commandments, and then immediately following the giving of the law, what does God do? He gives the altar of earth for sacrifices. The giving of the altar right after the giving of the law showed their inability to keep the law perfectly as required. The altar was there for they would sin and break the law. The altar was a sign of provision for their failure. The altar was not an end in itself, but it prepared the way and pointed forward to Christ, the only one who could truly take away our sins with His blood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So when you sin, what do you do? Do you attempt to make up for it by the working of your hands? I am not speaking of biblical restitution for wrongs, which is right and good. But are you hoping that your good works will outweigh your bad? Do you substitute works of your hand for confession and repentance? There is no substitute for repentance unto life in Jesus Christ. When you sin, confess your sins. Turn from them and turn to the Lord Jesus who came to earth in human flesh to give Himself for our sins. When you sin against your spouse, or your children, or your parents, or your friends, ask forgiveness from them, and ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you through His once and for all sacrifice. Confess, forgive, and repeat until we get to Heaven. Sin is the reality, but\u00a0 God is not like other gods. He has come down in Christ to deal with our sins. God be praised.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click HERE for sermon audio And the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cThus you shall say to the people of Israel: \u2018You have seen for yourselves that I have\u00a0talked with you from heaven.\u00a023\u00a0You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.\u00a024\u00a0An altar of earth you shall make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":5673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582],"tags":[1561,414,461,664,678,699,836,1550],"class_list":{"0":"post-5663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sermon","8":"tag-altar","9":"tag-earth","10":"tag-exodus","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-jenkins","13":"tag-joshua","14":"tag-moses","15":"tag-sinai","16":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/04\/altar-assyrian.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6319,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-cloud-descends\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":0},"title":"The Cloud Descends","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"February 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio \u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0spoke to Moses, saying,\u00a02\u00a0\u201cOn the\u00a0first day of the first month you shall\u00a0erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.\u00a03\u00a0And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall\u00a0screen the ark with the veil.\u00a04\u00a0And\u00a0you shall bring in the table and arrange it,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-tent-of-meeting.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-tent-of-meeting.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-tent-of-meeting.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6024,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-altar-the-court-and-the-oil\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":1},"title":"The Altar, the Court, and the Oil","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"October 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio \u201cYou shall make the\u00a0altar of acacia wood, five cubits[a]\u00a0long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.\u00a02\u00a0And you shall make\u00a0horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and\u00a0you shall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/10\/00041334.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4505,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-altar-of-incense-the-smell-god-likes\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":2},"title":"The Altar of Incense: The Smell God Likes","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"June 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction The Bible can sometimes be difficult to understand if we only read and try to understand a single passage by itself. The modern evangelical approach to Bible reading is designed to be very simple and easy. Many Bible reading plans or devotionals will pick out the nice sounding easy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/06\/altar-of-incense.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/06\/altar-of-incense.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/06\/altar-of-incense.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/06\/altar-of-incense.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5948,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/covenant-ratification\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":3},"title":"Covenant Ratification","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio Then he said to Moses, \u201cCome up to the\u00a0Lord, you and Aaron,\u00a0Nadab, and Abihu, and\u00a0seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.\u00a02\u00a0Moses\u00a0alone shall come near to the\u00a0Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/7a9e2e1a80978b21ff42a8fc.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/7a9e2e1a80978b21ff42a8fc.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/7a9e2e1a80978b21ff42a8fc.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6111,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-scent-of-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":4},"title":"The Scent of Heaven","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio\u00a0 \u201cYou shall make\u00a0an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.\u00a02\u00a0A cubit[a]\u00a0shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height.\u00a0Its horns shall be of one piece with it.\u00a03\u00a0You shall\u00a0overlay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/Incense.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/Incense.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/Incense.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/Incense.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/11\/Incense.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6099,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/washed-with-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":5663,"position":5},"title":"Washed with Water","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio \u201cNow this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.\u00a0Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish,\u00a02\u00a0and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. 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