Exodus 38:1 And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
2 And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
4 And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.
6 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
The altar for burnt offering was another very important vessel in the tabernacle. It too was made shittim wood and made foursquare. It had four horns, one on each corner. We have noted before that the horns were a picture of power. The animal placed on that altar was secured. That animal was offered as an atonement for sin. The sin was covered for the participant who trusted in the law of God.
The brazen altar was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who come to God in repentance and trust in the blood of Jesus Christ for salvation, have their sins removed, not just covered.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
The typology of the Old Testament was important and needed to be an accurate picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we noted, this altar was overlaid with brass, not gold. This altar depicted the suffering of the Messiah. Jesus Christ would be whipped and beaten and spat upon and cruelly nailed to the cross. He would find no sympathy from the Romans or the Jews. His mother and John and a few others were the only ones mentioned who stood near His cross, with a sympathetic heart. He did not need their help or anyone else’s help. He bore our sins on the cross all by Himself. He is the eternal Son of God and He was capable of taking that burden upon Himself.
This altar also had vessels assigned to it. There were the pots for the fat and the shovels and the basins, the fleshhooks and the firepans. All the vessels were made of brass as well. Everything about this altar depicted the suffering for sin. The cost of forgiveness is very high. That cost is fully borne by the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot bear any of that cost. It it is important to know the forgiveness of God first and foremost.
This altar had a brazen grate to hold the wood for the fire. It also had four rings and two staves to be put into those rings.
God made a point of noting that the shittim boards for this altar were hollow.
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus Christ set aside His glory in order to become a man. He was the Creator of all things, and yet He subjected Himself to His Father and came to suffer and die for His Creation. He made Himself of no reputation. He was despised by His own people. The Roman soldiers and Pilate and Herod mocked Him. He took it all and asked His Father to forgive those hardened people.
God used the picture of that brazen altar for a number of years. The priests needed to note the significance of that altar.
II Kings 16:12 And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.
14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.
15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
King Ahaz lost the significance of that brazen altar. The priests of that time were equally guilty. They put that altar aside and offered on the pagan altar from Damascus. God would not receive those offerings. God would eventually send the Assyrians to weaken the south and then the Babylonians came against Judah to take captives and destroy the Temple and kill many of the people.
God made that brazen altar for a purpose. Later God sent His Son for a specific purpose. Today many people have a foreign Jesus who is not capable of forgiving sin. He is a cool dude who can enjoy the sins of the people. That is not the Jesus of the Bible.
We do not need a modern Jesus. We need the true Jesus Who came to save sinners. It is important and necessary to know the forgiveness of sins in order to fellowship with a holy God.
Today is the Lord’s Day. God has given us this day to set aside our busyness and go to a true local church to learn of Him. Be sure you are taking advantage of this opportunity that God has given you. It is important to know His peace in your heart.
Pastor Bartel