Monday, July 23, 2007

Exodus 27


Plans for the Altar of Burnt Offering


(1) “Using acacia wood, construct a square altar* 7½ feet wide, 7½ feet long, and 4½ feet high.


*altar: Hebrews 13:10: We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. Our altar is the cross, where Jesus died for our sins and we follow by dying unto self and living for Jesus.

We lay down our lives on that same altar: Galatians 2:20 and 6:14: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me...As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.


   The size here matches that of altars discovered at Arad and Beersheba from the period of the Israelite monarchy.



(2) Make horns* for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar are all one piece. Overlay the altar with bronze.


*horns: Exodus 29:12 - Put some of its blood on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest at the base of the altar.


   A number of biblical texts refer to altars with "horns" (Ex 29:12;37:25; Leviticus 4:7,18ff.; 8:15; 9:9; 16:18; 1 Kings 1:50f.; 2:28; Ps 118:27; Jeremiah 17:1; Ezekiel 43:15,20; Am 3:14). Horned altars have been found in several Israelite sites. The one at Tel Beersheba was reconstructed from stones uncovered as parts of other more recent buildings - the altar having been perhaps dismantled during a reform, such as those the Bible ascribes to Hezekiah and Josiah. It is large, approximately 5ft square.


   The horns of the altar were indispensable – they were the most sacred part. Blood was put on them; fugitives could cling to them, and the priests would grab the horns of the little altar when making intercessory prayer. They signified power, as horns on an animal did in the wild (and so the word was used for kings as well). The horns may also represent the sacrificial animals killed on the altar.


(3) Make ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans, all of bronze.


(4) Make a bronze grating for it, and attach four bronze rings at its four corners.


(5) Install the grating halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge.


(6) For carrying the altar, make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.


(7) Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the altar.


   The poles are not left in the rings, but only put into the rings when they carried it.


(8) The altar must be hollow, made from planks. Build it just as you were shown on the mountain.


   This was the great altar for animal sacrifices. It was located at the entrance of the tabernacle, thus signifying that the shedding of blood is central to humanity’s approach to God. The altar typifies the cross, and the burnt offerings made on it typify Christ, who offered himself unblemished to God (Exodus 12:5; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19). -- Making the Tabernacle Chapters 25 - 27: www.wcg.org/lit/bible/law/exodus3.htm


   Man is standing on the outside. How can he approach God? The first thing he must have is a substitute to die for him. This is where God deals with the sinner. It speaks of the Cross of Christ and of the fact that He is actually the One who died in man's stead. The altar was made by man, but the pattern is in heaven. The Cross was God's chosen altar of sacrifice. There is no approach to God except by the brazen altar, as John 1:29 says: “...Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! It wasn't just the ordinary man who had to come to the altar - the priests too had to have their sins dealt with.


   Leviticus 1:1-17 gives details of this sacrifice:


The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats. “If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle so you may be accepted by the Lord. Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him. Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will present the animal’s blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar that stands at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Then skin the animal and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest will build a wood fire on the altar. They will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.“If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the flock, it may be either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a male with no defects. Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. Then cut the animal in pieces, and the priests will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.“If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar. The priest must also remove the crop and the feathers and throw them in the ashes on the east side of the altar. Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.


Hebrews 10:1-18: The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God - as is written about me in the Scriptures.’ ”First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. ”Then he says, I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.


   Nothing is said about the top of the altar. Some commentators suggest, in view of the previous instruction for making an altar out of earth and stone, that when this one was to be used it would be filled up with dirt clods and the animal burnt on the top of that. If the animal was burnt inside it, the wood would quickly burn. A number of recent scholars think this was simply an imagined plan to make a portable altar after the pattern of Solomon’s – but that is an unsatisfactory suggestion. This construction must simply represent a portable frame for the altar in the courtyard, an improvement over the field altar. The purpose and function of the altar are not in question. Here worshipers would make their sacrifices to God in order to find forgiveness and atonement, and in order to celebrate in worship with him. No one could worship God apart from this; no one could approach God apart from this. So too the truths that this altar communicated form the basis and center of all Christian worship. One could word an applicable lesson this way: Believers must ensure that the foundation and center of their worship is the altar, i.e., the sacrificial atonement.


   The altar taught the Old Testament believer that communion required atonement/sacrifice. Let’s look at some lessons that we learned from each of them. First of all, in verses 1-8, the outer altar. The outer altar taught the Old Testament believer that communion required atonement. The outer altar taught the Old Testament believer that the only way into communion with God was through sacrifice. This outer altar was the very first thing that a worshipper would see when entering into the tabernacle courtyard. The altar visibly drove home the point to every worshiper in Israel for 1500 years that you could not come into God’s presence without sacrifice.


Plans for the Courtyard


(9) “Then make the courtyard* for the Tabernacle, enclosed with curtains** made of finely woven linen. On the south side, make the curtains 150 feet long.


*The courtyard: The curtains of fine linen surrounding the courtyard demonstrate that righteousness is required for true worship (Revelation 19:8). They prevent access to anyone who does not come in by the entrance. The entrance of the tabernacle represents Jesus Christ. As our "gate," he is our access to God by virtue of his redemptive work (John 10:7-9). -- Making the Tabernacle: www.wcg.org/lit/bible/law/exodus3.htm The courtyard demarcated sacred space to the worshipers but also separated classes of people. Herod’s temple had four courtyards. There was a courtyard for the priests. There was a courtyard for Jewish males. There was a courtyard for Jewish females. And then there was a courtyard called the courtyard of the Gentiles. And these courts were separated by dividing walls. And Josephus tells that there was even a signed warning that if Gentiles entered into any of the other courts they would face death.

Ephesians 2:14:14: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (KJV)


**curtains: The tabernacle coverings, frames, curtain ("veil," NKJV) and outer curtain: The veil of the tabernacle separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, the inner sanctuary where the ark of the covenant was located. The veil represents humanity’s separation from the presence of God, which ended when Christ was crucified. At the moment of Christ’s death, the veil was "torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51). Although the Old Testament high priest could go behind the veil only once a year, Christ, as our High Priest (Hebrews 9:11-12), provides continual access to the presence of God to everyone who enters "by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain [veil], that is, his body" (Hebrews 10:20). -- Making the Tabernacle: www.wcg.org/lit/bible/law/exodus3.htm


(10) They will be held up by twenty posts set securely in twenty bronze bases. Hang the curtains with silver hooks and rings.


(11) Make the curtains the same on the north side—150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts set securely in bronze bases. Hang the curtains with silver hooks and rings.


(12) The curtains on the west end of the courtyard will be 75 feet long, supported by ten posts set into ten bases.


(13) The east end of the courtyard, the front, will also be 75 feet long.


(14) The courtyard entrance will be on the east end, flanked by two curtains. The curtain on the right side will be 22½ feet long, supported by three posts set into three bases.


(15) The curtain on the left side will also be 22½ feet long, supported by three posts set into three bases.


(16) “For the entrance to the courtyard, make a curtain that is 30 feet long. Make it from finely woven linen, and decorate it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Support it with four posts, each securely set in its own base.


(17) All the posts around the courtyard must have silver* rings and hooks and bronze bases.


*Silver (a metal illustrating redemption) was the foundation for the tent of meeting. It was also the top - the most visible part - of the pillars surrounding the courtyard. But the courtyard fence hung on a foundation of refined bronze - the judgment Jesus took in our place.


(18) So the entire courtyard will be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with curtain walls 7½ feet high, made from finely woven linen. The bases for the posts will be made of bronze.


(19) “All the articles used in the rituals of the Tabernacle, including all the tent pegs used to support the Tabernacle and the courtyard curtains, must be made of bronze.


   The entire courtyard of 150 feet by 75 feet was to be enclosed by a curtain wall held up with posts in bases. All these hangings were kept in place by a cord and tent pegs.


   The tabernacle is an important aspect of OT theology. The writer’s pattern so far has been: ark, table, lamp, and then their container (the tabernacle); then the altar and its container (the courtyard). The courtyard is the place of worship where the people could gather – they entered God’s courts. Though the courtyard may not seem of much interest to current readers, it did interest the Israelites. Here the sacrifices were made, the choirs sang, the believers offered their praises, they had their sins forgiven, they came to pray, they appeared on the holy days, and they heard from God. It was sacred because God met them there; they left the “world” (figuratively speaking) and came into the very presence of God.


Light for the Tabernacle


(20) “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil* of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.


*oil : The fine olive oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 16:13). Clear olive oil produces little smoke and gives off better light.


(21) The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.


   This perpetually burning lamp reminds us of the divine presence. Think of it, friends, the people never, ever, would have seen within the veil into the holy of holies. Once the tabernacle is constructed, once the tent is set up, nobody but one priest, once a year, sees inside the holy of holies. But outside that holy of holies, in front of the closed veil, in front of the closed curtains, sits a lamp.


   That lamp visibly reminds the people of the presence of God. The symbolism of this continually refueled lamp seems to point to the presence of the unseen God. And John picks up on this theme in Revelation chapter 22, verse 5. Do you remember what he says? He’s commenting on the superiority of the new heavens, and the new earth, and the New Jerusalem, which has been brought down by God, and this is what he says, “There will no longer be any night and they will not have need of the light of a lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them and they will reign forever and forever.” In other words, John is saying they will experience the very presence of the glorious God. They will not need a lamp to represent Him. They will not need a lamp to remind them of the divine presence. They will not need a lamp to lighten their eyes. They will experience the presence, the very presence of the glorious God. And so even the lamp, this light before the ark and the tabernacle, points to the glory to come. These are three things which we ourselves can benefit from as we study the tabernacle together. -- Exodus - First Presbyterian Church of Jackson: www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/exodus/Exodus%20Vol%205%20&%206/




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