Exodus 27:1-8 – Our salvation requires an altar of sacrifice

It was sheer amazing that God should come and dwell among His people in a tent! We may not think very much about this because we all live in physically well-structured houses. But for the Israelites living in tents, having God come down from His grandeur and live among them in a tent, was a great deal. The Tabernacle was an object lesson about God and His eternal dwelling place. It was a piece of heaven on earth. It was a constant reminder to them that God was dwelling among them. Through the Tabernacle, they learned about God’s holiness and His other characters. They also learned how to connect with Him, build the relationship and have fellowship and friendship with the divine. What a privilege!

In Exodus 27, we come away from the Tabernacle proper to the area outside of this unique earthly dwelling place of God. In verses 1-8, God gave Moses instruction to build a stove-like bronze altar. This was the altar where the Israelites would sacrifice animals to atone for their sins. In order to approach the Holy God, sin had to be dealt with. It was at this Brazen Altar at the entrance of the courtyard that the animal they brought to atone for their sin would be sacrificed.

In verses 1-8, God told them how to construct it - complete with the shovel, the pail and the grating network of bronze. According to verse 5, this grating net was to be placed “…beneath and under the ledge of the altar, so that the net will reach halfway up the altar.”  This Brazen Altar was to be a square table made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze, with four horns at its four corners. It measured approximately more than seven feet long, seven feet wide, and four feet high. On the two sides of this altar, four rings were made, two on each side. Two poles of acacia wood, also overlaid with bronze, were made to be used for transporting this altar by inserting them through the four side rings. Again, the exact pattern of how this Brazen Altar was to be made was shown by God to Moses when he was on the mountain with Him.

Inside the Tabernacle, every furniture was made of gold. Now at the courtyard, the altar and other furnishings made for the purpose of sacrifice were made of bronze. The shovels and pails were for removing the ashes from the stove-like table. Long forks were also made for turning the sacrificed animal over the flame on the altar. The network of grill placed inside the altar was made this way for the obvious purpose to facilitate the flow of oxygen to keep the fire burning for the sacrifice.  

What’s the significance of the Brazen Altar to us Christians? It points us to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was sacrificed at the altar for our salvation. God’s salvation plan requires a spotless sinless sacrifice. Jesus is the only sacrifice that met that requirement. He was sacrificed to take away the sin of the world. However, unlike the sacrifices made on the Brazen Altar, Jesus the Lamb of God was the once-and-for-all sacrifice that has efficaciously removed our sins and made us acceptable to God.  So, with great delight and joy, we surrender our life to His Lordship and His reign!