There are people who serve at the altar. They share and eat what is offered at the temple.
So who is eating from the altar where I am offering myself as a living sacrifice? Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Forgiveness at the altar of God
One indicator that you are serving at God's temple is forgiveness and reconciliation. Matt 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
If I'm at the altar and God reminds me of sin against someone or unforgiveness, I should first address that. The altar of God is associated with with holiness and righteousness.
Holiness and righteousness at the altar of God
Gen 8:20-21 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
Noah's offering shows the Lord delights in the sweet aroma of a clean offering before Him. The aroma was so pleasing that God said He would not curse the ground again because of man. In His grace, He says that we are inclined to do evil from childhood.
This encourages us to know that there is a sacrifice that has already been made at the altar of God that covers our sins and helps us present ourselves as living sacrifices. The Lamb of God who was slain, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Honour of God and rest at His altar
Rev 6:9-10
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
At the altar of God there is honour of God. Because He says He will avenge, we let Him avenge for us. We let God bear our pains.
Matt 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus is inviting us to take up His yoke and find rest for our souls. Our souls need to rest. By taking Christ's yoke and burden and giving Him our weaknesses and burdens.
At the altar of God there is a trade. We take the righteousness of Christ, we bear His burdens and yoke and He gives us rest as He takes our burdens and weaknesses.
We don't achieve Christ's righteousness by working on ourselves, but by continually giving ourselves to Christ as our Lord and saviour.
Raising an altar for God
Ex 20:22-23
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. 24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
God actually asks that the altar be made of earth. Requiring it to be in the most natural possible state.
Verse 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
It is interesting that we would dress stones to make them beautiful but for God's altar, He commanded that the stones be those that no tool has chiseled. In the original form. Genuineness.
Verse 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
Be covered up. Our righteous covering is Jesus Christ. The altar has to be raised in Christ, no other way do we get covered from our nakedness, our sin.
Raise God's altar as a witness to serving Him
Joshua 22:1-34
10 When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan.
24 “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.
26 “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27 On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’
- God's altar identifies us with God and fellow believers
- Altars set a precedence for generations to come
- Altars also call God as a witness in the things we do
Gen 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[a] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
- Altars are a sign that we worship God
- They also show that we believe in God. Our faith and hope is in God.
- God's altar should replace any other worship we were part of
- Altars identify us with God. We honour Him by sacrificing to Him
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