Biblical Historical Studies:

THE PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNISHINGS

ONE OF A SERIES OF STUDIES PRESENTED TO OUR ASSEMBLY

The altar of YAH is the 1st piece of furniture in the tabernacle or temple of YAH and for good reason for it is absolutely essential to His plan. But what exactly is the purpose of YAH'S altar? Is it just to burn animals upon? Is it just a place to give honor to YAH? Well we are going to delve into the subject of YAH'S altar today to see what we can glean from it.

Exo 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
Exo 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Altar-mizbêach-#4196 = an altar; the place of sacrifice (Z); from zabawk-#2076 = to slaughter an animal, usually for sacrifice.
Earth-'dâmâh-#127 = soil (from its general redness).

Take note that Moses is commanded to make YAH an altar of earth, but lets pay particular attention to the word translated "earth" here for it's not the usual word translated earth, which is 'erets'-#776 that is translated 'earth' over 700x, but rather the text refers to the same "earth" that man was made of in the likeness & image of Elohim! YAH wants His altar to be made of men that are of His likeness & image… Essentially an altar is a place of sacrifice; YAH is trying to teach us that while we our in these 'earthly' bodies are in a place of sacrifice? To put it plainly YAH is teaching us that His place of sacrifice is to be made of those that have understood this concept & have sacrificed their lives unto Him! Could bro Paul have understood this concept? Let us consider his words:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Those of us that opt to do such make up the altar of YAH Elohim. Let us now consider the construction of YAH'S altar. The account we read of in Ex. 20 is the 1st time in scripture that YAH commands that an altar be built unto Him, additionally it's the 1st time in scripture that He gives instructions concerning such:

Exo 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
Exo 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

These instructions were given during Pentecost, which thereby ties it to our covenant with YAH; in fact this was the only command that YAH gave them to do during Pentecost all the others were centered about what they "shall not" do… (Selah) Now let's consider that Moses was instructed to make the altar of earth: But if he were to make one of stone that it wasn't to be built of hewn stone i.e. cut stone:

(Ex. 20:25) also teaches that if one were to use a tool in making it that it would pollute it, but how so? To answer this let us consider that like unto clay men are also depicted as stones in scripture:
Gen 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) (speaking of Joseph)
Psa 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
Joh 1:42 And he brought him to Yahushua. And when Yahushua beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Yahushua Ha Messhiach.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Ok, now if we were to consider these stones that make up the altar to be men, what would that tell us about their character? The chief characteristic of stones is that they're very resistant to pressure, not easily broken, bent or pierced…

Now this characteristic in man could be good or bad depending upon the circumstances… This is why YAH commands Moses that if he does make Him an altar of stone, that he only uses un-hewn stone i.e. YAH made stones… The cutting or carving of stone is done in order to reshape or guide the stone into whatever the craftsman would have it be… Hereby is the stone polluted, for YAH has already made the stone "very good"… And all that's left for man to do is put it in the right place:

Now let us take another look at the 2 types of stone altars the hewn as well as the un-hewn: let us consider the differentials betwixt the two...

Exo 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

According to the book of Yasher it was customary for the Egyptians to go up by steps before they were allowed to rule over the people. There were seventy steps one for each language of men & before one could rule or even be 2nd in rule over Egypt they would have to be able to "go up" each step by proving their knowledge of the different languages...

We are not to "go up by step" i.e. ascend to YAH'S altar by knowledge or any other means for this is the way the pagans serve their elohim:

1Co 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
1Co 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

You see we don't have to worry about doing much learning to go up to our Elohim, we only need to learn to love Him and He'll come to us:

Exo 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

To put it plainly YAH is teaching us in (Ex 20:26) that we don't have to accomplish a certain degree of knowledge before He can accept us...

Ok, now we shall consider the 3rd & final version of YAH'S altar to see what we can glean:
Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
Exo 27:2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
Exo 27:3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
Exo 27:4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.
Exo 27:5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
Exo 27:6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
Exo 27:7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
Exo 27:8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

1st we learn that the altar is made of "chittim" wood; and what do you know men are also depicted as trees in the scripture:

Jdg 9:7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
Jdg 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
Jdg 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Jdg 9:10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Jdg 9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Jdg 9:14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
Jdg 9:15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Jdg 9:16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Eze 15:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

The altar of the tabernacle wasn't to be made of just any tree but specifically the "Shittim"-#7848 = Acacia tree" The Acacia tree was tree noted not only for its very durable wood but also for its ability to repel insects! Acacia wood alone was not to make up YAH'S altar, but it was to be overlaid with copper!

Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
Exo 27:2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
Brass-nechosheth-#5178 = copper; also let us consider that brass is not a natural metal, but is rather an alloy, which is the mixture of 2 or more metals; brass being a mix of copper & tin; additionally let us consider:

Job 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

Brass isn't molten out of stone, but copper is! The purpose of the Copper used in the altar is to no doubt to protect the wood from the heat of the fire, but it also adds clarity, luster & beauty.
Taking these things into account I see the brass as typifying men born of the Spirit, for it likewise covers us even as the brass does the wood of the altar enabling us to endure fiery trials, adding clarity to our lives by leading us into truth, beautifying us in fruit bearing & causes us to be lustrous by reflecting Yahushua i.e. the light of the world.

Now looking back in retrospect we can conclude that YAH'S altar, spiritually speaking is a network of people, but not just any type of people, not the kind that has been shaped or formed by man, but the type that has been shaped and formed by YAH, they are very durable people, they have been fathered from above and are thereby spiritual beings as well as earthly; their spiritual nature covers its earthly counterpart thereby protecting it from the ever burning consuming fire i.e. YAH that dwells in their midst...

The Brazen Altar of YAH functions as not only the receiver but also the giver of things sacrificed unto YAH… The brazen altar is core of YAH'S system of Corban; this is what the daily ministration of Yahushua was all about; it was & is the altar of YAH at work:

Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Corban-kôr´ban-?????; translated "a gift," "a sacrificial offering," literally, "that which is brought near," namely, to the altar) (ISBE)
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practiced by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature. It also served a social or economic function in those cultures where the edible portions of the animal were distributed among those attending the sacrifice for consumption. (Wiki)

Again YAH'S altar was & is a system of corban i.e. a network of YAH'S people that give sacrifices unto YAH via His preachers, teachers, evangelist, pastors & prophets; and in return YAH cares for His general assembly via His ekklesia acting as His hands by giving blessings to those that are in need; It's Yahushua's ekklesia i.e. preachers, teachers, evangelist, pastors & prophets, whose job it is to care for the tents i.e. families of the congregation.

This is a picture of an altar made with un-hewn stones; take note that there are large stones, small stones, light stones, dark stones, smooth ones as well as rough ones; but they all fit jointly together to serve YAH'S purpose just like humanity that make up the body of Yahushua...