EXODUS 20
22 And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it. – Exodus 20:22-26
EXODUS 20 INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE ALTAR
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The Lord guides and instructs his people what kind of altar he wants
They are not to make an altar made of from silver or gold
The Lord wants them to make an altar made of earth
On it, they shall make sacrifices, whether sheep or oxen
If they use stone, it must not be cut stone or they defile it
They are not supposed to go up the steps so they’re not exposed.
The building of an altar was how people made atonement for their sins in those times. But now we have been saved by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross. Why would God be very specific about using earth or stone instead of gold or silver? I think that gold and silver are considered precious and distracts us from the true focus of the worship, who is God alone. As human beings, we put emphasis on physical things that are of value. God probably does not want us to be distracted from him and into the material used. It was to appease him of his anger and wrath over our sins.
The Babylonians built a very high altar almost reaching up to the sky, because they think they can see heaven better. The focus of the building is on their ability to built a towering altar, not on worshiping God. Now, that Jesus redeemed us through his death on the cross, we don’t have to physically build an altar. The Lord wants worshipers who worship him in truth and spirit. He wants our repentant heart and confession and reliance on him.
REFLECTION
- What do you think of churches that still have altars?
