Lecture 12 The Brazen Altar; Or, TV e Altar of Burnt Offering

EXODUS 27:1-8

fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt mal ce of brass. 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 col ners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rin s, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

And thou shalt make an altar (Ex. 27:1).

(Or, more literally, the altar. Compare Ex. 38:1.)

And he made the altar of burnt offering.

The sin-offering was burnt, or consumed, without the camp:

the burnt, or ascending offering, was converted into a sweet savour on the altar of burnt offering, by the fire which came originally from God, and which was kept always burning in it.

In the one case we see Jesus, who knew no sin, made sin for us, and putting sin away by the sacrifice of himself.

In the other, Jesus, the spotless victim, offering up himself as a sweet savour unto God, and his acceptance manifested by his resurrection from the dead, and ascension to the right hand of the Father.

Outside the camp it is wrath consuming, and for ever setting aside the sins which Jesus bore.

At the brazen altar it is justice and holiness feeding with complacency on the excellency of the victim.

At the golden altar it is holiness delighting itself with the preciousness of him who lived and died for us.

The altar of burnt offering, cleansed, anointed, sanctified — an altar most holy, on which the fire was always burning, and the sacrifice always consuming, was the place of communion between God and his people, and between the people and their God. (See Ex. 29:36-46.)

It sets forth Christ, through whom we draw nigh to God, and through whom God draws nigh to us, on the ground of his atoning work, and of his accepted sacrifice; a sweet savour of rest, on which every perfection of the Godhead reposes with infinite satisfaction and delight.

The Material

Thou shalt make the altar of shittim wood {Ex. 27:1}. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith... a body hast thou prepared me (Heb. 10:5).

In order that Jesus, through his atoning sacrifice, might furnish a meeting place between God and the soul, it was requisite that he should become incarnate. This truth is set before us in the shittim wood.

The Dimensions of the Altar

Five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be and the heish theref shall be inree cubies foxs aare:

Twice the length and height of the ark of the covenant.

These dimensions were fixed by God himself, who also prepared a body for Christ, every way adapted and adequate for his work and sufferings, wherein he has laid the foundations for unbroken communion between God and his people.

The Horns of the Altar

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 (Ex. 27:2).

The horn in Scripture is the emblem of power.

Bind the sacrifice with cords,

says the psalmist,

even unto the horns of the altar (Psa. 118:27).

In the garden of Gethsemane we see this thought strikingly exemplified. There we see Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father, whose dwelling place eternally was the Father's bosom; that holy One, who knew no sin, and that blessed One,

God over all blessed for ever {Rom. 9:5%,

drawing back from, and deprecating the enduring of, God's wrath, the imputation of sin, and the infliction of the curse.

Yet the cords of love and of obedience bound him - love and obedience to the Father, love and compassion to us. So that, in the end, we see the willing victim passing through the three long hours of darkness, made sin for us, and nailed to the accursed tree.

This as to the victim; then as to the sinner or the worshipper.

In 1 Kings 1:50, we read,

And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And again, 1 Kings 2:28,

And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

What strong consolation is provided for the poor sinner who flies for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before him in the Gospel, founded on the perfect and accepted sacrifice of the sinner's Saviour and the sinner's friend!

And the believer, too, finds here a refuge and a rest.

And the shittim wood and the brass - emblems of the tender human sympathy, and the Divine Almighty power of the Saviour of the lost, and the sustainer of the saved, give faith its firm holdfast.

The sinner and the saint find in Jesus, who is here set forth, one able to sympathize, and mighty to save.

By laying hold on the horns of the altar, faith identifies itself with the altar and the sacrifice. The sinner or the believer appropriating to their own necessities the provisions of God: drawing nigh to him in the way of his own selecting, and through the sacrifice of his own providing.

The wood and the brass — the sympathy and the power of him who is thus set forth, giving faith its grasp of undying tenacity.

But what a solemn lesson is read out to us from these horns of the brazen altar! In Ex. 21:14 God says,

But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

For the presumptuous sinner, and the hypocritical deceiver, the atonement of Jesus itself provides no shelter, while he continues such.

It is of no avail for a person to say, I am trusting in the blood of Jesus, while presumptuously continuing in sin, or hypocritically professing repentance. "Thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die," is the stern command of Divine inflexible justice.

Solemn, solemn thought! How many a soul has gone on for years, clinging with vain hope to a mere profession of faith in Jesus, lulled into a false peace, with a spirit unsanctified and a soul unsaved, to perish at last. Thus was it in type with Adonijah.

And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die (1 Kings 1:52).

And so it turned out.

And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died (1 Kings 2:25).

More solemn still, when in this false hope and unfounded peace the soul passes into the unseen world, to be taken from that altar and plunged into eternal death. Falling asleep in the presumptuous security of a mere profession, to awake in everlasting torments.

I will die here (1 Kings 2:29-32),

says Joab, and he died there; but he fell by the hand of justice.

Still, while we thus speak because Scripture so teaches, Jesus is able and ready to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. And as the horns were at the four corners of the altar, so there is a refuge provided in Jesus for those who come from every quarter. Here is provided a harbour of refuge and a shelter of rest

"From every stormy wind that blows, From every swelling tide of woes."

And upon these horns of the altar the blood of the sacrifice was put — faith's warrant to lay hold.

There is no crown to this altar, as on the golden altar of incense, because it sets forth Jesus on the cross, and not on the throne, dying, rising, and ascending, but not yet as glorified. If any crown were suitable, it must be a crown of thorns!

The Overlaying of the Altar

And thou shalt overlay it with brass {Ex. 27:2}.

Brass is the emblem of enduring strength. In the case of Jesus that strength was Divine. The shittim wood expresses his human susceptibility of suffering, the brass his Divine power of endurance.

As God, he could not suffer; as man, he could and did; and as the God-man he could endure the sufferings adequate to the salvation of sinners.

The Vessels of the Altar

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 (Ex. 27:3).

Every thing connected with the atoning work of Jesus needed to be of enduring strength, and so it was. There was nothing imperfect; nothing that gave way under the mighty stress of enormous suffering and woe.

The Brazen Grate

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. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar (Ex. 27:4, 5).

This brazen grate was fixed by the brazen rings in the center of the altar, half way, or one and a half cubits from the bottom, and thus on a level with the mercy seat. Sweet and significant fact!

This grate of brass formed the support for the fuel and the sacrifices, and sets forth, in the internal experience of Jesus in his sufferings, the strength of endurance within. It is thus expressed by the psalmist:

In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul (Psa. 138:3).

The Staves

And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it {Ex. 27:6, 7).

The staves adapted the brazen altar to the wilderness condition of God's people, so that the altar accompanied them in all their journeyings.

Wherever the camp pitched, the altar rested; wherever the court was enclosed, the altar was placed within at the entrance; wherever the tent of the congregation was set up, the altar stood at the door.

The daily sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering, was the standing link of communion between God and his people typically. So that the taking away of the daily sacrifice was a national calamity.

The fire was always burning in this altar, and never permitted to go out. The victim always consuming on it by day and by night, and the sweet savour of it was always ascending. Thus the ground of communion was at all times prepared, and the way of communion at all times open. On this perpetual burnt offering the other especial sacrifices (as on the Sabbaths, new moons, &c.) were burnt, and the sin and trespass offerings presented as the occasion required. Even so now, though our God is a consuming fire (and the apprehension of this is ever to be kept alive in our hearts, and never to be forgotten), the sacrifice of Jesus has met, and for ever satisfies, all the demands of holiness and justice on our behalf. On this account,

if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness {John 1:93.

The ground of communion has been made good, the way of access is ever open, the fragrance of the sacrifice of Jesus is ever before God. So that wherever we are, and whatever our circumstances, communion with God may be maintained unbroken, and our walk down here may be an Enoch walk — a walk with God.

The staves of the table of showbread were connected with the border (Ex. 25:27); for the guarding of communion is especially important in connection with our wilderness state. The staves of the golden altar are connected with the golden crown; for it is a glorified Christ through whom we worship. The staves of the brazen altar are connected with the grate of brass; for it is a suffering Saviour who laid the foundations of our constant communion with God.

The Divine Pattern

Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it (Ex. 27:8).

"Hollow with boards. " Jesus, though mighty to suffer, and almighty to save, was the empty and dependent one.

He was crucified through weakness {2 Cor. 13:4}.

"As it was showed thee in the mount. " How different is the appearance of Calvary, and of him that suffered there, when seen on earth's low level, and with human thoughts and feelings, to what it is when looked at in the light of God, - as God himself reveals the marvellous scene! In spirit, raised above surrounding things, and upon the mount with God, looking down on Calvary's Cross! Thus are we to form our conceptions of it; thus shall we learn its mysteries and its uses, its value and its power; and thus shall our souls experience the blessing which God has provided.

And communion with God on the ground of sacrific aust be according to God's order and thoughts, and no according to the plans and opinions of men.

The Court of the Taberna le, And Gate of the Court

EXODUS•27:9-19

And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south si de southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined nen of an hundred cubits long for one side: and the twenty pill ars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for e north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings of c ne side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver: their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. The ler gth of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the( ourt, shall be of brass.

The Court and death, and him that had the power of it, destroyed. And the believer no longer at home in the world, but become a

And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle pilgrim and stranger here.

Thirdly, we see them in the camp, occupying therein the

Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for

various positions assigned them by God. Typical of believers

our learning {Rom. 15:4};

in their different callings, ordinary occupations, and their and the things which happened unto Israel social relationships. Outside the camp the sin-offering was happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written consumed. Outside the camp the lepers and the defiled were

for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are obliged to remain. Within the camp the people of God were

come (1 Cor. 10:11). required to be a holy people to the Lord their God, who Thus the children of Israel, redeemed out of Egypt, are the walked up and down in their midst — to be holy in all manner types of the redeemed people of God. of conversation, and in all the callings and relationships of

In the scriptures we have Israel presented to us, in their life.

history, and in the Divine arrangements respecting them, in Fourthly, we see them assembled in the court of the various degrees of nearness to God. tabernacle. Here the people of God are represented in their

First, we see them in Egypt, groaning under the bondage religious character. This is the especial subject of our present of Pharaoh. This is typical of the experience of the soul under consideration.

the first convictions of the Spirit, feeling the evil of sin, its Fifthly, the priests are seen entering daily through the bitter bondage, and heavy guilt, door of the tent into the first tabernacle, or holy place, labouring and heavy laden {Matt. 11:28}. accomplishing the service of God. Typical of believers in their priestly character and Church association, engaged in the From which deliverance is only obtained by taking shelter worship and service of God.

under the blood of the Lamb -

Sixthly, the High Priest is seen entering through the vail

Christ our passover sacrificed for us {1 Cor. 5:7}.

into the holy of holies. Typical of Jesus, the High Priest of Secondly, we see them in the wilderness, having crossed the our profession, entered for us into heaven itself; and of the Red Sea, wherein all the power of the oppressor has been believer in him having boldness to enter through the rent vail overwhelmed. Typical of the soul realizing the triumph of the into the holiest of all (Heb. 10:19-22).

Cross. Principalities and powers spoilt and made a show of,

Seventhly, we see Israel in the land, having crossed the Jordan. Typical of believers as in spirit raised up together and made to sit together with Jesus in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

(1) Egypt; (2) the wilderness; (3) the camp; (4) the court; (5) the holy place; (6) the most holy; (7) the land. Divided by -- (1) the blood of the Paschal Lamb; (2) the Red Sea; (3) the sin-offering; (4) the hanging of the court; (5) the door of the tent; (6) the vail; (7) the Jordan.

This is the scriptural "pilgrim's progress," written not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.

But to return to the court of the tabernacle: the children of Israel seen in this court represent the people of God in their religious character. Not as associated in Church fellowship; this is typified by the boards of the tabernacle, but in their general religious aspect. Not only seeking to maintain and to exhibit holiness in the assemblies of God's saints and in Church relationship, but also in the wider sphere of ordinary and every day life.

These curtains of fine twined linen formed a court around the tabernacle, and kept it separate. As the table of Showbread has a border, so the tabernacle of God has a court — a court with hangings of fine twined linen all around, marking separation to God in righteousness and true holiness, maintained by God's saints, not only when met in Church fellowship, but also in their general intercourse, and in the ordinary walks of life. Such is God's plan. As a table without a border is not according to God's pattern, so a tabernacle without a court is contrary to God's order. There must be consistency without, as well as holiness and fellowship within — separation from the world in daily life, as well as in Church fellowship, and in the devotional exercises of the assembly.

The court contained the altar of burnt offering and the laver, and had the tabernacle, or dwelling-place of God in its midst. And the Israelites collected there represent believers, realizing atonement and acceptance through the sacrifice of Jesus, sanctification in Christ, and walking and acting in the presence of God.

The Hangings of the Court

For the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side (Ex. 27:9).

The fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Rev. 19:8).

I counsel thee to buy of me white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed (Rev. 3:18),

says Christ.

Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14),

is the exhortation of the apostle.

The court of the tabernacle, surrounded by these hangings of fine twined linen, represents believers in their ordinary

Christian character and intercourse, walking in the presence of God in holiness and righteousness before him, keeping their garments undefiled by sin, putting on and living out Christ, and exhibiting him before men.

The Pillars and Sockets

And the twenty pillars thereof, and their twenty sockets (shall be) of brass (Ex. 27:10).

Or, as expressed in Ex. 38:10,

Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty.

The pillars themselves were probably of shittim wood, fixed in sockets of brass, representing individual believers in their religious character, and their firm standing.

There were twenty pillars on the north and south, corresponding with the twenty boards of the tabernacle on those sides. The boards representing believers associated in Church fellowship, and the pillars of the court, believers in their wider and ordinary Christian walk.

Each pillar stood firmly fixed in a socket of brass, as expressing the firm and decided stand which is requisite in living out the Christian character.

As united in Church fellowship, in the sight of God, we stand in redemption, like the boards of the tabernacle on the sockets of silver. But as walking before God, and living before men, in our daily course, we need a holy decision of character, standing strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, as the pillars of the court in their sockets of brass.

Having done all, stand,

says the apostle.

Stand therefore (Eph. 6:13, 14).

If the Church of the living God is to be the pillar and ground of the truth, individual believers in their Christian character and ordinary conduct should seek to maintain the truth, by walking in it with firmness and decision, like James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars in their day, and especially like the Apostle Paul.

The Hooks and Fillets

The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver

The hooks were to receive the fillets, and the fillets, as the Hebrew word for fillet implies, were connecting rods. These silver rods connected the pillars together, and formed the rods on which the linen curtains hung.

The hooks and connecting rods were to be of silver, and silver is typical of redemption; for the atonement money was in silver (Ex. 30). And silver is also typical of communion; for it was the ordinary medium of circulation. And the hooks fixed in the pillars were always in readiness to receive the connecting rods.

Thus these pillars, standing in the brazen sockets, with their hooks and connecting rods of silver, sustaining the curtains of fine twined linen, and forming together the court of the tabernacle, most strikingly and beautifully represent the people of God in their ordinary religious character, established and settled, walking in righteousness and holiness, always prepared for, and constantly maintaining communion together, on the ground of their common redemption by the blood of the Lamb, in their intercourse one with another, and in the presence of God.

And it is a sweet and happy thought, affording some consolation in the present state of things, that even now, in the outwardly divided condition of the Church of God, when Church fellowship with the majority of Christians may be sought in vain, we may still maintain communion and love in our intercourse one with another on the ground of our common redemption, by the same precious blood, and of our agreement together in the same fundamental truths of salvation.

The Length of the Court

And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver (Ex. 27:11).

One hundred cubits north and south.

Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south,

is the language of the Bride in S of S 4:16. Whether the chill north wind of adversity blows, or the genial south wind of prosperity breathes, there should be the same firm standing and decided walk, the same maintenance of righteousness and holiness, the same manifestation of Christ, and the same readiness for fellowship with all saints, on the ground of our common Christianity.

The Breadth of the Court

And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten (Ex. 27:12).

And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits (Ex. 27:13).

The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits:

their pillars three, and their sockets three (Ex. 27:14)..

And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three (Ex. 27:15).

In length — namely, one hundred cubits — the court of the tabernacle was one-half the length of the outer court of Ezekiel's temple, which is two hundred cubits; and in breadth - namely, fifty cubits — half the breadth of the inner court of the temple, which is one hundred cubits.

The Gate of the Court

And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework (Ex. 27:16).

The hanging for the door of the tent, and the vail, were both ten cubits by ten — one hundred cubits square; and the gate of the court twenty cubits by five - one hundred cubits square also; each representing Christ in different aspects: — The gate of the court being typical of Christ, by the faith of whom alone any really become Christians, and have a title to be regarded as such, and power in the Spirit for true fellowship in the Gospel. The door of the tent representing Christ, through whom alone there is access into the Church of God. And the vail representing him as the way by whom only there is access by faith into the holiest of all.

The Pillars of the Gate

Their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four

By these four pillars, corresponding with the four pillars which sustain the vail, are represented, I believe, the four divinely-inspired historians of the life of Jesus.

There are some differences, however, which are significant. The pillars of the vail have their hooks of gold, and their sockets of silver; while the pillars of the gate have their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass. The hooks of gold being significant of a divinely-given ability for laying hold on and exhibiting the perfection of Immanuel, as the way of access by faith into the holiest; and the sockets of silver significant of their standing in redemption. The hooks of silver, and the silver connecting rods of the pillars of the gate, expressive of a capacity for communicating the truth of Christ; and the sockets of brass, of decision and steadfastness. It is interesting to trace in the four inspired histories of the

Word made flesh {John 1:14%,

the various beauties and perfections of Immanuel, as signified by the blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, composing the gate of the court.

In John's account, the blue, or heavenly perfection and glory of the Lord Jesus, is manifest.

In Mark, the purple, or the combination of heaventy perfectness with the earthly glory. And hence it is worthy of notice, that, in Mark 15:17, the robe in which, in mockery, Jesus was arrayed, is by the leading of the Spirit said to be of purple.

In Matthew, the earthly dignities of the Son of David, as typified by the scarlet, appear: and Matthew says, they

put on him a scarlet robe (Matt. 27:28).

Whereas in Luke, the white, or pure and spotless, yet exquisitely-beautiful, humanity of the Son of Man, is prominent, as typified by the fine twined linen. And Luke says, they

arrayed him in a gorgeous robe {Luke 23:11}.

Gorgeous, "Lampros, " meaning also shining, resplendent, dazzling, white. Compare Acts 10:30, Rev. 15:6, 19:8, in the Greek.

Summary

All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass (Ex. 27:17-19).

All the pillars of the court were connected together by the silver rods, and all were furnished with hooks for attaching them: teaching us that all believers should maintain fellowship together in redemption-truth and brotherly love, and all be prepared for it as occasion presents.

All the pillars stood on sockets of brass; and all believers have need of enduring strength in Jesus, to maintain, in such a world as this, their religious character and standing.

All the vessels of the tabernacle for all the service of it, and even the pins of the tabernacle and court, were to be of brass; for the same enduring strength is needed for all manner of service, down to the minutest particulars, in work connected with the name of Jesus and the presence of God.

In Ex. 38:17, we also read,

The overlaying of their chapiters was of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver:

showing that the chapiters, or heads of the pillars, and the fillets, or connecting rods, are distinct; though both were of silver, and all formed out of the redemption money.

And of the thousand seven hundred and seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them (Ex. 38:28).

The redemption which is in Christ Jesus is not only the foundation of the Christian's faith, as shown by the silver sockets of the tabernacle: it is also the ground of Christian love and communion, as signified by the silver hooks and connecting rods. And it is also the crown and joy of the Christian's hope, as signified by the silver chapiters, or crowns of the pillars. His faith, his love, and his hope, having each its ground and center in Jesus, and in his atoning work.