God's Altar

Exodus 27:1-8 -  "You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.  And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.  You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; all its utensils you shall make of bronze.  You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze; and upon the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.  And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net shall extend halfway down the altar.  And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze;  and the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles shall be upon the two sides of the altar, when it is carried.  You shall make it hollow, with boards; as it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.

Moses was told to make an altar. A square ….hollow structure…built of acacia wood…but covered in bronze.  The priests would offer sacrifices to God on this holy assembly….the “mizbeach” or in some commentaries spelled “mizbeah”…in the Hebrew language.  It was a place of death….of blood….of fire and smoke…a place where the struggle of the sacrifice was clearly seen by the priest who had to kill it and follow strict directions in offering it up to the Lord…depending on what kind of sacrifice it was.  The altar fire was to burn continually before the Lord…and be ready to receive an offering at any time.

This sight could not have been an easy thing for the priest to watch day after day… but they were the chosen representatives to communicate with God for the people. The people brought their offerings …and the priests offered them up to the Lord on their behalf. The altar was the central place of spiritual confession…submission…sacrifice for what they had done wrong…or what blessings they wanted to thank God for.

Even though the torn veil in the temple at Jesus’ death did away with the need to kill animals and offer their blood to God…the need for an altar did not change…and I believe that altar needs to be a portable symbol of our faith.  It needs to burn continually in our lives…just as the altar of the first tabernacle. Our eyes should look to God whenever we receive a blessing to him…and thank him for his mercy and grace. Our knees should bend in confession at the faintest hint from God that we have strayed from his will.  Our voices should call out to him in thankfulness and praise at all he does for us in spite of the sin in our lives. We need to grasp the real meaning of sacrifice as we turn our lives over to God…and let go of our own selfish …flesh driven desires.

God has been telling me this for days now…those prayer cards that I wrote out as reminders of what to pray for have been gathering dust. I glance at them every night and think…tomorrow I will use those again. I can’t remember the last time I made an effort to get on my knees. I have become way to complacent with the blessings he has bestowed on my life…and I must find time to renew my prayer time with him. For communication with the father is the only thing that will provide me the strength and wisdom to become strong and faithful to whatever task he has planned for me. My evening prayers after I read his word have become way to short…and way too focused on me again. I can not let myself be satisfied with the morning time I write…I must speak with him all day long.  I must learn to be more submissive to his spirit….confess my many sins….and sacrifice more and more time for him.

Father…I am so sorry that I have once again become too self-sufficient in the bubble of a world you placed me in. Help me father to increase my time at your altar….to define more time in my day to come to you and kneel…and pray…not just for your guidance in my own life…but to really lift up the needs of others.  Give me a passion for prayer like Daniel…who sought you morning… noon… and evening.  Give me the heart of King David…who sought you even though he found himself in dark caves…hiding from his enemies.   Help me father to solidify my prayer time with you and carry your altar in my heart always. Amen.