The Bronze Altar

(Lev 4:1-10 NIV) The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands - "'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the LORD. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent of Meeting. He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the bull's blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering - the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys - just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

The altar is the first piece of furniture when you enter the Tabernacle. It is the starting point, or beginning of our approach to God. The altar was the most frequently used piece of furniture in the Tabernacle; it was used all day long as people came to offer their sacrifices.

Altar: root word - # 2076 ??? (zaw-vach)

slaughter an animal, kill, (do) sacrifice, slay

(Ezek 18:20 NIV) The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

This presents a problem; a BIG problem. Without a remedy, we’re all dead. It’s the end of the human race. So God provides a remedy. We should all die for the sins we have personally committed so the priest, who is representing people, lays hands on the animal to transfer the sins of the person to the animal. When this happens, the person no longer has sin on it, but the animal does instead. The priest can then slaughter the animal because it is now the one who is guilty of sin. If the animal has sin on it, it is appropriate for it to die instead of the person.

(2 Cor 5:21 NIV) God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

(Message) God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

This is the heart of the gospel: Because Yeshua took our sins we can become right with God. When our sin is transferred to Yeshua He can die in our place.. This is exactly what happened at the altar in the Tabernacle.

(Lev 9:22 NIV) Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.

He stepped down because the altar was elevated or lifted off the ground.

(John 3:14 NIV) Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

Yeshua died for us while being elevated or lifted up on a tree just like the animals were elevated on the altar.

(Lev 17:10-11 NIV) "'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood - I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

(Gen 9:3-4 NIV) Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

We are not allowed to eat food with blood in it because life is derived from blood. The blood is also the means by which atonement for sins is made. Blood must be shed for us to receive atonement from our sins.

Religions offer other ways to be forgiven of sin. But the Bible declares that in order to be forgiven of sin, blood must be shed.

(Rom 5:9 NIV) Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him!

(Message) Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice,

(Eph 1:7 NIV) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

(Message) Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.

Atonement ?? (# 3722) ??? (kaw-phar) to cover, to cancel, cleanse, forgive, pardon, purge away, reconcile

(Heb 9:22 NIV) In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

nearly everything

(Lev 5:11 NIV) "'If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering.

God is understanding. We can’t offer Him what we do not have. If we absolutely do not have the ability or means to buy an animal to be sacrificed, God will not say, "Too bad!" and leave us to die in our sins. He is fair. But, if we have the means, or finances, we can’t change the rules.

(Rom 12:1 NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.

(Message) So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering.

We don’t have to buy an animal to pay for our sins, but we are to offer our bodies to God. God asks us to be living sacrifices in contrast to dead animal sacrifices. We offer our bodies by offering the gifts and talents He has given us to Him. If you have medical abilities, you can offer those to God by caring for people with medical needs. If you can sing or play an instrument, you can offer to lead Praise & Worship. If you can teach, teach God’s Word to people. You are also to offer your bodies to God when you’re hanging out, relaxing and having fun. Everything we do must be holy and pleasing to Him.

(Gal 2:20 NIV) I have been crucified with Messiah and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We have been crucified, but we’re still living in our earthly body. As we live our lives we depend upon Yeshua and His sacrificial death.. Because He died for our sins we became right with God. Now that this is so, we are enabled or empowered to do everything we need to do.

Need for constant realignment

There are times when you’re driving your car you notice it will not stay in the lane. It keeps veering off to either the left or the right. Over time cars need to be realigned, and so do we. Sometimes an animal moved away from the center of the altar while he was being slaughtered. When this happened the priest would use a flesh hook to move it back to the center of the altar. This happens to us too. Sometimes things get out of alignment and we move out of the center of God’s will. When this happens we need to be nudged, or pushed, back into the center of God’s will.

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