Message 104
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 27:1-8; 38:1-7; 40:6, 29; Heb. 13:10
The record concerning the altar in Exodus is very difficult to understand. As far as the tabernacle itself is concerned, the most difficult matter is the corner boards. No one has been able to solve the problem of these corner boards. The record concerning the altar is even more difficult to understand. However, we have a way to escape this problem: it is to follow the spiritual and experiential way. Literally, according to the record in black and white, certain points are extremely difficult for anyone to understand. But if we come into the realm of spiritual understanding and experience, we can be saved from this trouble. Therefore, I would remind you once again that our approach to the book of Exodus in this life-study is not doctrinal; on the contrary, it is experiential. This means that we want to consider every matter from the standpoint of our spiritual experience. If a particular matter does not apply to our Christian experience, I would prefer not to talk about it. What is the profit of speaking about something that has nothing to do with our experience of Christ? We do not want to speak in a vain way. Instead, we want to utter what is real and understandable according to our experience.
Let us first consider the position of the altar. There were two altars, one inside the tabernacle, and the other outside the tabernacle, in the outer court. The altar inside the tabernacle was called the incense altar and was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It was much smaller than the altar of the burnt offering in the outer court. The incense altar was more vertical than horizontal; that is, it was taller than it was wide. At this altar those who came into God’s dwelling place could have a very close relationship with God, for there the incense was burned to Him. At this altar there was no shedding of blood. Instead, there was the burning of incense to offer a sweet-smelling savor to God. At the altar of the burnt offering, however, sacrifices were offered with the shedding of blood. Furthermore, the offerings were burned there. The burning of the sacrifices at the altar in the outer court was for redemption, but the burning of the incense at the incense altar was for God’s acceptance. It was necessary for fire to be brought in from the outer altar to burn the incense on the inner altar. Hence, these two burnings are by one kind of fire. The fire on the altar of the burnt offering burns the sacrifices; the fire at the incense altar burns the incense. One kind of fire, therefore, burns two kinds of substances. Since there were two altars related to the tabernacle, we need to understand what altar is referred to whenever we read about the altar in the Old Testament.
In the Holy of Holies there was just one item of furniture — the ark. In the Holy Place there were the table, the lampstand, and the incense altar. In the outer court the altar of the burnt offering and the laver were located. According to the interpretation given in the New Testament, the outer court signifies the earth, and the entire tabernacle, including both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, signifies the heavens. Thus, to be in the outer court is to be on earth, but to be in the tabernacle is to be in the heavens. Do you know how you can be in the heavens? Do not listen to the superficial teaching that you can be in the heavens only after you die. Actually, the tabernacle is Christ. As long as you are in Christ, you are in the heavens. But whenever you are outside of Christ, you are on earth. Based on this principle, we may say that daily we may go to the heavens a number of times. Perhaps before coming to a church meeting you are, experientially speaking, on earth. But when you are in the meeting, you get into the heavens.
If we consider a diagram of the tabernacle and the outer court, we see that the ark and the altar of the burnt offering are at two ends. In the universe there are actually just two parties: God and man. (Satan, who may be considered the third party, will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire.) The two ends are related to these two parties, to God and man. God’s end is at the ark, and man’s end is at the altar of the burnt offering.
Does the record of the tabernacle in Exodus begin from God’s end or from man’s end? The record begins from God’s end, for it begins with the ark. The description of the ark begins the divine record concerning the tabernacle. This indicates that the record begins from God and proceeds toward man. However, when man comes to the tabernacle, he does not begin from God’s end. He begins at the altar, that is, he begins from man’s end. Whenever a person comes to the tabernacle, the first thing he meets is the altar.
God does not dwell at the altar, but He dwells at the ark, where the throne of grace is. Anyone who wanted to meet God would have to travel through all the items of the tabernacle until he comes to the ark. However, God has already come to us. He came from the heavens to the earth, and the altar was the destination of His coming. Christ came from the heavens to the earth, and during His last hours on earth He went to the cross. On the cross He terminated the old creation and redeemed His chosen people. As we have pointed out, redemption implies termination, replacement, and being brought back to God. As the book of Hebrews indicates, Christ’s coming to the earth in this way was once for all. But man’s going to God is not once for all. Rather, it is a continual matter, a daily matter.
When God came from His dwelling place to the earth and went to the cross, what was His main intention, His main goal? His main goal was to bring man to Himself. This means that God came out of the tabernacle to bring man into the tabernacle. However, most believers still linger around the cross; few have been brought into the tabernacle. Every week a great many sermons are given to Christians, yet few of these sermons are a means to bring saved sinners into the tabernacle. At best, such sermons may bring people to God at the altar. Some may argue that God is omnipresent and that as long as a person repents and believes in the Lord Jesus, he turns to God. In a sense, this is correct. But the New Testament indicates that if we are still around the altar, we are not in the tabernacle with God. We need to go to the showbread table, the lampstand, the incense altar, and eventually reach the ark. There on the ark we have the propitiation-cover, the throne of grace spoken of in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help.”
When we reach the throne of grace, we are not only in the presence of God — we are even in God Himself. There we and God are one. In the words of Colossians 3:3, our life is hidden with Christ in God. The God who hides us is not at the altar; He is at the ark. Furthermore, we are hidden in God not at the altar, but at the ark. God has come out of the tabernacle in order to bring us into the tabernacle, to bring us to the very place where He dwells.
The Lord Jesus came from heaven to earth and visited the earth for thirty-three and a half years. Although He visited the earth, He dwells in the Holy of Holies, and He wants to bring us there. He went to the altar, to the cross, with the intention that we, fallen sinners, might be brought back to Himself in the place where He dwells. To have this understanding is a great help to us in our experience.
In Exodus the record concerning the incense altar is given last. The reason for this is that only after we have experienced all the other items can we have a full acceptance from God. This acceptance by God is the result of all the other items. Moreover, in the Bible it is not easy to tell definitely the position of the incense altar. It may be positioned outside the veil, in the Holy Place, or inside the veil, in the Holy of Holies. This indicates that our acceptance by God depends on our condition. How much we are accepted by Him depends on how close we are to Him. Perhaps at one time during the day the incense altar in your experience is very close to God. But at another time, it may be somewhat removed from Him. Then when you come to the meeting and exercise your spirit, spontaneously the incense altar in your experience comes close to God.
The position of the altar of burnt offering is settled; it cannot be changed. But the location of the incense altar may change, based on our condition. Again I say, in our experience the incense altar appears only after we have passed through the altar of burnt offering, the laver, the showbread table, and the lampstand. Sometimes we may go to the ark and then go to the incense altar. The record in the Old Testament regarding the tabernacle with its furniture and utensils is very meaningful. It corresponds to the sequence of our experience.
It is impossible for anyone to enter the tabernacle from the rear. There is no back door. But there is an entrance at the front of the tabernacle. We need to experience the items of the outer court and the tabernacle until we come to the Holy of Holies. To repeat, it is difficult to determine whether the incense altar is inside the veil or outside the veil, whether it is in the Holy of Holies or the Holy Place. (See note on Hebrews 9:4 in the Recovery Version of Hebrews.)
If we have such a view of the tabernacle and the outer court, we are qualified to understand the altar of the burnt offering. This altar is the largest item of the tabernacle. All the furniture and utensils of the tabernacle — the ark, the incense altar, the table, the lampstand, and the laver — could fit inside the altar of burnt offering. This altar is five cubits in length and width and three cubits in height. The fact that the altar can contain all the items of the tabernacle indicates that the cross of Christ contains all the spiritual experiences. This means that the experience of the cross is the basis for all spiritual experiences. Our spiritual experience begins from the cross, from the altar. Furthermore, the principles related to all other spiritual experiences are implied in the experience of the cross. For example, even though you may not have received adequate instruction at the time, when you first believed in the Lord Jesus, you had some experience of the showbread, the lampstand, the incense altar, and even the ark. All these experiences are implied in the basic experience of the cross. Resurrection, anointing, and enlightening are all implied there.
I often like to recall my experience when I was saved. I was fresh and new, and all the spiritual experiences were fresh and tasteful. Like many others, I surely had a sweet time with the Lord Jesus when I was saved. The reason for this is that all spiritual experiences are initiated by the experience of the cross and implied in that experience. Apart from the cross, we cannot have any experience in the Spirit. The cross is the base, the ground, the initial factor, of all spiritual experience. Thus, the cross is vitally important.
The altar of the burnt offering typifies the cross of Christ. Referring to this, Hebrews 13:10 says, “We have an altar, from which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle.” The altar among the Israelites in ancient times was a type of the cross as the real altar. Today we have an altar. We are not speaking about something that we do not have. On the first day of every week, we come together to eat the sacrifice on this altar. This altar refers to the Lord’s table. On this table we can see the shed blood and the slain body represented by the cup and the loaf. Concerning the table, the Lord Jesus said that we should take and eat of His body and drink of His blood. The altar is the cross, and the cross is the table for our enjoyment.
We need to have a fuller comprehension of the significance of the Lord’s table. Now we see that this table is an altar, not just a feast. In the Old Testament certain offerings, after being presented on the altar to God, became the food for God’s people. When the children of Israel came together in ancient times to keep the feasts, what they feasted on was first offered to God and then it became food for their enjoyment. We need to realize whenever we come to the Lord’s table that the table is an altar where Christ presents Himself to God. Then we may share in what Christ has offered.
The altar was made of acacia wood (27:1a), signifying the Man Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5) being judged as our Substitute by God. At this point we need to ask an important question: Is the cross, the altar, a person, or is it a thing? The reason we must raise this question is that the substance of the altar is acacia wood, and acacia wood signifies the Lord’s humanity. The acacia wood used in making the altar was overlaid with bronze. The basic substance, the basic material, of the altar, however, was acacia wood, not bronze. This acacia wood signifies the Man Jesus. This implies that the altar, the cross, is related to a man.
Suppose there was an altar, but there were no sacrifices on it. Could the altar itself save anyone? Certainly not. In like manner, suppose that there was the cross, but no one dying on the cross for us. Could the cross in itself save us? Again, the answer is no. The saving element is not in the cross as a thing; it is in the Person who was crucified on the cross for us. In the same principle, when we come to the Lord’s table, we do not partake of the table itself, but we eat the food on the table. We eat what is offered on the altar, the table. Thus, when we speak of the altar, we do not mainly refer to the altar itself; we mainly are speaking of what is offered on the altar. When we say that the cross saves us, we do not mean the cross as an instrument of execution used by the Roman Empire. Rather, we mean the Christ who died on the cross. Actually, it is not the cross itself that saves us. The One who saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered God’s judgment for us.
In typology, the Lord used acacia wood as the material for the building of the altar. This indicates that the effectiveness of the cross is not in the cross itself, but in that humanity which is related to the cross and which was crucified on it. This humanity is the same as that indicated by the ark, which was also made of acacia wood. Acacia wood is the essence and substance of both the ark and the altar. Only that humanity which is up to the standard of the ark can be our substitute on the cross to save us. This humanity, of course, is found only in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the only One who has this humanity.
Exodus 27:1 says, “The altar shall be squared.” To be square is one thing; to be squared, or made squared, is another thing. The fact that the Lord Jesus was squared means that with Him there was a great deal of testing or proving. To be made squared means that He was tested and proved. Not only was He square; He was squared. He was tested, He was tried, He was proved. To be square means to be upright, perfect, without any deficiency. One who is upright in this way would be called a square person. The Lord Jesus was square, and He was also squared. He was proved by means of many testings to be upright and perfect. Therefore, He was equipped to be our Substitute, qualified to be our Redeemer. He was qualified to fulfill the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. God’s requirements are related to His righteousness, holiness, and glory. Only by fulfilling all these requirements of God could the Lord Jesus be qualified to be recognized by God as the Substitute for us sinners. Oh, how we must thank and praise the Lord that He was tested and was found to be such a qualified One! By both man and God Christ was proved to be upright and perfect. Therefore, He was squared.
According to verse 1, the altar was five cubits long and five cubits wide. Five times five signifies Christ bearing full responsibility on the cross to fulfill all the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. Five is the number of responsibility, and five times five indicates full responsibility, responsibility upon responsibility. The Lord Jesus bore such a responsibility on the cross in fulfilling God’s threefold demands.
Verse 1 also indicates that the height of the altar was three cubits. Why was the altar three cubits high? Why was the height less than the length and the width? This is not easy to understand. The fact that the height is less than the length and width indicates that the Lord’s redemption is spreading in a wide way. Furthermore, the altar is all-inclusive. If it were too narrow, it could not include so much. Also, if it were too high, we could not reach it.
The number three refers either to the Triune God or to resurrection. I do not believe that the thought of resurrection is appropriate here. Thus, the number three here should refer to the Triune God.
The redemption accomplished on the cross was not only by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; it was accomplished by the Triune God. Hebrews 9:14 says that the Lord Jesus offered Himself to God through the eternal Spirit. According to Colossians 2, God the Father was busy when Christ was crucified on the cross. While God the Son was dying an all-inclusive death, God the Father was very active. As we pointed out already, the evil spirits were also busy. Hebrews 9:14 shows that the Triune God was involved in the accomplishing of redemption: It tells us that Christ offered Himself to God through the Spirit. This is the Triune God signified by the three cubits as the height of the altar. Thus, the Triune God is the standard of redemption. Redemption was accomplished by the Triune God according to the standard of the Triune God.
The three parables in Luke 15 also show that the Triune God is involved in man’s redemption. The Son, signified by the shepherd, seeks out the lost sheep; the Spirit, signified by the woman lighting a lamp, searches for the lost coin; and the Father, signified by the father of the prodigal son, receives the returned prodigal, covers him with the best robe, and feeds him with the fatted calf. Here we see that the Triune God is involved in receiving back a repentant sinner. This is the significance of the height of the altar being three cubits.
From our experience we know that the Triune God was involved in our redemption. When as sinners we heard the gospel, the Spirit was working within us. When we repented, we began to appreciate the Lord Jesus. At the same time, the Father also was working. Thus, the Spirit, the Son, and the Father all worked together to redeem us, bring us back, and accept us. This is the meaning of the height of Christ’s redemption. The three cubits as the height of the altar signifies that it is built by the Triune God and according to the Triune God. I believe that this is the true significance of the height of the altar. The redemption accomplished on the cross was by the Triune God, by the Son, the Spirit, and the Father.
Verse 2 says, “And you shall make its horns upon its four corners.” The horns upon the four corners of the altar signify the power of the cross of Christ (see Psalm 92:10a) to reach the four corners of the earth. The horns at the corners were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices (Lev. 4:25, 34). I believe this was the reason someone could take hold of the horns of the altar and be forgiven. An example of this is found in 1 Kings 1:50. In contrast, another verse, Exodus 21:14, says that even if a certain kind of sinful person does lay hold of the horns on the altar, he will not receive forgiveness.
The horns signify strength, and in typology the four corners signify the four ends, or corners, of the earth. This means that the redemptive work of Christ is so effective that it can spread throughout the earth. It has the strength, the power, to reach the four corners of the earth. In history, especially today, it has been seen that the efficacy of Christ’s redemption has reached the uttermost part of the world. This indicates the power of the redemption of Christ. Therefore, the horns on the four corners of the altar signify the power and strength of Christ’s redemption.
Verse 2 says that “its horns shall be from it.” This indicates that the horns were one with the altar. The horns were not made separately and attached to the altar. Instead, they were made of one piece with the altar. This indicates that the power and strength of Christ’s redemption cannot be separated from Christ’s cross. Without the altar there would be no horns, no power or strength. Do not think that you can have any strength or power in the spiritual realm apart from the cross of Christ. This power can never be separated from the cross. The horns must be one with the altar.
Verse 2 says concerning the altar, “And you shall overlay it with bronze.” This signifies God’s righteous judgment on Christ as our Substitute (Num. 16:37-38). In Numbers 16 we see that the bronze used to overlay the altar came from the censers of two hundred fifty rebellious ones who were judged by God with fire. After God judged them, He charged Moses to take the bronze censers and use them to overlay the altar. Thus, the bronze overlaying the altar indicates judgment. In typology, copper, bronze, and brass all signify God’s judgment.
When Christ was on the cross, He was a man, signified by the acacia wood. But He was overlaid with bronze, with God’s judgment. Unlike the ark, which was overlaid with gold signifying God’s nature, the altar was overlaid with bronze, signifying God’s righteous judgment. Thus, as the Man who died on the cross, Christ was fully judged by God as our Substitute. He bore for us the judgment which we should have borne. He was fully covered, overlaid, by God’s judgment. On the cross He was the Man judged by God.
Verse 3 says, “And you shall make its pots to remove its ashes, its shovels, and its sprinkling bowls, and its flesh-forks, and its fire pans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.” The pots for receiving ashes, the shovels for removing ashes, the sprinkling bowls for receiving blood (Zech. 9:15), the flesh-forks for turning meat, and the fire pans for containing charcoal were all made of bronze, the same material as that used to overlay the altar. The fact that all the utensils were made of bronze signifies that all things related to the cross are for God’s judgment.
