Exodus 27:1-8
Exodus 27:1-8: The Bronze Altar for Sacrifice In these verses, God commands Moses to make an altar for burnt offerings. This altar stood in the courtyard in front of the tabernacle, where the people could bring their sacrifices to God. Only the priests could enter the tabernacle itself, but all the people could come to the altar in the courtyard. This showed that everyone could seek forgiveness and worship God through sacrifice. The altar made their gifts holy and created a link between God and Israel. The details for the altar included its size, shape, decorations, materials, and how it was to be moved, all following the pattern God gave Moses on the mountain (Exodus 27:1-8 a). The altar also points to Jesus Christ, who would offer himself for the sins of the people (John 17:19; Hebrews 13:10 b).v. 1: God told Moses to make the altar from acacia wood. It had to be five cubits long and wide, making it a square, and three cubits high. This size made it large enough for the sacrifices the people would bring . v. 2: The altar needed to have horns on each of its four corners. The horns were made as part of the altar and covered with bronze. The horns were both for decoration and for use, because sacrifices were sometimes tied to them (Psalm 118:27 c). Also, people who needed protection could grab the horns for safety (1 Kings 1:50 d). v. 3: God commanded that all the tools for the altar—such as pans for ashes, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans—must be made of bronze. These tools were used in making sacrifices . v. 4: There was to be a bronze grating, like a net, for the altar. Four bronze rings had to be attached to the corners of this net . v. 5: The bronze grating was to be placed inside the altar, about halfway up. The fire burned on this grate, and the ashes could fall through into the hollow bottom of the altar . v. 6: Moses was to make poles from acacia wood, covered with bronze, to carry the altar. This made it possible to move the altar as the Israelites traveled . v. 7: The poles had to be placed in the rings on the sides of the altar. This was so the priests could carry it safely from place to place . v. 8: The altar was to be made hollow, with boards, just as God showed Moses on the mountain. This design made it strong but not too heavy .
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