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God is sovereign and being such He determined where the furnishings of
the Tabernacle were to be placed. Moses had no part in the decision
making, nor could he after a time decide to change them around. God set
the sun, moon, and stars in their place (Gen. 1:17) and told Moses where
the altar was to be placed. I say it was irrelevant what Moses or all
the congregation thought, it had to be placed according to the divine
will. It must be observed that the altar was not outside the court but
inside it. Due to it not being outside the court, the interpretation is
not presenting Christ as the way of salvation, but the cleansing of the
believer, although as will be seen it can be applied in an evangelistic
manner. It was placed where the priests served, and the people who had
been redeemed worshipped. One lesson is that those who are redeemed
must appreciate that the only way of approach to God is by the altar.
It can become so “ordinary” to come to God “in the Name of Jesus” and
not really think about the wonder of the Person and work of Christ. God
placed the altar so that when an Israelite entered the gate of the court
they saw the altar. In its largeness it stood, a thunderous yet silent
message bearer, “The sacrifice is the only way to approach God”.
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How I ought to approach God is clearly illustrated in the
scriptures as when Moses approached the burning bush. In turning
aside to see this great sight the Angel of the Lord spoke
saying: “Moses, Moses . . . put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Ex.
3:4-5). We never read of Moses taking another step until God
calls him. Having had this experience, how then would he have
approached God? God gives us many examples of people who have
been given an unveiling of the glory of God and their reactions. |
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a) |
The children of Israel at Sinai. “And they said unto Moses,
Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with
us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19). How would they approach God after
a manifestation like that? |
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b) |
Belshazzar was a man who had no interest in God and showed utter
contempt for Him. Having a drunken orgy it is recorded: “They
drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of
brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone” (Dan. 5:4). But God in a
moment of time changed the scene: “In the same hour came forth
fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick
upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king
saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance
was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints
of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against
another.” (Dan. 5:5-6). At that moment he was brought face to
face with God. |
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c) |
Adam: “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees
of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). They made clothing of fig leaves,
then as if that was not sufficient they tried camouflage by
hiding in the trees! What was the problem? They were going to
have to face God. |
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I am aware that some say: “But we are His children or His Bride”
therefore we can have freedom to approach God without formality,
after all, God is Daddy! Let it be clear, God is not “Daddy”,
the word “Abba” does not permit undue familiarity, it means to
have child like trust and simplicity. The scriptures sound
clearly: “Holy and reverend is His Name” (Psa. 111:9).
I repeat, it is not dealing with sins before salvation, but
dealing with sins after salvation. This teaches a very clear
lesson. Saints sin, they cannot live a life of sinless
perfection as every New Testament epistle makes that evident.
For instance: |
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a) |
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10) |
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b) |
To the Corinthians: |
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i) |
There was abuse at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:27) |
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ii) |
“Be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20) |
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c) |
To the Philippians, he wrote to “Euodias and Syntyche” and to
“be of the same mind” (Phil. 4:2) |
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d) |
To the Ephesians, they had “left their first love” (Rev. 2:1-7) |
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e) |
To those to whom James wrote, there was discrimination (Jam.
2:1) |
Since I am no different from those ancient believers and will sin to my
dying day, the question comes: “What about the sins I will commit
tomorrow, in the future, next week, next year?” The answer is twofold.
When I accepted Christ all my sins, past, present, and future, were all
dealt with. We are told to confess our sins, never to ask for
forgiveness. Forgiveness is in the heart of God, and by our confession
the fulness of that forgiveness is restored to us. Concerning those
committed before the Lord died, the sins of Moses, Solomon, David, etc.;
Paul informs us that they also were judged for by the sacrifice of the
Lord (Rom. 3:25). The writer of the Hebrews affirms the same truth
(Heb. 9:15).
God knew all my sins long before they were ever committed and the
punishment for them all was put on Christ. Thank God that no matter
what sin I could ever commit, even that which I cannot forgive myself
for, there shall never be found a sin that the sacrifice of Christ has
not the power to cleanse.
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I submit one of the sins committed is that of presumptuous
casualness when approaching the Living God. The disciples were
no different from us for in sincerity they asked the Lord:
“Teach us to pray”, to which the Lord answered: “Our Father,
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matt. 6:9). No
wonder the ancient writer wrote: “God is in heaven, and thou
upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecc. 5:2). When
one approaches God in such an attitude there will be a readiness
to listen to God and the attitude of responding immediately.
Foolish would the children of Israel had been, if after the
enemies of the Lord had a letter from the king to force by
governmental decrees, them to stop the building and
they kept building in defiance (Ezra 4:23). When man heard the
words of the Lord it had an effect: |
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a) |
“And it came to pass, when the king (Josiah) had heard the words
of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes . . . Go ye,
enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all
Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for
great
is
the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our
fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do
according unto all that which is written concerning us (2 Kgs.
22:11-13). He recognized that the promises of God were no empty
threats so he began the work that had to be done. “And as
Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that
were
there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the
sepulchers, and burned
them
upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the
LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words
. . . And all the houses also of the high places that
were
in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to
provoke
the LORD
to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the
acts that he had done in Bethel . . . Moreover the
workers with
familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the
idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of
Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might
perform the words of the law which were written in the book that
Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD (2 Kgs.
23:16-24). |
If we are going to offer to God the “sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15);
to “serve Him with all your heart” (Deut. 11:13); “acceptably with
reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28); then we must learn the truths of
the placement of the altar.
May God grant us good understanding as He, by His
Holy Spirit, deigns to guide us into all truth.
John 16:1
Rowan Jennings, Abbotsford,
British Columbia
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