The Brazen Altar

The Tabernacle begins with the Brazen Altar, which is a shadow picture of the cross of Jesus Christ. The Lord had described about the design of the Brazen Altar in detail to Moses in Exodus 27:1-8. The Brazen Altar is made out of bronze, hence the name. "Bronze" in Biblical symbology represents "judgement", and the theology therein comes from the Brazen Altar. The altar had 4 horns pointing to the 4 corners of the earth. "Horns" in Biblical symbology represents "authority", meaning to say that God's Judgement extends to the 4 corners of the earth. The Lord said to Moses:

“And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses” - Leviticus 16:34

The Brazen Altar was used to burn the sacrificial lamb as a burnt offering. According to the law of Moses, once a year, every Jew would bring a lamb without blemish as a sin offering, which is a picture of our Lord Jesus. The high priest working at the tabernacle would then examine the lamb, and would approve whether it is qualified to be burned upon the brazen altar or not. If it is qualified, then the individual bringing the lamb would place his hands on the lamb, where his sins are transferred to the lamb, and the lamb's righteousness is transferred to the individual. The lamb carrying the sins is slain, where its blood is shed, and then the lamb is burnt on the altar as a burnt offering. The Jew who brought the lamb to the tabernacle, goes away with the imputed righteousness of the lamb, because of its blood. The blood covers the sins of an individual for one whole year. This process is repeated every year. The Bible says:

“And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” - Leviticus 9:24

"Fire" in Biblical symbology represents "God's judgement and wrath". Whenever the sacrificial animal was placed upon the brazen altar, the Lord would start the fire by sending fire down from heaven. From there on the fire is maintained by the priests by burning one sacrifice after another.

The Jews performed the offering of the sacrifices twice a day. The first being at the 3rd hour of the day, and the second at the 9th hour of the day. The Jewish day begins at 6am in the morning and ends at 6pm in the evening. So the first sacrifice is offered at 9am, and the last sacrifice of the day is offered at 3pm. Our Lord Jesus was crucified at 9am in the morning as specified in Mark 15:25, where He became a sin offering when He took all our sins upon His body, and He became a burnt offering when He endured the fiery wrath of God's judgement for over 6 hours (9am to 3pm), just like the lamb on the brazen altar, which is why He said "I thirst", as recorded in John 19:28, as our Lord Jesus was exhausted by enduring the fiery wrath of God's judgement which was poured out upon Him. The Lord has always addressed God as "Father", but for the first time Jesus addressed the Father in heaven as "God" because, from the moment all our sins were put upon Jesus's body, God was no longer a Father to Him, but He was a righteous Judge. Hence our Lord Jesus at the 9th hour (3pm - final sacrifice) said:

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” - Matthew 27:46

The above words of the Lord was prophesied by King David in Psalm 22:1 when death by crucifixion didn't even exist. Psalm 22 is known as the Messianic Psalm, as it speaks about Jesus. It was during the 9th hour that Elijah prayed and God sent fire from heaven, as seen in 1 Kings 18:36-38. It was during the 9th hour that prophet Daniel prayed and angel Gabriel came to him, as seen in Daniel 9:21. It was during the 9th hour when Cornelius was visited by an angel when he was praying, as seen in Acts 10.

In the Old Testament, every time the sacrificial lamb was offered and burnt upon the brazen altar, God's fiery judgement always consumed the sacrifice and turned it into ashes. This was because, under the law, God's judgement was greater than the sacrifice. Whereas in the New Testament, when God judged all our sins upon Jesus's body, and poured out His holy wrath upon His only beloved Son on the cross, instead of Jesus being consumed by God's judgement, the judgement was consumed by the sacrifice. This is because, under Grace, the sacrifice was greater than God's judgement. Jesus Christ being the final payment, upon consuming God's judgement, He cried out, "IT IS FINISHED!". The Bible says:

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” - John 19:30

When God was done judging our sins in Jesus's body, He was satisfied with the one time and eternal sacrifice, therefore our Lord Jesus once again addressed God as "Father". From this point onward death had no power on Jesus, hence our Lord Jesus dispersed His Holy Spirit as a King would disperse His subjects and willingly gave up His life and died on the cross. The Bible says:

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” - Luke 23:46

As for us, who put our faith in the Gospel of Grace, we walk with the imputed righteousness of Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. For this reason the Bible says:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

In the Old Testament, the blood of the sacrificial lamb would cover an individual's sins for one whole year, where the process is repeated year after year. Whereas in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the one time and eternal payment, where His eternal Blood takes away our sins forever. The Bible says:

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” - Hebrews 10:10

Jesus Christ was our final sacrifice, and today He is seated at the right hand of God the Father not only as God, but also as a man, representing us and continuously interceding for us. It is for this reason God no longer sees our sins when we have put our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Whenever we sin, the Lord corrects and chastises us, because we are His children as we have been redeemed by the Blood of His Son.

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” - Hebrews 12:6-7

If you are not a believer in Christ yet, but would like to become one, put your faith in the Gospel of Christ which is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, which describes the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you are a believer in Christ, but you are conscious of your sins, and don't know what to do. Look at Jesus upon the cross and see your sins judged and burnt, just like the lamb on the brazen altar. God the Father when He looks at us today, He looks at Jesus's Blood upon us and declares us righteous in Christ and does not look upon our sins. In the New Covenant of Grace, God says:

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” - Hebrews 8:12

Under the old covenant of the law, before Jesus's death, the Lord taught us to forgive in order to be forgiven, which is stated in the Lord's Prayer, in Matthew 6:12. After Jesus's death, the risen Christ through apostle Paul, teaches us to forgive others because we are forgiven. The Bible says:

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” - Ephesians 4:32

It is for this reason the Tabernacle begins with the Brazen Altar, as it is a picture of the cross of Jesus Christ. This shows that salvation is through Christ alone. It is not based on our own good works, but rather, salvation is by Jesus's finished work.