Tabernacle (part 2)

We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10).

Continuing our look at God’s Tabernacle.

Among the most important furnishings in the Tabernacle were the altars. There were two: the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense. The Altar of Burnt Offering was the place where animals were sacrificed to the Lord; the Altar of Incense burned aromatic spices that filled the air with their perfume.

The sacrifice of animals was necessary because of sin. God’s punishment for sin is death; however, in order to show us mercy, He was willing to accept someone else’s blood in place of ours; God told the Israelites 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 (Leviticus 17:11). When the people angered God with their disobedience, they brought an animal for sacrifice on the altar. This was not a cheap way to get off the hook; giving away an animal was a financial sacrifice. But giving up a source of food and skins was a small matter when compared to escaping God’s punishment, so they were happy that the Lord accepted animal blood in place of theirs.

We don’t offer animals for sacrifice anymore; Jesus has made the practice unnecessary. In fact, those animal sacrifices were just placeholders serving until the time of Jesus’ death on the cross. Our Lord shed His blood, God’s blood, in place of ours. This is why Jesus had to be Son of God and Son of Man; only as a man could God shed blood and die; only the blood of God could have enough worth to settle the debt incurred by every human sin.

Churches still have altars, but their purpose has changed. There is no longer any sacrifice of blood; Jesus has done everything needed to forgive our sins and make us right with God. But the altar does remind us that salvation did not come cheaply; it cost the Son of God His very life. We should be humbled by this sacrifice and deeply grateful. We should be moved by love to give ourselves to Christ as living sacrifices, putting His work before our pleasures. The altar is a symbol of dedication—God’s dedication to us, and our dedication to Him.