The brazen altar stood at the front of the tabernacle of Moses. It was the place where ALL sacrifices were made before the priests could enter the Holy Place. ALL THINGS BEGIN with the place of sacrifice. The place of sacrifice today is the CROSS of CHRIST. We must return to the cross in this last hour before Jesus comes. The cross will be the line in the sand between the true church and the apostate church
By Chris McDonald
Many ancient peoples used altars. Most heathen cultures however used altars (and still do today) for idolatry and immorality. For the nation of Israel however, God wanted to establish HIS NAME and the worship of ONE GOD through them. As a result the sight of fire, blood, smoke and the smell of burning sacrifices at the brazen altar impressed them to know that they worshipped a HOLY GOD and the entire world – including national Israel – was guilty before Him. This altar outside the outer court of the tabernacle was both an altar of judgment AND expiation. In other words, it’s where Israel’s sin was both JUDGED and FORGIVEN.
Never forget this fact about your salvation. Your sin carried a terrible price tag with it. Man’s rebellion cost God something more precious to Him than all the universe and eternity itself. It cost Him His dear Son – Yeshuah. It cost God BLOOD. It was not cheap nor was it taken lightly in the courts of heaven when man sinned in the garden. Man’s sin shook the heavenlies so that God Himself intervened and said “I WILL REDEEM HIM.” In saying those words, God orchestrated the great plan of redemption we have today through the Messiah. As this brazen altar stood before Israel and those who would bring their offerings to God for sacrifice, so does the CROSS still stand before us today as the place of sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins – both past and present. But man must never tempt God and take this fact for granted that because man is forgiven man is not guilty. Mankind is guilty. ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the GLORY OF GOD. ALL had a part to play in the death of Yeshua. As we will find out in these Levitical offerings, God was teaching the nation of Israel that their sin carried a price.
Many didn’t understand what they were doing was really a dress rehearsal in heaven for what God would do at Calvary when Jesus died for our sins. He became our SIN OFFERING so that we may be free today! That is the backbone of this study. I pray you come away from this with a deeper appreciation of the cross unlike you have ever had. I pray that if you are a sinner and lost without God that you will see the Father’s great love for you and repent and come to Him before it is eternally too late.
If you are backslidden I pray you will come back to God quickly and see that if you reject THE SACRIFICE of Yeshua for your sins – there remains “NO OTHER SACRIFICE.” I have preached this many times recently that the Lord is bringing the church back to two things rapidly in these last days before He comes – the CROSS and to ISRAEL. The message of the cross is not a new message. The apostles preached, the prophets foretold it and Jesus fulfilled it. The reason it sounds so foreign to this generation is that Satan has cleverly taken us away from our power against him. He knows that if he can get the church chasing spirits and chasing fads then he can run amuck among our people – which he has.
Paul warned the church in Corinth that he was very concerned the enemy would tempt them to go away from the “simplicity that is in CHRIST.” Any message that you hear that does not lift up JESUS is another gospel. Any pursuit of experiences that don’t line up with the word of God is a pursuit of another spirit. And any message about Jesus that does not preach Christ and HIM CRUCIFIED is a message about another Jesus. We can’t go beyond the cross. I know many denominations think that they can and be of service to their people. But what happens when we leave the cross is we wind up in apostasy. What happens is we wind up with the mess we’re in today in the denominational world, which for the most part has denied the supernatural working of the Holy Ghost. What happens is we wind up with the Pentecostal world chasing after supernatural manifestations without seeking the power of the CROSS of Christ and allowing that power to work in our lives and character? The result is madness and mayhem. Many saints are being wounded and hurt by Jezebel spirits running amuck in the church because the leadership has left teaching the fundamentals of the faith moving on to “deeper” things. Neighbor you can’t get deeper than the cross. You can’t get any deeper than the power that Christ established when He cried “IT IS FINISHED.” You can’t get any new revelation other than the fact that JESUS SAVES, JESUS HEALS, JESUS BAPTIZES IN THE HOLY GHOST and JESUS IS COMING AGAIN. It may sound trite, it may sound naïve but the only hope for humanity’s dilemma (which is sin) is the CROSS. It’s the SHED BLOOD of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have tears in my eyes as I write this because I know we as the church have drifted so far from this. I have fought the demon powers of hell in my own life for the last decade and at times have lost those battles because I had placed my faith in other things than the shed blood of Jesus for my victory. Christian friend, your victory over the sin nature NOW is the same as it was when you got saved! There are no new formulas for victory. Paul said he was determined to know NOTHING but Christ and Him crucified! Apostasy in the last days will take on many forms but the most damnable form it will take will come from within our ranks when men deny the validity of the blood from their pulpits. I’m not talking about the cults or the Mormons or the groups of people we commonly think of as off base or in darkness. I’m talking about mainline denominational preachers who have become as one evangelist put it recently nothing more than “pimps for the great whore of religion.” These Levitical offerings will scream in the face of the modern apostasy facing the church.
The brazen altar was THE ONLY place of sacrifice in the tabernacle makeup. Israel was not the first to understand this. From the beginning of man’s rebellion this concept was established. In time, this idea was lost except to those who continued to seek after God and to truly please God.
To make sure Israel worshipped ONLY at the brazen altar and its service did not degenerate to the level of the heathen nations, God gave specific instructions for its use.
One Altar
The most important instruction was that there was to be only ONE ALTAR.
Exodus 27:1-8
And thou shalt make an altar (ONE) of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. [2] And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. [3] And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. [4] And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. [5] And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. [6] And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. [7] And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. [8] Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
Exodus 38:1-7
And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. [2] And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. [3] And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass. [4] And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it. [5] And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. [6] And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. [7] And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
It was to be located only in the court of the tabernacle. (Lev. 17:1-9 and Deut. 12:5-14).
Leviticus 17:1-9
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying, [3] What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, [4] And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: [5] To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord. [6] And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord. [7] And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
[8] And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering of sacrifice, [9] And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
Deut. 12:5-14
But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shall come: [6] And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: [7] And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. [8] Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. [9] For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God gives you. [10] But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; [11] Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord: [12] And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. [13] Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou sees: [14] But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shall offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shall do all that I command thee.
This eliminated the spirit of divided worship that so characterized the common heathen worship on high places, which tended to encourage the worship and concept of many gods. ALL THE HIGH PLACES in Israel were to be destroyed.
Deut. 12:1-4
These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers gives thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. [2] Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: [3] And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. [4] Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
Sacrificing to an idol carried the death penalty under the Law.
Exodus 22:20
He that sacrifices unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
One place of sacrifice for the nation made it easer for the priests to see that God’s instructions were followed and so guarded against the influence of heathen worship. Divine instructions were very detailed in order to prevent any idolatrous deviations.
The Altar Was To Have NO Steps Or Engravings
The altar of the Lord was to have no steps or engravings on it as a precaution against the altar itself becoming an altar of worship.
Exodus 20:25-26
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shall not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. [26] Neither shall thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Scripture speaks of Israel falling into idolatry in the wilderness when the nation began to literally worship the brazen serpent Moses placed on the pole to heal those dying of serpent bites from God’s judgment. Moses speaks of the “inquity of holy things,” as well in Exodus when detailing the garments of the priests. We can make an idol out of an experience with God. We can literally worship the experience instead of worshipping the true God.
Many have made their pet doctrines idols. The church has placed steps on God’s simple plan of redemption. When we say you are saved when you believe AND cut your hair. Or you are saved when you believe AND join our fellowship. Or something like you are saved when you believe in Christ AND our tenets of faith. Neighbor that is idolatry! The cross does not need our steps to do its work. The cross is the power of God unto salvation.
To illustrate how far we have drifted from this message, a recent article in the Assemblies of God magazine which dealt with the recent events in the Catholic church regarding pedophilia instructed their ministers (AOG) that if some of them were dealing with the same issues to “go out and get a good 12-step program” for their deliverance. Not ONE time did the article mention that the blood of Jesus sets men free from lust or sexual sin! Not ONE time did the article mention that the preacher find himself an altar and pray through till the glory fell on his life and the power of the Holy Ghost gave him victory over that sin!
We act like the battle we fight in the church against the powers of darkness is a game of cowboys and Indians. That’s what spiritual warfare has degenerated to among us and it’s sad. The horror of that article is that if we are not embracing the CROSS as CHRISTIANS then just what are we offering the world for THEIR deliverance?????? That is a good question. That is a great question. When the CHURCH OF GOD in Cleveland, TN starts making psychology a requirement for their preachers to learn before ordaining them that is a sign we are moving away from the cross. When the Baptists and the Methodists denominations turn their back totally on the power of God to the point of preaching a gospel that denies the supernatural of God then we have stopped preaching the Cross. The cross means we are able to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does everything He does as a result of the CROSS.
The Priests Were Commanded To Wear Undergarments
A second requirement of this altar was that the priests were to wear undergarments to cover ALL FLESH. God wanted NO FLESH exposed at his altar as was common at the heathen altars where nakedness and immorality abounded. This speaks to us today that NO FLESH is to glory in the presence of God because NO FLESH is worthy to glory about ANYTHING.
1 Cor. 1:30-31
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: [31] That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
The church parades FLESH in front of the world today and calls it SPIRIT. Then when the TRUE SPIRIT of God shows up we’re quick to label it as flesh. We don’t know the true from the false because we have drifted away form the source of ALL TRUE WORSHIP – the CROSS. This place of sacrifice was in type the foreshadowing of what Christ did at Calvary and the fact that our salvation was secured at ONE PLACE. Salvation is deliverance from sin, not a reformation of the old man. Salvation DESTROYS the old man and crucifies us as we identify ourselves with the experience of Jesus when He died. This is not an easy process nor one which many want to take place in their hearts and lives.
As we stated earlier, the brazen altar is where Isreal’s guilt was laid out before God. It’s hard for religious man to admit he is a sinner. It’s hard for Christians to admit they may be vulnerable to sin. There is a common teaching in one certain Pentecostal denomination that says that we can attain a point of sinless perfection before God where we never sin. It’s called “instanenous sanctification.” But the people who brag the most about that type experience are some of the most carnal, rude, worldly and arrogant people you’d ever want to meet. Many of those same people will stone those who are fallen and act like some of the worst Pharisees in the world. Let me tell this one thing that you need to hear.
God is not impressed with our so-called spirituality compared to others. Paul described carnality in Corinthians as a spirit when we “compare ourselves with another.” That is 99% of the reason we have very little true Christianity being shown today in the church. It is also the reason many Christians are insecure in their standing with Christ. We have hammered into our people the thinking that they have to be super-spiritual to be accepted by God. If anything, God is more concerned and more committed to the one struggling out there in darkness than He is with the one who is securely in the fold. God doesn’t play favorites by no means, but His grace ABOUNDS more when sin is trying to increase it’s attack in one’s life. That should make some of you reading this take heart.
God is not shocked by our weakness. God is not angry with us because we may be struggling with a certain sin in our life. However, He HAS ordained and redeemed us to GET VICTORY over those weaknesses through the power of His resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. We can't get victory for ourselves. The victory over fear, doubt, unbelief, depression, failure and all the sort - has already been secured by the finished work at Calvary. His acceptance of US as people does not mean He CONDONES our actions nor is happy with the results of our bondage. God hates sin. His hatred for sin will be illustrated in our study of these offerings.
The scene at this place of sacrifice was gruesome. It was bloody. It stank. One would have to have a very strong stomach to witness this ordeal day in and day out without being affected. BUT THAT WAS GOD’S INTENTION! He wanted man to see through Israel’s Levitical offerings how utterly UGLY sin was in His sight. He wanted Israel to regurgitate almost at the site of the blood, the fire and the smell.
It’s the same reaction God had in the Garden when Adam disobeyed Him. With that same power though He loves the SINNER. He’s committed to the sinner’s salvation if the sinner will come to Him and believe in the CROSS and keep his FAITH in the CROSS!
There are some reading this and saying “well you’re giving people a license to sin then if you say that we are not to worry about being perfect.” NO NO NO NO NO. The other side of this spectrum is a teaching that says we can sin as much as we want to and get by with that. Many go as far to teach that if a person has been truly saved and they die in a backslidden state with unconfessed sin in their life that they will make heaven their eternal home without any chance of losing that salvation.
I don’t think one ever really “loses” their salvation but one can WILLFULLY and by his actions CHOOSE not to put his/her faith in the cross of Christ any longer. That willful rejection of the faith puts one in eternal jeopardy. Like it or not eternal salvation is based upon CHRIST, not us. But our FAITH must always remain IN CHRIST! Our faith must REST in the finished work He did at the cross. Our faith must always be in His shed blood that cleanses us from ALL SIN! His mercy reaches and endures more than our human minds tend to want to believe.
We don’t understand the mercy of God thus we treat our fellow man harshly and criticize others when they fall. Neighbor, you better what who and how you criticize! The very same judgment you lay on others – it’s coming home friend!
I was in home bible study not too long ago and one of the ladies their began to talk about the problems in the Body of Christ. The reason she gave for people not wanting to come to church was the fall of the televangelists of the late 1980s (she called their names) and boasted almost how much holier she was than them.
Everybody in the room gave her a hearty AMEN, EXCEPT ME! I spoke up and told them all that the problems with the body of Christ were NOT two preachers who had been attacked by the enemy – but the problem was the very same JUDGMENT this lady was laying on others. We in the church had better wake up to the fact that God's JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH US! God’s dealings must start with US. This place of sacrifice was a PERSONAL place where ALL of Israel brought their sin offerings, their trespass offerings, their peace offerings and their burnt offerings. NEIGHBOR, you can point your finger at others and say “they’ve done this,” and “they’ve done that,” and they may give you some comfort in your conscience – BUT YOU ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS THEY ARE! YOU ARE JUST AS WICKED and SINFUL as they are underneath the mask of self-righteousness.
That self-righteousness is FLESH in the sight of God and it’s UGLY and DAMNABLE in His sight. It’s what put Jesus on the cross. It’s what put our Saviour on the tree. Self-righteousness caused Israel to stumble over her Messiah and it’s causing the church to stumble over her salvation today. Jesus does not just HAVE salvation neighbor – HE IS SALVATION. HE IS SALVATION. HE IS OUR REDEMPTION. HE IS OUR HEALING, HE IS OUR POWER. HE IS OUR GRACE. He IS the way, the truth and the LIFE. He didn’t say He had LIGHT, He was He WAS the light. Glory to God. I’m staring to preach here a bit but I want you to get this. HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. HE IS THE WAY. HE IS THE TRUTH. That word “IS” is HUGE. It means that when we need LIGHT we don’t come to Him “FOR” light, we come to HIM PERIOD!
And that is the rub in the church today. We send the alcoholic to their AA meetings and say “just believe in the higher power.” We send our couples about to divorce into counseling thinking we can somehow wave a magic wand and their problems will all go away. Neighbor, this process of Christianity is not instant grits. It’s a struggle to the death – the DEATH OF THE OLD MAN – and the resurrection of the NEW. It’s an UGLY wrestling match between GOD and that SIN NATURE inside of you that rebels against everything that is Godly and holy. It’s a conflict of eternity that has already been WON at Calvary.
When God told these priests to wear these undergarments, He was basically saying to Israel – “I’m NOT IMPRESSED WITH YOUR EFFORTS TO APPROACH ME. YOUR FLESH WILL NOT SAVE YOU.”
What we have done today in the church is we have tried to “redirect” humanity to a “higher” level of living by allowing his flesh to go untouched. ADAM’S FLESH IS DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION AND DEATH!!!!! There is NOTHING GOOD in Adam’s flesh. There is NOTHING worth saving in any of us. We all deserve to go to hell. We ALL deserve the judgment of God. WE ALL deserve the punishment of eternal separation from God for our rebellion, anger and sin.
BUT GOD, BUT GOD, BUT GOD – who is RICH in mercy – has granted us MERCY and PARDON through the offering of His Son on Calvary’s cross. These Levitical offerings were a picture of that mercy. God destroying sin and saving the sinner- man oh man oh man. No wonder they sing it -
“Oh What A Saviour, Oh Hallelujah, His heart was broken on Calvary, His hands were nail scarred, His side was driven, He gave His life’s blood, for you and me.”
A Word About The Entertainment Industry
I want to make a few statements here about “Christian” entertainment. I’m not going to get into a finger-pointing issue here on whether Christian entertainment is of God or not. That is really not my place to do. But what I WILL say is this. Whenever the church promotes the FLESH to the WORLD instead of the CROSS, we disobey God and GRIEVE the Holy Ghost. MUCH OF CHRISTIAN ENTERTAINMENT IS JUST THAT – A DISPLAY OF THE FLESH. Much of Christian television we watch today is nothing more than a display of the FLESH. Much of the efforts by some to make “Christian” movies in order as they say to “change Hollywood,” is a work of the FLESH. MAKING CHRISTIAN MOVIES WON’T CHANGE HOLLYWOOD. Sin cannot change SIN. Evil cannot change EVIL. One leper cannot change another leper.
God wanted it made clear to Israel that this altar or place of sacrifice was not a place to take lightly or flippantly. It was the source of Israel’s salvation through the ministry of the tabernacle of that day. It pointed to Israel’s coming Messiah. The Messiah would DIE a horrible death just like the death that the animals offered up on this brazen altar would experience. It was not a pretty sight. It was not something to make one want to jump up and down about. THE FIRE THAT WOULD COME LATER AFTER THE ALTAR was dedicated made the people shout but the process of sacrifice and death in itself probably made many people gag. AND IT'S MAKING US IN THE CHURCH TODAY GAG AS WELL!!
We have all of this backwards. We seek the fire of God without seeking the God's decree of death. What do I mean by that?? To put it bluntly and in more frank terms - we no longer honor the cross of Christ nor the Christ of the cross in our services. We have made our Sunday morning services no more than a glorified pep rally for God and no longer preach a gospel message that stirs the hearers or convicts the sinner. He sits in our services and hears how great our churches are and how great the many programs we have to offer him but we say very LITTLE about the sinners only hope for redemption or deliverance – the CROSS OF CHRIST.
That is one reason I take a serious issue with the Christian contemporary music scene. Most of what is done is purely entertainment, nothing more. For us to raise it to a level of ministry is almost ludicrous and blasphemous. Neighbor true ministry is never found in how many people are in attendance at the concert or how much smoke rises from the stage. God help us. God help us. Some of the things that go on in the name of Jesus within the church should make us ashamed of ourselves instead of making us brag to others who much our church offers to the community.
Just the other day I heard a preacher preaching over radio in Central Kentucky proclaiming how evil MTV was to our kids and how much it promoted drug use and rebellion. I can’t remember exactly but I believe his statement was “we have to preach against this ‘type’ thing today because it’s not popular to preach against sin" basically making the listeners believe his church was super-spiritual and he was super-spiritual because he was slamming the "devil's music and network - MTV."
MTV IS wicked and MTV DOES promote drugs and rebellion in our teens. BUT hear me good neighbor. When we bring the same elements of MTV into our church – the blaring music, costumes so tight on performers that TWIGGY couldn’t even get in them, and smoke billowing up from the stage like we were in some Vegas fireworks show – and play the same beat, jook out to the same dance, scream the same way as rock singers, and declare this all of God because we change a few lyrics and "sing about Jesus" - ARE WE NOT DOING THE SAME????????? Please tell me that I’m wrong here. Please tell me how that we are not some of the biggest hypocrites to the world by slamming MTV yet having some of our biggest churches in town offering contemporary Christian concerts “at a discounted price,” so that people who can’t normally purchase a ticket can get to them. THAT IS NOT MINISTRY!!!!!!! That attitude of having to discount ticket prices because of the expense involved in seeing anyone "minister" through contemporary music should be a warning flag in itself THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a spirit of GREED and avarice that grips the Christian entertainment world. (And I'm not just laying into the Christian contemporary scene, the southern Gospel music industry has gotten just as bad if not worse.) It's no longer about ministry or the anointing of the Holy Spirit that sets captives free, it's about the almighty dollar.
These Christian groups who hire agents and book concerts only if they're guaranteed a certain fee are WOLVES IN SHEEPS CLOTHING AND ARE OF THE DEVIL. They are NOT OF GOD and I don't care who/what/how/when and whatever else they may say to defend their "calling." NEIGHBOR IT'S NOT A CALLING. There is no where in scripture you can find the early church hiring singers to go out and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. NO NO NO NO NO, the early church took this mighty gospel of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the earth on the backs of the APOSTLES and the backs of PREACHERS who stood up in heathen idolatrous cities and declared -"THUS SAITH THE LORD, THUS SAITH THE LORD."
Preacher hear what I say to you. I know what you're thinking if you've read this far. You're saying "well Brother McDonald, we have to do this and allow this in our church so we can please our young people and keep the church interesting enough to draw the crowds." THAT IS FLESH and it is not pleasing to God nor is it ordained of God. God has not called our churches to be user-friendly. Since when has God cared whether we get the young people through our doors through entertainment????? Millions are in hell right now burning forever because instead of the church preaching the CROSS OF CHRIST we have been busy hosting "the nominee for the DOVE award." I want to PUKE just writing that. NEIGHBOR LIKE ME OR DON'T LIKE ME. CLICK ON THE X above if you must, but hear what I say.
The mess these churches are shoveling our children is just as bad if not WORSE than they will ever watch on secular television. We have brought the same spirit into our churches, dressed up the flesh and called it of God, and told our youth it's ok for us to do it in the church but its wicked and evil for the world to do it out there. THAT IS RANK HYPOCRISY!!!!!!!!!!! Dear Lord, are you hearing me. Have we so drifted so far from the cross that we no longer can recognize what is FLESH and what is not????
I’m not trying to cut into any Christian entertainer out there who sings or whatever. I’m also not trying to say one type of music is better than the other. BUT FRIEND if the music that is coming across is not bringing us CLOSER TO CALVARY and CLOSER TO JESUS then it’s not of GOD! It’s FLESH and it’s evil. There is a DIVINE nature in you and me that will not allow us to listen to things that GRIEVES the Holy Spirit!!!!!!!
I sat in on a recent so-called "Christian" concert at a local church my wife and I used to attend and I had to leave 10 minutes into it. I couldn’t stand what I saw. The three young ladies up there singing had three young boys behind them dancing in such a way that even the Backstreet Boys would have blushed. And I’m not talking about dancing in the Holy Ghost. I’m talking about the same type dancing our children would see if we went them to a Rolling Stones concert. The young men were scantly clad as well as the young ladies who sang to a group of screaming teens loving their strobe lights and smoke coming out of the stage. The teens were not screaming out for repentance - they were screaming for this band - THAT IS FLESH. But we’ll get up in our pulpits and criticize MTV for its influence over our children yet applaud this same type group who brings the same type crap in the church-just under another guise called contemporary Christian music. Neighbor, that is FLESH. And God commanded these priests to wear undergarments so NO FLESH would be exposed at the place of sacrifice.
The Dedication Of The Place Of Sacrifice
On the day the tabernacle was set up, the brazen altar was placed in the outer court.
Exodus 40:29
And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord commanded Moses.
In addition, all the tabernacle furnishings were anointed with holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:26-28, 40:9; Lev. 8:10; Neh. 7:1)
Exodus 30:26-28
And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, [27] And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, [28] And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
Exodus 40:9
And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
Leviticus 8:10
And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
Neh. 7:1
Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
A special anointing of the brazen altar then continued for seven days, as did the priests’ consecration.
Exodus 29:35-37
And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. [36] And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. [37] Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
Leviticus 8:11
And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
The anointing was the ceremonial means of consecrating the altar and priests to their equally important work of atonement. It speaks to us of Christ’s intercessory work as our Great High Priest after He was offered to God on the cross. He was anointed by God by the Holy Ghost and went about doing GOOD and healing all those oppressed of the devil. The Holy Ghost was there to anoint Him even at the time of sacrifice and He is the instrument today that helps us make that journey to the cross as well. He wants us to die so that CHRIST can live. He wants to kill off our flesh so that the SPIRIT of GOD can dwell and operate within us and through us.
Christ is our Great High Priest. His intercessory work right now that is going on in heaven would mean NOTHING had He not died on Calvary. Had Jesus came to earth and did miracles and went back to glory – that intercessory work would mean nothing. Had Jesus came to earth as a virgin-born son of Mary and went back to glory without dying – His intercessory work would mean nothing. Had Jesus came to earth and walked on water, fed five thousand and healed every cripple in Israel as great as those events were in the life of the Master, His intercessory work would mean nothing right now. I hope you are hearing what I’m saying to you here. I hope you are getting this. I feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit on me so strong as I write these words I can barely see straight right now.
ALL of Jesus’ miracles, as great as they were, did not settle the price for sin for heaven. The fact that He was spotless in His humanity was only important because in the end it was what He offered up to God as a sin-offering of HIMSELF on Calvary. His blood that flowed that day was human blood from a perfect MAN. He was all man and all God at the same time. He had to be MAN though for fallen humanity to be saved. He could not save man as God. He could not save man as deity. That’s why He emptied Himself and became of “no reputation,” and came to this lonely world to purchase man’s life and peace. TO die upon a bloody cross, to bring salvation to you and me. It took a miracle to put the stars in place, it took a miracle to hang the world in space, but when he saved my soul, CLEANSED and made me whole. It took a miracle of love and grace. Neighbor that’s the power of His atoning work at Calvary. Calvary is the place of sacrifice as the brazen altar was the place of sacrifice for the tabernacle.
The Day After- The Fire Falls
The day after the consecration of the priests and brazen altar, the glory of the Lord appeared and his fire consumed the sacrifice of the brazen altar. Those fires typified two things:
§ Judgment
§ Acceptance
To say something again I said earlier – God destroyed sin at the cross and saved the sinner. His fires of judgment fell on Messiah Jesus so that His fires of eternal wrath will not have to fall on us. Those same fires destroyed the sin-offering as those same fires today destroy the sin-nature in us. It don’t do away with it totally, but it renders it POWERLESS in our lives as long as we embrace the cross and keep our faith and trust in Yeshua Ha'maschiah.
The fire was a divine manifestation of His acceptance of the priests in their work at the brazen altar. It had the effect of causing the people to shout and fall on their faces.
Leviticus 9:23-24
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. [24] 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.
No true Israelite would sacrifice on any other altar other than that of the tabernacle. The divine manifestation of fire, when Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal and at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, had a similar effect on the people.
1 Kings 18:38-40
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God. [40] And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
2 Chron. 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.
The Altar And The Old Testament Economy
The Brazen Altar was the place of atonement for Israel. It was central to the whole system of the Old Covenant. It was positioned directly inside the entrance to the Tabernacle meaning that before you worshipped inside the Holy Place, you must come to the altar of sacrifice. It was the ONLY ITEM of the tabernacle with which the offer had any association. Only the priests ministered in the Holy Place. The offerer himself was not allowed to touch the brazen altar.
Numbers 4:15
And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 18:22
Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
The offerer was identified on that altar by the animal sacrifice. Though the offerer had no contact with the altar or other furnishings of the tabernacle (which typically represent the ministries of Christ), he received ALL of their benefits because he went to the altar.
This is the message of the gospel and the truth concerning atonement. It is only when we recognize our need for pardon and come to the cross that we receive the benefits of reconciliation and redemption. Salvation is not just an experience. It’s life in CHRIST. The brazen altar was the place of sacrifice where expiation was appropriated by the offerer. The place of sacrifice under the New Covenant is the cross. It’s at Calvary where we come without money and without price. It’s where we come bringing NOTHING but ourselves, confessing our need to God for forgiveness AND deliverance. It’s where Jesus paid the price for man’s redemption and deliverance. It’s where man’s flesh and pride are judged and man’s righteousness laid bare as filthy rags. ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the GLORY OF GOD. NO FLESH CAN GLORY HERE. The same gruesome scene of the Old Covenant is the same gruesome scene of the New.
As we continue this study of the Levitical offerings we pray you’ve been to the place of sacrifice. It all begins here and in reality it all ends here. Jesus died and rose again. WE MUST DIE SO HE CAN LIVE THROUGH US. As Paul the great apostle of grace wrote:
Galatians 2:20-21
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. [21] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.