(Click on photo to enlarge it)
The brazen altar, or altar of sacrifice, was
situated right inside the courtyard upon entering the gate to the tabernacle.
The Hebrew root for altar means, “to slay” or “slaughter.” The Latin word alta
means “high.” An altar, then, is a “high place for sacrifice/slaughter.”
The altar was made of wood from the acacia tree and
overlaid with bronze (usually symbolic of judgment on sin), measuring 7.5 feet
on all four sides and 4.5 feet high. Four horns projected from the top four
corners and a bronze grating was inside to hold the animal.
The altar was the place for burning animal
sacrifices. It showed the Israelites that the first step for sinful man to
approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature.
For a sin offering, a person had to bring a male animal—without blemish or
defect from the flock or herd—to the priest at the tabernacle gate.
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