Story: Laws About
Altars
Passage: Exodus 20:22-26
Characters: God,
Israel
Summary: God gave
Moses a set of laws about altars. First
He repeated that they should never have any idols. Then he said altars should be made of
earth. If it is made of stone, it must
not be hewn, and there must not be stairs leading up to it.
Notes: God begins by
reminding the people that they have heard His voice and seen His presence. He uses this to remind them to not make
idols. His logic is basically that they
had seen His power and majesty and heard His voice. They know He is alive, so they should not
worship something that is not alive. We
will see how they utterly fail at this later.
God specifies He wants an altar made of earth. He wants a simple looking altar. The glorious thing about an altar of God is
not the altar itself, but the God who the altar is for. Ultimately, the greatest sacrifice was made
on an altar of two pieces of wood. God
promises in the middle of this passage to bless the people wherever they
go. If the altar is made of stone, it
must not be cut stone. The glory and
praise for the altar should not go to anyone but God. Rather that the material being crafted by a
human, it is to be natural stone crafted by God. There were to be no steps leading up to the
altar so that their nakedness would not be exposed. Going up stairs would reveal flesh. It is hard to keep your legs covered going up
stairs. I believe this is symbolic of
the fact that our flesh is in perfect conflict with His holiness. Our flesh has no place at the altar.
Questions: Why could
there be no stairs? Why did God not want
altars made of other materials?
Lessons: We see in
this passage that God is really emphasizing that He does not want us to worship
idols. This is a big deal to God. In fact, our attitude towards worship in
general is a big deal and it dominates a good portion of the law. It is important that our worship and praise
goes where it deserves. We need to
worship the creator and not His creation.
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