EXODUS
CHAPTER
27
1.
You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide;
the altar shall be square; and it shall be three cubits high. 2. You shall make
horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and
you shall overlay it with bronze. 3. You shall make pots for it to receive its
ashes, and, shovels and basins and forks and the firepans; you shall make all
its utensils of bronze.
(Exodus chapter 27 verses 1 to 3)
In contrast to the ark of the covenant that was covered with pure gold, the altar was to be covered with bronze, which is inferior to gold. This reflects the fact that the offering was inferior to the one receiving the offer or sacrifice that is the almighty God. As much as He makes this priority we are also to make priorities in our life that promote God and His ways to the highest level of priority.
4. You shall also make for it a grating, a
network of bronze; and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four
corners. 5. You shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net shall
extend halfway down the altar. 6. You shall make poles for the altar,
poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze; 7. the poles shall be on
the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8. You shall make it hollow,
with boards. They shall be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
(Exodus chapter 27 verses 4 to 8)
On reflecting it can be said that God thinks of
all the details of our lives. Even when giving Moses the details of how to
construct the altar God went into great depth in relation to detail. Moreover
when creating our bodies which is much more complex God went into greater
detail in creating such a great work of art that is our body.
In order to view an image of this altar please
click on the following link:
9. You shall make the court of the tabernacle.
On the south side of the court shall have hangings of fine twisted linen one
hundred cubits long for that side; 10. its twenty pillars and their twenty
bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be
of silver. 11 likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings
one hundred cubits long, their pillars twenty and their bases twenty of bronze
but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 12. For
the width of the court on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of
hangings, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13. The width of the court on the
front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14. There shall be fifteen cubits of
hangings on the one side, with three pillars and three bases. 15. There shall be
fifteen cubits of hangings on the other side, with three pillars and three
bases. 16. For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits
long, of blue purple and crimson yarns and of fine twisted linen, embroidered
with needlework; it shall have four pillars and with them four bases.
(Exodus chapter 27 verses 9 to 16)
God gave His people the project of a life time.
The building of this complex structure would need the effort of all if not many
of the people who in some way or another would have been involved in its
construction. On the other hand as a people they would have experienced the
satisfaction of having participated in such a project and they would have felt
that they were more a part of it, than if they had been just been born into a
ready made system and structure. The problem of Christians in which I am
obviously including myself, is that we have been born into the system and
structure and were it not by faith and liturgical participation we would never
feel it as being our own. As a consequence some of us simply refer to it by
terms such as 'them' meaning priests and other inner circle participants
and 'us' the clergy which reflects a great attitude of anonymity and a
lack of belonging to the Church as members of that same body. I urge all
Christians and readers of this blog, even those of other churches and beliefs
to become involved in their systems of worship so that they will experience the
sense of belonging experienced by those who feel that they are actually part of
the Church or their particular place of worship. Participation increases
motivation, passivity on the other hand brings a lack of motivation and even a
laxity in faith and spiritual and religious progress.
17. All the pillars around the court shall be
banded with silver, their hooks shall be of silver and their bases of bronze.
18. The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and
the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twisted linen and bases of
bronze. 19. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs
and all the pegs of the court shall be of bronze.
(Exodus chapter 27 verses 17 to 19)
In order to have an idea of how the tent and inner chambers were planned to be please click on the following link;
As found in the above mentioned the planned area
had special places such as the tabernacle where the presence of God was to be
present on the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant that was so special that
it had its apparatus made of gold, the outer chamber which had its apparatus
made of silver which is inferior to gold, and the court area which had its
apparatus or apparel made from items of bronze which again is inferior to
silver. On reflecting the quality of the metal signifies the importance of each
chamber. From a spiritual perspective, we can either be people who are very
advanced in our spiritual life and are worthy to enter the area of the
tabernacle, or we can still be people like myself who are in the process of
getting to know God thus making part of the outer and or exterior chambers.
20. You shall further command the Israelites
to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that a lamp may be set
up to burn regularly. 21. In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that is
before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning
before the LORD. It shall be a perpetual ordinance to be observed throughout
their generations by the Israelites.
(Exodus chapter 27 verses 20 to 21)
I would like to end this chapter with the
following prayer:
Oh God almighty creator of heaven and earth, I
acknowledge You as my loving father. Moreover I also acknowledge myself as a
sinner who is not worthy to share your presence. Please Oh Father continue to
help me in my spiritual formation so that one day I will be worthy of being
part of your inner circle and be in your Holy presence forever. I also that
this wish be granted to all the people of the world so that we can all receive
your love and blessings and be united with You forever.
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