Items in the Tabernacle

Brazen Alter

Exodus 27:1–8 “And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 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. 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. 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. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.”

Exodus 12:36 “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”

This is where all the gold, silver, and brass came from to make the items contained in the tabernacle.

The alter was to be made out of Shittim wood - verse 1. Thiis is also known as the Acacia Tree.

A tree species with several varieties that can grow to a height of 20 feet or more, with a trunk up to 2 feet thick. These trees are found in abundance on the Sinai peninsula. God instructs Moses to use acacia wood in building the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and the altar of burnt offering (Exod 25:10; 26:15; 27:1). Acacia wood is close-grained and is not readily attacked by insects.

The brazen alter was to be 7.5’ wide by 7.5’ long by 4.5’ high. It was to be overlayed with brass.

Why Brass?

Brass is fire resistant, meaning, it won’t burn in a normal fire. Shittim (Acacia) wood would be easily burnt in the sacrificial process. Therefore, you would have to make a new alter every time. However, God told Moses to overlay it with brass, or put the brass as a covering over the wood. Then when the sacrifice was burnt upon the alter, the alter would withstand the heat and not be burnt up with the sacrifice.

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

Daniel 3:23–25 “And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

So as the brass was a protector for the alter, so is the blood of Christ a protector for you and I.

The brazen alter was to have horns, or protrusions, on each of the four corners. These horns were to be used in certain times.

Leviticus 4:7 “And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”

Leviticus 4:25 “And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.”

Psalm 118:27 “God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: Bind the sacrifice with cords, Even unto the horns of the altar.”

The priest would take the sacrifice and tie each of the limbs of the sacrifice to the horns of the alter.

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

So we can see the horns on the alter had multiple uses and purposes, all pointing to Christ.

The pan was used in catching the ashes of the burnt offering.

Bronze shovels were made for clearing ashes from off the altar of burnt-offering

Other items used would have been the bason, flesh hooks, and firepans. These all were made out of brass and were to be used at the brazen alter.

There was also a grate that was to be used as well The grate was placed about 2’ up from the bottom of the alter. This also aided in the stability of the brazen alter.

4 brass rings were to be attached to the corners with a stave going through them. This would allow the alter to be carried.

The bottom below the grate system was to be hollow.

Placing of the brazen alter.

This would be the first item you would encounter once you enter into the outer court. There was only one way into the tabernacle, though the door, representing Jesus.

All items of the brazen alter were also a representation of Jesus. He offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin to save you and I.

Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

So if the door represents Jesus as the only way into the Sheep Fold and he is the Good Shephard, then the brazen alter would be the next thing we would come to. Constantly killing the flesh and allow Jesus to have full control of our lives.