Rebuilding an Altar

We have now followed the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem, and they are ready to begin the building process. Or shall we say, the rebuilding process. They are returning to a city that was completely destroyed. Their homes, the city wall and their temple were in ruins. Their task would have been intimidating at best.

When the temple was originally constructed by King Solomon, all of the materials used were of the highest quality. He was able to get the lumber from Lebanon, in exchange for Israel’s wine, grain and oil. If you read through 2 Chronicles you will find the exact dimensions for the Temple as well as the detailed descriptions of how it was finished. A lot of gold was used along with bronze and precious stones. The first temple was magnificent and utterly breathtaking. Now the Israelites were coming home to a pile of stones. Where in the world would they begin the process of rebuilding?

Ezra 3:1-3: “When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.”

In order to begin, they came together as one. The old and the young. Those who had experienced the Temple in its former glory, and those who had never laid eyes on it before. They were united in their efforts. They knew that being one was the only way to get the temple rebuilt. So many things could have divided their efforts, but when they began, they put aside any differences they had and pressed on to accomplish what they set out to do.

The altar was the first thing to be rebuilt. While the Israelites were in Babylon for 70 years they weren’t able to worship together as they once did at the Temple. And because they didn’t have an alter they were unable to make sacrifices. The Babylonians tried to rid the Israelite exiles of their faith, they even went so far as to try to eradicate their personal prayer lives, which is what got Daniel in trouble and thrown into the lion’s den. For the exiles to rebuild the altar first reveals just how much they had missed that place of communing with God.

When building any kind of structure, the first thing you usually do is build the foundation for the entire building, then frame it out, and build up the walls. Once that is done you can fill it with all of the necessities. But they started with the altar because:

1. The altar was where they went to be in God’s presence.

Altars have been used for a really long time. They date all the way back to Noah, when he came out of the arc on to dry land. Noah’s highest honor, dedication and atonement were all expressed in the burnt offering he gave to God on the altar. He built that altar to declare that the earth and everything in belonged to God.

The next place in the Bible we see an altar being built is in Genesis 12:6-7: “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”

Abram built his alter in the same place the exiles were rebuilding their altar. When Abram built his altar there, he was staking the territory as God’s land so to speak. He left behind that altar knowing that one day his descendents would return to that land and possess it in accordance with God’s promise.

As you can see, the first altars were built out of a desire to honor God for what He had done in the lives of His people. This tradition was passed down from Abraham to Isaac, who found himself on an altar at one point. But who also built an altar after God had revealed Himself to him. Isaac passed it on to Jacob, who built an altar to God in Bethel after God had appeared to Him.

2. These altars were built, and sacrifices were made because these people had experienced God.

If we travel through the history of altars, we quickly come to the sacrificial system that was put into place by God. If you’d like to read through these laws, go to Leviticus and knock yourself out! There are so many different kinds of sacrifices that the Israelites were supposed to observe. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to remember all of them. The main thing I want you to understand about the sacrificial system is that God put it into place so that people could continue to experience His presence. What God intended for good, man turned into evil.

Can you imagine how pleased God was when the Patriarchs built those altars out of their own personal desire to honor Him? They weren’t bound to a law, it was an overflow of their gratitude and love for God. Unfortunately, once men had the law, the sacrificial system went from something they desired to do to something they had to do. And ultimately, they didn’t want to do it anymore. Which then got them into trouble. Their disobedience and rotten attitudes toward God led them straight to Babylon.

Hosea addresses this issue in 715BC when Israel began its downfall. Hosea 6:4-6-

“What can I do with you, Ephraim?

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your love is like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears.

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,

I killed you with the words of my mouth—

then my judgments go forth like the sun. w

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

God wanted His people to know Him. To know His heart. To be in relationship with Him. They had turned the altar into a religious obligation. Now that his people had returned to Jerusalem, we see that they were reestablishing the altar as a place of intimate relationship.

So what do we do with all of this history? What can we possibly glean from these ancient traditions? We don’t have an altar in our church, we don’t observe the sacrificial system because Jesus came and was the perfect and final sacrifice, whose blood not only atones for our sins, but completely wipes them out.

The problem is, we tend to build altars to multiple gods. If we’re honest, our temple may have a few different altars. The altar built for the god of money, or the god of politics, or the god of acceptance. Whatever you place your faith in becomes your god and you begin offering things to that god in exchange for what you think that god can give you. If you have been obsessed with politics lately, look closely at the altar in your heart and see if some of the reasons your faith is placed in government is because of what government can do for you. Or it could be a relationship, or your identity as a person. Sometimes we build these altars without even knowing it. But they become sacred ground and if anyone tries to dismantle that altar it gets ugly.

I think that the rebuilding of the altar of the One True God should stir in us a desire to rekindle that personal intimate connection we want with God, through Jesus Christ.

3. We must first tear down any altars we have built to the different gods we worship.

Altars weren’t a foreign concept. When Noah constructed his altar, he was mimicking what pagan worshippers had built for their gods. Altars have always been used to worship whatever god you please. Even Paul addressed this in Acts. While he was in Athens, he observed the different gods the Athenians had set up in their marketplace. They would make sacrifices to these gods, they would place gifts on the altars of these gods. But as he meandered through the different gods, he came upon the altar of the unknown god. He then addressed the Athenians about their misplaced worship. He laid out the good news of Jesus and finished up by saying, “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Some of the people who were listening to him that day became followers.

Once we tear down the altars we have built to other gods and put God in His rightful place, our hearts become the living Temple of the Holy Spirit.

4. We build an altar in our hearts where we can meet with God.

In that inner place we have the ability to build an altar to Him. We can establish a place in our hearts where we meet with God on a regular basis. At that inner altar we can worship God, meet with Him, and lay before Him all of our dreams and desires. We can also place on that altar our fears, our sin, our worldly ways and our corrupt thoughts. We don’t have to lay down the life of an animal, we are asked to lay down our own lives as a living sacrifice.

In Ezra, it says, “3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD.” Despite their fear of the peoples around them. They were surrounded by people who did not believe the same things they believed. They had a reason to fear their neighbors. They were defenseless and destitute in many ways. They allowed the threatening situation they were in to bring home their need for help, and therefore the need for an altar where God promised He would meet with them. Their faith and desperation for God’s presence outweighed their fear.

Sometimes it’s hard to envision what it would have been like for the Israelites. Living in constant fear of their neighbors. The courage it took to leave Babylon. Even the sacrificial system. If I had to sacrifice an innocent animal to atone for my sin, I would think twice before I spoke. I would take every thought captive, and I would be very careful about the way I acted towards others.

Because we have complete forgiveness of sin through Jesus, we can easily take it for granted. He did all the work, I’m just called to repent. And sometimes I don’t know what to do with my sin. But when I have that place, that inner altar, where I can place before God all of my words, thoughts and deeds, it becomes the sacred exchange. I humbly place it all on the altar, sacrifice myself and my fleshly desires, and He in turn gives me abundant life!

This is exactly what I have had to do this week. I woke up the other night and a series of irrational fears gripped me. My mind raced around and every situation that played out in my mind ended in the worst case scenario. Fears about my childrens’ safety. Fears about our future. Fears about the state of our country and world. Then the Holy Spirit stepped in and reminded me of that sacred altar I have built for God. And I physically placed all of those fears on the altar and asked God to take them and replace them with His peace and presence. It wasn’t a fast process, it took an hour and a half of me laying there placing each fear on that altar, but it was a beautiful moment in the presence of God. This is real.

These exchanges happen frequently, but sometimes

5. Sometimes we need a physical location as well.

A place where we feel safe to stand in God’s presence and allow Him to do a work in us. Most of us come here for that. And quite honestly, God has us in a season of rebuilding.

We are just coming out of a very short exile ourselves. For three months we were asked to stay home and conduct church online. For some people it was a nice break, but for most it showed us just how much we took gathering together for granted. Just as the Israelites had before they went to Babylon.

So many of my experiences with God have been in this building. While we praise God together, I can hear Him speaking to me about things going on in my life. While I have listened to hundreds of Pastor Franks messages, I have been challenged, convicted, encouraged, and edified by God’s word. The sweet fellowship and love offered here is rare and beautiful. And being apart for so long was really hard on us.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

This is our opportunity to be together, to gather in this place. To put aside differences and seek God with all of our hearts. The altar is a place where we lay down everything that keeps us from God and His Kingdom agenda. It’s a leveling ground. We all approach God from different directions, but once we approach the altar, we are re-centered on what matters most. And then we praise Him.

“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

“He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”

It was different. The new temple was not fancy, it didn’t have the gold overlay that the first temple had. It wasn’t as glorious as the first temple. But it was a place to gather and worship. It was a place where they could be the people of God that they were intended to be. Some of the people from the older generation grieved for what was lost. But in their grieving, they still worshiped.

The rebuilding process began from the inside and moved outward. They rebuilt the altar, where they could meet with God once more. That place of intimacy where they honored Him, rededicated their lives to Him, and made sacrifices in order to stay in relationship with Him. Then they laid the foundation of the temple and built the walls. In the coming weeks we will look at the obstacles they faced in rebuilding the temple. But I think its important to take note that they rebuilt the altar and the temple before they rebuilt the city wall. “The temple was used for spiritual purposes, while the wall was used for military and political purposes. God has always been the nation’s protector, and the Jews new that the strongest stone wall would not protect them if God was not with them. They knew that putting their spiritual lives in order was a far higher priority than assuring the national defense.”

While our nation is in a state of total chaos, my challenge to you is to get things in the right order. Do you have that sacred place with God, where you are daily meeting with Him? Do you love to be in His presence, or do you meet with Him out of obligation? What altars have you built in your heart? Are they political altars, altars that give you a false sense of security, or are they relational altars? Are the things happening around you causing you to fear, or is your faith established completely in Christ? Are you waiting for the government to do the work that only God can do? Do we make gathering together a priority, or are we inconvenienced by it? We are ultimately responsible for our temple. If we are each doing our part to honor God and allow His presence to infiltrate every area of our lives, then we will start to see real change in our own lives, in our families, in our nation and in our world.

1 Peter 2:4-5, As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house c to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

It all begins on the inside and moves out. Don’t get it mixed up or you will find yourself in bondage over and over.

I have given you a place in the bulletin to write down things in your life that God is asking you to lay on the altar. To repent from. To experience that beautiful exchange from death to life in His presence. Or maybe you need to build or rebuild your inner altar, that sacred place that God alone should have. Take this time to work that out with God and watch what He will do with that altar and those sacrifices!

The New International Version. (2011). (Ezr 3:10–13). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ho 6:4–6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ho 6:4–6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

It obviously took a long time but the promise God gave to Abram was kept and through many years of prosperity and many years of devastation, the Israelites were back home rebuilding the altar.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ge 12:6–7). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ezr 3:1–3). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan