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Altars. (#141914)
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From:
The New Topical Textbook
By:
Reuben Archer Torrey
• 1 min. read • grade level: 12
Designed for sacrifice.
Exo. 20:24
24
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (Exodus 20:24)
.
To be made of earth, or unhewn stone.
Exo. 20:24, 25
24
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. (Exodus 20:24‑25)
. Deu. 27:5, 6.
Of brick, hateful to God.
Isa. 65:3
3
A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; (Isaiah 65:3)
.
Natural rocks sometimes used as. Jud. 6:19-21. Jud. 13:19, 20.
Were not to have steps up to them.
Exo. 20:26
26
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. (Exodus 20:26)
.
For idolatrous worship, often erected on roofs of houses. 2 Kin. 23:12.
Jer. 19:13
13
And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods. (Jeremiah 19:13)
.
Jer. 32:29
29
And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. (Jeremiah 32:29)
.
Idolaters planted groves near. Jud. 6:30. 1 Kin. 16:32, 33. 2 Kin. 21:3.
The Jews not to plant groves near. Deu. 16:21.
For idolatrous worship, to be destroyed.
Exo. 34:13
13
But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: (Exodus 34:13)
. Deu. 7:5.
Probable origin of inscriptions on Deu. 27:8.
MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE
Of Noah.
Gen. 8:20
20
And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. (Genesis 8:20)
.
Of Abraham.
Gen. 12:7, 8
7
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
8
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12:7‑8)
.
Gen. 13:18
18
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. (Genesis 13:18)
.
Gen. 22:9
9
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. (Genesis 22:9)
.
Of Isaac.
Gen. 26:25
25
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. (Genesis 26:25)
.
Of Jacob.
Gen. 33:20
20
And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. (Genesis 33:20)
.
Gen. 35:1, 3, 7
1
And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. (Genesis 35:1)
3
And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. (Genesis 35:3)
7
And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. (Genesis 35:7)
.
Of Moses.
Exo. 17:15
15
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: (Exodus 17:15)
.
Exo. 24:4
4
And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 24:4)
.
Of Balaam.
Num. 23:1, 14, 29
1
And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. (Numbers 23:1)
14
And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. (Numbers 23:14)
29
And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. (Numbers 23:29)
.
Of Joshua.
Jos. 8:30, 31
30
Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,
31
As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. (Joshua 8:30‑31)
.
Of the temple of Solomon.
2 Chr. 4:1, 19
1
Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. (2 Chronicles 4:1)
19
And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the showbread was set; (2 Chronicles 4:19)
.
Of the second temple.
Ezr. 3:2, 3
2
Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3
And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening. (Ezra 3:2‑3)
.
Of Reubenites, &c. East of Jordan.
Jos. 22:10
10
And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. (Joshua 22:10)
.
Of Gideon. Jud. 6:26, 27.
Of the people of Israel. Jud. 21:4.
Of Samuel.
1 Sam. 7:17
17
And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the Lord. (1 Samuel 7:17)
.
Of David.
2 Sam. 24:21, 25
21
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. (2 Samuel 24:21)
25
And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. (2 Samuel 24:25)
.
Of Jeroboam at Bethel. 1 Kin. 12:33.
Of Ahaz. 2 Kin. 16:10-12.
Of the Athenians.
Acts 17:23
23
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. (Acts 17:23)
.
For burnt-offering.
Exo. 27:1-8
1
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.
2
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.
3
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.
4
And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.
5
And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
6
And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
7
And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
8
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it. (Exodus 27:1‑8)
,
For incense.
Exo. 30:1-6
1
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2
A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4
And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5
And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6
And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. (Exodus 30:1‑6)
.
Protection afforded by. 1 Kin. 1:50, 51.
Afforded no protection to murderers.
Exo. 21:14
14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. (Exodus 21:14)
. 1 Kin. 2:18-34.
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