THE altar of burnt offering, and lessons from it, have engaged us on various occasions, and before leaving the fruit-fill theme, we will touch upon the truths relative to the blood of the sacrifice in its connection with the altar, and also with the throne of Jehovah.
The constant shedding of sacrificial blood spoke day by day to the whole camp of Israel in the wilderness. All blood had to be shed at the door of the tabernacle—that is, in close association with God Himself. The blood had to be sprinkled upon the altar of Jehovah in solemn witness before Him, and He Himself said of that blood in connection with Israel: "I have given it to you upon your altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Israel, therefore, could not by any possibility fail in the understanding of the meaning of the blood-sprinkled altar. A first principle was in object teaching every day, and many times during the day, before the eyes of all, and thus atonement by blood upon the altar, was fixed in the minds of every dweller in the camp. Whether there was faith to humbly receive the teaching was an individual question for each Israelite personally.
In no less clear and emphatic teaching does the New Testament declare the same truth, but no longer in symbolic form; on the contrary, in all its full reality. Christ's blood has been shed upon the cross; there He made atonement for our souls, and it is written of His work: "Having made peace through the blood of His cross." Arid now God sets Him forth a propitiation, through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past (i.e., those sins committed before Christ's death), and also to, declare His righteousness at this time (i.e., the period since Christ's cross), that He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Atonement by Christ's blood is the great foundation truth of the Gospel. It is before every reader of the Scriptures, and none less clearly than it was before Israel in the camp of the wilderness. But whether there be faith humbly and gratefully to submit to the truth and to embrace it by faith is an individual question for us all.
The blood of the sin offering was connected in a very emphatic way with the throne of Jehovah, in His dwelling-place, between the cherubim. Jehovah planned not only that Israel should know the favors accruing to them through the sacrificial blood, but also that they should know how that His throne was exalted by it, and His righteous requirements were set at rest by it.
We have already noticed, how sadly deficient the current religious teaching of our times is in reference to the all-important principle of God's requirements in relation to satisfaction for sin. The spirit of the day, in this matter, is painfully human, and man's conscience, or realization, are set up as standards rather than God's righteousness, and throne of justice. And so long as man does what is right, according to his conscience, it is said, that is all sufficient. But man's conscience will not be enthroned on the Day of Judgment; man must then how to God, and man's conscience will be but a witness against himself. Israel had lessons before them, respecting the satisfaction to be rendered to God for sin, which we do well to heed.
When the whole of the people had sinned, the priest dipped his finger in the blood of the sin offering, and, entering the tabernacle, he sprinkled it seven times before the veil, behind which stood the divine throne. The action was emphatically Godwards. The blood was sprinkled before the veil—not before the people, and before the veil where the people could not come, or, indeed, see what transpired. God in His majesty had been slighted, or set at naught, by the sin committed. His laws had been broken, or disregarded, and, therefore, the priest took the atoning blood, and by it perfectly (seven times) answered for the sin before the throne of God.
After that (see also the case of the sin of the high priest) some of the blood was placed upon the horns of the golden altar which stood within the tabernacle, and upon which the sweet incense was burned. In this action, again, the intimate service of Jehovah, and not the consciences or the feelings of offending Israel, was in contemplation. Upon that altar was burned, the sweet incense which was solely for Jehovah's service, and which none might dare imitate. The golden altar and its incense figure the priestly action of Christ, unseen by man, but in the heavens before God. This figurative intercession was conducted in the power of perfect atonement. The horns (the emblem of power) of this altar of gold, were thus anointed with the blood of the sin offering, which had already been presented before the throne of Jehovah, and had been accepted by Him.
The rest of the blood of the sacrifice was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. We may place together the teaching respecting the anointing of the horns of the brazen and the golden altars as offering instruction on the points before us. The blood of the sin offering for ordinary cases of sin—as those of the ruler and one of the common people—was placed upon the horns of the brazen altar. There the sinner could see the blood, and by the symbol of the altar's horns being covered by it, he could see that the power of the altar spoke of atonement for his sin. This comforting assurance is made ours, as it is written, "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree," and "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." "How much more shall the blood of Christ... purge your conscience?" The power of Christ's blood is almighty in its atoning and cleansing efficacy. And in that which the altar declares, we can and do confidently rest. Israel could not see the sprinkling of the golden altar by the priest, but Israel knew of what the priest did in God's presence. So we read of what our Lord has done in heaven: "By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption." His entrance there was in the power of the blood He once for all shed here. He appears in the presence of God for us, to intercede on our account in the virtue of the blood which He shed for us when He was the sin offering for us on the cross.
Space will not permit of our referring to the wonderful type of the great day of atonement, which we hope to do a few pages later on.