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Exodus 31

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

3 and have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in every work,

4 to devise artistic work -- to work in gold, and in silver, and in copper,

5 and in cutting of stones, for setting, and for carving of timber -- to work in all manner of work.

6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of every one that is wise-hearted have I given wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee --

7 the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the utensils of the tent,

8 and the table and its utensils, and the pure lamp-stand and all its utensils, and the altar of incense;

9 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand;

10 and the garments of service, both the holy garments of Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests;

11 and the anointing oil, and the incense of fragrant drugs for the sanctuary: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

12 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

13 And thou, speak thou unto the children of Israel, saying, Surely my sabbaths shall ye keep; for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that it is I, Jehovah, who do hallow you.

14 Keep the sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that profaneth it shall certainly be put to death: yea, whoever doeth work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples.

15 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah: whoever doeth work on the sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.

16 And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations -- [it is] an everlasting covenant.

17 It shall be a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for [in] six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had ended speaking with him on mount Sinai, the two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

   

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Altar

  

The first altar mentioned in the Word was the one built by Noah after he came out of the ark, after being saved from the great flood. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals to the Lord.

Mountains represent the Lord because of their height; we need to raise our thoughts above worldly things when "talking" with the Lord. An altar is a small artificial mountain. When it's used in worship, it can call to mind this raising of thought. The fire and smoke that rise from an altar are symbolically being sent to the Lord.

Most altars were made from unhewn stones. Stones represent truths. Unhewn stones - ones that have not been shaped by men - represent truths from the Word, truths that have not been adulterated.

The clean beasts to be sacrificed represent good things, charitable acts done because they are right. The clean birds represent thoughts about doctrine and actions, and about what is right. Presenting these things is an acknowledgment that we have them from the Lord, and a giving thanks to Him for them.

In the Israelitish Tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering represented the acknowledgment of good and the altar of incense that of truth. For this reason this larger altar, which was outside by the door, was made of brass which signifies natural good, while the altar of incense was made of gold, which signifies love to the Lord from whom comes truth.