day 2 (pm) - continued

Fourth and final significance of the Altar of Burnt Offering involves the five articles used in service at the altar:

Make all its utensils of bronze — its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. (Exodus 27:3)

The Firepans...

The fire at the altar were never to be put out. Regular sacrifices were made at the altar and this fire that consumed these offerings had to be maintained. Hence, whenever the Tabernacle needed to be transported upon God's command to be set up again in another place, the designated consecrated levite made sure the fire was carefully moved to the firepan.

In the body of Christ, there are those who, like these Levites, carry the fire of God within them - the fire of the Holy Spirit. These "fire-carriers" can survive anywhere; they are not preoccupied with criticizing church leadership or other shortcomings of the body of Christ.

May we always be fire-carriers, filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Pots & Shovels...

In the Altar, although there was a bronze grating, the accumulation of ashes at the altar from burnt sacrifices risked the fire. So the priest would use the bronze shovel to remove the ashes and put them into the pot for disposal.

The ashes represent the "dirt" within the church, or the burden a believer unloads to another in confidence. When someone shares their troubles and unburdens on us, we must remember to shut the cover on the top of the "pot." If the cover is not placed, the ash will be tossed into open by the capricious wind of gossip, resulting in dissention and injury within the body of Christ. In other words, what one believer has entrusted to us in confidence, keep our mouths - the cover - tightly closed.

But that is not the end of the matter.

The ashes had to be disposed of properly outside the camp.

Jesus was crucified outside "the camp," on the Hill called Golgotha, away from the Temple and the heart of the city of Jerusalem.

We must bring those ashes before Him and pour it out to Him alone. We must empty our minds bombarded with the refuse consisting of conglomerate of complaints and burdens from others before Christ, and allow Him to cleanse our minds and thoughts so that it does not fester in our souls. When we neglect to empty our minds before God, our soul will either shrivel up in silent agony, leading to our own spiritual decline, or we will find means for release by gossiping or backstabbing the very person who had placed their confidence in us.

The Meat Forks...

When the sacrifical animal has been killed and skinned, it is slippery; hence, the need for meat forks. In a sense, new believers are like these "skinned meats" ready to be sacrificed to God, their lives now dedicated for God's purposes. And mature believers need to have the grace of God overflowing in their lives to carry them from one place to the next; one level of spirituality to the next. It often requires a lot of faith to keep these "slipper Christians" in the churches, and takes a lot of love and patience.

It is amazing how many things we could learn from one brazen altar of sacrifice.