What is an altar? In the Old Testament, it was a place where God directed certain sacrifices. In Genesis 8:20 Noah had just left the Ark, and God instructed him to build an altar. This is the first mention of an altar. It was a structure for the purpose of sacrifice. In the Garden of Eden, God had walked in the cool of the day, now the flood had swept that away. God’s visible presence was gone from the earth. This altar was to be built and the sacrifices were to be “unto the Lord.” God had proved himself a covenant keeper and a deliverer to Noah, and now it was time to erect an altar pointing toward God’s dwelling place on high.
Genesis 8:20 “And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
Over and over in the Bible, we see God instructing His servants to build an altar. To make certain sacrifices unto Him. The system was an outward expression of a person, or community’s, inward desire to restore the broken relationships between humanity and God. The symbolism of animal sacrifice in the Bible is a concrete expression of God’s justice and grace at the same time. It reminded the Israelites of the serious nature of sin, and its consequences for the individuals involved, and also the community at large.
When Jesus came and gave His life for our sins, no longer was it necessary to make animal sacrifices. Jesus was once and for all time, the sacrifice God would accept as payment for our sins. So, what about the altar today? Most of our churches have altars for prayer, to come to him for repentance, to come asking for the needs of others, to come with thanksgiving. These are all good. We need to have a time of corporate worship where we bend our knees and cry out to God. But what is more important is the altar we make in our hearts. In I Corinthians 6:19, we are reminded that our body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which is God’s.”
Today we still have churches with altars, but we are the dwelling place of God if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. He dwells within us. It is my responsibility to build an altar in my heart. This is the altar where daily I meet with God. It is where I can be honest to the core of my being. It is not where I enlighten God about the sins in my heart, he already knows everything about me. It is where I agree with Him about my sins. Confession is the acknowledgment and taking ownership of my sins. I take my sin, my sorrows, and anything else in my life that doesn’t measure up to what God desires, to this altar. I offer them as I would a burnt offering, letting God’s consuming fire refine me, by melting away the dross. Those are the things that are not profitable for me as a Christian.
At this altar, it is also important that I take my praise, and the joys he has provided as a peace offering. Praise and thanksgiving are important parts of our time at the altar. God desires it and He requires it of His people.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.”
Hebrews 13:15 “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Since your altar is within you, it is always available to you. No matter where you are, you can go to him in prayer. You are able to commune with Him in your thoughts throughout the day. However, this will only happen as you give the Holy Spirit something to work with. If you want the Holy Spirit to comfort you, to bring passages to memory when you face certain situations, you must have it in your heart before you need it. That is why it is vital to study and spend time in prayer daily.
It would be a good thing for you to have a place where you meet with God each day. A place that reminds you of special times with God. It may be a certain chair, a room, or a little nook where you can be alone with God. This might represent your outward altar. I challenge you to become altar-conscious. Praising Him, confessing to Him, thanking Him for His goodness, and bringing the desires of your heart to Him.
