Monday, May 3, 2010

Easy-to-assemble Altar

Recently, a friend helped me assemble two dressers for my newly decorated Master bedroom.
I am SO thankful for her help!  If you've never assembled a big piece of furniture-in-a-box........well, you just don't know what you're missing!

Guess what God pointed out to me in Exodus chapter 20 this morning? Directions for an Easy-to-Assemble Altar.

The passage is Exodus 20:24-26.   
God had just given Moses the 10 Commandments in verses 1-17.  Normally I stop after verse 17, "I just read the 10 commandments.  Done - and - done."
But this morning, I kept reading and in verses 24-26 God gives instruction for building an altar .....
"Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle.  Wherever I cause My Name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.  If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.  And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakendness be exposed on it."

1) Not to go all Joel Osteen on you, but I think a large part of this passage is about receiving God's Blessings. Notice God says, "Wherever I cause my Name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you."  To me, that read like, "Find yourself in the center of My will, and I will bless you.  In fact, Britt, sit tight.  Don't get up. Relax.  Rest in My will and I will come to you, and bless you."  Rather passive on my part, isn't it? 

2) This isn't out of Websters, just out of my head.  But to me, an "altar" represents the place of interaction between a deity and worshipers.  And in this passage, God is saying that His altar will be a place of burnt (sin) offerings AND fellowship offerings.  God wants me as I am.  He wants my confession of sin and my praise.  I can bring it ALL to Him in one place.

3) God sure made it easy for the Israelites to build an altar.  It's like God said, "Just heap up a pile of dirt and call it good."  And if the Israelites felt they needed to jazz it up a bit, like other cultures?  God said, "O-kay.  If you must make it 'fancy', go ahead and use stones - but don't work too hard at it.  Don't use a tool and don't build it so high you have to use steps." 
I don't want to neglect the importance of God saying not to use a tool because "you will defile it", or "do not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it".  I get it that these references deal with our unworthiness of a HOLY GOD.  The stone HE made is perfect how it is.  Our nakedness represents our sinfulness (Adam and Eve had to clothe themselves after the whole "apple" incident.)
However, I think it is equally important to note how easy God made it for the Israelites - sinful and unworthy as they were -  to build an altar.  A place of communion with a Holy God.
I wonder how often I make it difficult to build an altar?  I think I have to spend time and energy (I'm guessing it's harder to quarry stone than dig dirt) and my own gifts and talents and acts of service (tools) to try and get closer to God (altar with steps) before He will hear me.  I don't have to "try harder" to be heard by God.  He hears and communes with me where I am at.  Here on this earth.

Praise God for His easy to assemble altar!  Praise God for all His blessings in my life.

Interactive:
Agree / Disagree with my assesment of the passage?  Something I missed or am totally off the mark on?

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