Exodus 27:1-19

the Altar and the Court

Exodus 27:1

The brazen altar is dealt with long before any particular mention is made of the altar of incense, because the question of our relationship with God, through the death of our Lord on the Cross, must precede our fellowship with Him, and our successful intercession. Each of these altars was made of the same kind of wood, but in the case of the altar we are now considering, and which stood in front of the Tabernacle, the wood was encased in brass, that metal suggesting the severity of the sacrificial flame that burned at the Crucifixion, when Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Let us distinguish between these altars. We have passed beyond the one; we are called to minister perpetually at the other. The court was fifty yards long by twenty-five broad, and was formed by curtains of fine-twined yarn. There must be separation between God's priests and the world. See 1 Peter 2:5.