We have now arrived at the brazen altar, which stood at the door of the tabernacle; and I would call my reader's most particular attention to the order of the Holy Ghost in this portion of our book. We have already remarked that from chapter xxv. to the nineteenth verse of chapter xxvii. forms a distinct division, in which we are furnished with a description of the ark and mercy-seat, the table and candlestick, the curtains and the vail; and, lastly, the brazen altar and the court in which that altar stood. If my reader will turn to chapter xxxv. 15, chapter xxxvii. 25, and chapter xl. 26, he will remark that the golden altar of incense is noticed, in each of the three instances, between the candlestick and the brazen altar; whereas, when Jehovah is giving directions to Moses, the brazen altar is introduced immediately after the candlestick and the curtains of the tabernacle. Now, inasmuch as there must be a divine reason for this difference, it is the privilege of every diligent and intelligent student of the Word to inquire what that reason is.
Why, then, does the Lord, when giving directions about the furniture of the "holy place," omit the altar of incense, and pass out to the brazen altar which stood at the door of the tabernacle? The reason, I believe, is simply this: He first describes the mode in which He would manifest Himself to man, and then He describes the mode of man's approach to Him. He took His seat upon the throne, as "the Lord of all the earth." The beams of His glory were hidden behind the vail--type of Christ's flesh (Heb. x. 20.); but there was the manifestation of Himself in connection with man, as in "the pure table," and by the light and power of the Holy Ghost, as in the candlestick. Then we have the manifested character of Christ as a man down here on this earth, as seen in the curtains and coverings of the tabernacle. And, finally, we have the brazen altar as the grand exhibition of the meeting-place between a holy God and a sinner. This conducts us, as it were, to the extreme point, from which we return, in company with Aaron and his sons, back to the holy place, the ordinary priestly position, where stood the golden altar of incense. Thus the order is strikingly beautiful. The golden altar is not spoken of until there is a priest to burn incense thereon, for Jehovah showed Moses the patterns of things in the heavens according to the order in which these things are to be apprehended by faith. On the other hand, when Moses gives directions to the congregation (chap. xxxv.), when he records the labors of "Bezaleel and Aholiab" (chap. xxxvii. and xxxviii.), and when he sets up the tabernacle (chap. xl.), he follows the simple order in which the furniture was placed.
The prayerful investigation of this interesting subject, and a comparison of the passages above referred to, will amply repay my reader. We shall now examine the brazen altar.
This altar was the place where the sinner approached God, in the power and efficacy of the blood of atonement. It stood "at the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation," and on it all the blood was shed. It was composed of "shittim wood and brass." The wood was the same as that of the golden altar of incense: but the metal was different, and the reason of this difference is obvious. The altar of brass was the place where sin was dealt with according to the divine judgment concerning it. The altar of gold was the place from whence the precious fragrance of Christ's acceptableness ascended to the throne of God. The "shittim wood," as the figure of Christ's humanity, must be the same in each case; but in the brazen altar we see Christ meeting the fire of divine justice; in the golden altar we behold Him feeding the divine affections. At the former, the fire of divine wrath was quenched; at the latter, the fire of priestly worship is kindled. The soul delights to find Christ in both; but the altar of brass is what meets the need of a guilty conscience,--it is the very first thing for a poor, helpless, needy, convicted sinner. There cannot be settled peace, in reference to the question of sin, until the eye of faith rests on Christ as the antitype of the brazen altar. I must see my sin reduced to ashes in the pan of that altar ere I can enjoy rest of conscience in the presence of God. It is when I know, by faith in the record of God, that He Himself has dealt with my sin in the Person of Christ, at the brazen altar--that He has satisfied all His own righteous claims--that He has put away my sin out of His holy presence, so that it can never come back again--it is then, but not until then, that I can enjoy divine and everlasting peace.