The Bronze Altar (also called the altar of burnt offering) was the large bronze-covered altar that stood in the courtyard of the tabernacle, just inside the eastern gate.
It was the place where sacrificial animals were offered to the Lord, their blood applied and their bodies consumed by fire as a pleasing aroma.
Every approach to God under the old covenant began at this altar; without the shedding of blood there was no forgiveness.
The Bronze Altar pointed forward to the cross of Christ, the final and perfect altar where the once-for-all sacrifice for sin was made.
When the Lord gave Moses the pattern for the tabernacle, the first object described for the courtyard was the altar of burnt offering. Constructed of acacia wood and overlaid with bronze, it was hollow, square, and fitted with horns at the corners, rings, and poles for transport. A bronze grating lay inside, and all its utensils were of bronze. Here the priests offered the continual burnt offering each morning and evening, as well as the sin offerings, guilt offerings, and peace offerings brought by the people. The fire on the altar was to be kept burning continually; it was never to go out. The blood of the sacrifices was thrown against the sides of the altar or applied to its horns, and the fat and certain portions were burned as an offering by fire to the Lord. The altar stood as the unavoidable starting point of worship: sin must be dealt with before fellowship with a holy God is possible. In the fullness of time Christ offered Himself without blemish to God, fulfilling and ending the need for the continual sacrifices of the Bronze Altar.
- The Bronze Altar was the place of substitutionary sacrifice in the tabernacle courtyard.
- Every Israelite who wished to draw near to God had to begin at this altar.
- The continual fire and the daily offerings taught the ongoing need for atonement.
- Blood applied to the altar signified life given in the place of the sinner.
- The altar and its sacrifices were shadows of the true sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
- Once Christ’s offering was complete, the earthly altar and its repeated sacrifices were no longer required.
- Believers now draw near through the one perfect sacrifice, not through repeated animal offerings.
- Location – In the courtyard of the tabernacle, directly inside the eastern gate; the first object encountered upon entering.
- Construction – Acacia wood overlaid with bronze; five cubits long and wide, three cubits high; horns on the four corners.
- Function – The place of burnt offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, and the continual daily sacrifice.
- Blood and Fire – Blood was applied to the altar; the fire consumed the offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
- Continual Fire – The fire was never to go out, symbolizing the constant need for atonement under the old covenant.
- Horns of the Altar – Places of refuge and the points where blood was applied in certain offerings.
- Fulfillment in Christ – Jesus is both the perfect sacrifice and the true altar; His cross is the final place of atonement.
- Exodus 27:1-8 – “You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners… You shall overlay it with bronze… You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze.”
- Exodus 29:38-42 – The continual burnt offering: two lambs each day, morning and evening, as a pleasing aroma at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
- Exodus 40:6, 29 – Moses placed the altar of burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering.
- Leviticus 1:1-9 – Instructions for the burnt offering: the worshiper lays his hand on the head of the animal, it is accepted to make atonement, the blood is thrown against the sides of the altar, and the whole is burned as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
- Leviticus 6:8-13 – The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not go out. Every morning the priest is to add wood and arrange the burnt offering.
- Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
- 1 Kings 8:22, 64 – Solomon stands before the altar of the Lord at the dedication of the temple; the bronze altar is too small for the vast number of offerings that day.
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 – Solomon made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
- Psalm 43:4 – “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy…”
- Hebrews 13:10-12 – “We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat… So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”
- Hebrews 9:11-14, 22 – Christ entered once for all into the holy places by means of His own blood, securing eternal redemption; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
- Hebrews 10:11-14 – Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins; but Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins and sat down at the right hand of God.
- John 1:29 – “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
- Ephesians 5:2 – “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- 1 Peter 2:24 – “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
The Bronze Altar stood at the entrance of the courtyard as an unavoidable reminder: sin requires death, and approach to God is possible only through a substitute. Day after day the fire burned, the blood was applied, and the smoke rose as a pleasing aroma. Yet the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins. It could only point forward to the perfect sacrifice. On the cross Jesus Christ became both the final offering and the true altar. His blood secured eternal redemption; His death ended the need for continual sacrifice. The fire on the earthly altar has gone out because the greater fire of judgment fell on the Lamb of God. Draw near through Him. The altar is finished, the sacrifice is complete, and the way into the presence of God is open forever.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.