Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

TRAIL OF ALTARS, Part 10

This entry was posted on 10-23-2009 and is filed under ALTARS.

Today we come to the final study in this series, "Trail of Altars." We have traced the travels of Abram/Abraham (and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob) by discovering the trail of altars they left behind. As Steve Green sang in his great song Find Us Faithful, "Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful."

I once saw an episode of "Little House on the Prairie" where Charles Ingalls built an altar. Other than that I have never seen anyone build an altar. Should we build altars today? Not for animal sacrifice, that's for sure, because Christ was the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world (John 1:29). But we do have an altar today. Can you think what it might be?

"Altar" is mentioned 333 times in the New International Version. In the Old Testament, Leviticus leads, as you might suspect, with 71 references. In the New Testament, Revelation leads with 7 mentions of "altar." But I would direct you to Hebrews 13:10 NIV which reads, "We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat." We have an altar! How exciting is that? Our altar is Christ Himself. "When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 7:11, 12 NIV). The writer later says, "...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10 NIV).

The trail of altars that Abraham started leads all the way to Calvary where Christ, "once for all," was sacrificed for our sins. Thank God, "we have an altar."

Hymn: "When I survey the wondrous Cross / On which the Prince of Glory died / My richest gain I count but loss / And pour contempt on all my pride." (Isaac Watts)