Altar Building 101

"An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.  If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.  And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it." (Ex. 20:24-26, ESV) 

   Immediately after giving the Decalogue (ten commandments) to Moses and Israel, the Lord cites some instructions in regard to the building of altars. These rules were important considering the worship practices of the time. The Israelites were not the only people who used altars. To distinguish between the two the Bible often referred to these as "high places." Molech, Baal, Dagon, and other "gods" mentioned in the Bible demanded sacrifices from their worshipers. Some worship went so far as to include child sacrifice. If that is not bad enough, sexual immorality and prostitution was often associated with worship around their altars.  On several occasions the leaders of Old Testament Israel angered the LORD when they used these high places to worship God, instead of altars directed by Him. 

   The manner in which God's people worshiped, and the altar itself, were to be different. The only material needed was that which God himself had provided in creation. Dirt was the first option for altar building. However, due to their nature, dirt altars would need to be rebuilt and maintained constantly. Stone was allowed as a construction material, but the only stones that could be used are those that had not been modified by man. Part of the reason behind this is due to man's pride. With tools, man would likely carve and shape the stones in such a way that they drew attention away from the purpose of the altar and onto the altar itself. In addition, the altar was not to be elevated in such a way that the altar itself became the focus. The first two commandments told us to "not have any other gods before" the Lord and, "not make for yourself any carved image." (Ex. 20:1-4) An altar that is "elevated" could shift the focus from its intended purpose, and very easily become an idol itself. The altar was always about simply pointing people to God.

   Today, we build spiritual altars rather than physical ones (excluding those at church), but the principle remains, and the worship of God is still the main purpose and goal. But, the truth is that we bring too much of the world into our worship, and consequently our churches. In the name of becoming "relevant" and "socially acceptable" we have resorted to making altars out of man-made materials, turning worship into something that looks too much like the world. I believe that God intended worship to be uncomplicated and focused solely on Him. Maybe it's time that we quick trying to sanitize the stuff of the world we are bringing into our churches and lives, and just simply remove them. Our spiritual altars are suppose to built differently, are they not?