Category: The Alter of Burnt Offerings



When will the Anointing Come for Service in Ministry?

I had a question that asked when the anointing would come in support of ministry. As I though this answer may have a general interest I provide it here for everyone.

The anointing comes in support of our service in doing God’s will. This web site does a couple of things that will help you in finding the answers to your questions.

First it helps us to better understand Jesus by looking at Tabernacle, which is prophetic of Him in every way.

The Tabernacle Courtyard

The Tabernacle Courtyard

Secondly, it helps us to understand our walk with God by closely looking at the Tabernacle and the life of Jesus. What we find there is that the Tabernacle is divided into three compartments and they are called the Tabernacle Courtyard, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

The Chanbers of the Tabernacle

The Chanbers of the Tabernacle

Each chamber resents a type of relationship that we can have with God and since these chambers can be entered in only one sequence our relationship with God therefore must grow progressively as we seek to become more like our savior Jesus.

This first compartment (the Courtyard) is where a relationship of “grace” is achieved. It is here that a lamb was sacrificed and burned on a brazen altar for the forgiveness of the sins of the people.

The Tabernacle Courtyard

The Lamb Brought to the Tabernacle Courtyard

Jesus of course was the perfect Lamb who gave His life for the forgiveness of our sins. In addition, the Courtyard is a place of preparation of the priest who desire a more intimate ministry with God. This preparation was manifest at the Brazen Laver where the priests would purify themselves prior entering into ministry in the Holy Place.

Since the Laver surface had a mirror like quality the priest could see his reflection as he washed in the Laver. As they washed they believed that they saw themselves as God saw them. As a result their hidden faults were uncovered and they earnestly contemplated their worthiness to enter into a closer relationship with God in the Holy Place. This reflection resulted n a change of heart, which is necessary to enter into the service of almighty God in the Holy Place.

Priest in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle

Priest in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle

Our posting prove that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Tabernacles prophesy and that He is the Tabernacle Courtyard, the Brazen Altar, the Lamb and the Brazen Laver. He is our Brazen Laver in that by looking intently at His life, His words and His actions we can see ourselves as God sees us. By finding scripture that identifies these things and asking the Holy Spirit for help we can see how our actions, words and lives stack up to His. This could give us much to contemplate prior to launching out into a ministry.

I mention all of this because the Holy Place is where our pathway is enlightened, our relationship with the Father is matured and we become empowered for spiritual warfare, which is the anointing for God’s service.

I believe that reviewing the following links can explain all of this in more detail:

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus-a-Review

The-Brazen-Laver

The-Baptism-of-Jesus-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Being-Born-of-the-Spirit-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-gives-the-Living-Water-of-the-Laver

True-Baptism-Reveled-in-the-Reflections-of-the-Laver

Lessons-from-Jesus-our-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-the-Laver-Washes-His-Disciples-Feet

Jesus-Gave-us-all-he-had

Jesus-the-Brazen-Laver-Reveals-our-Destiny

Reflections-of-Jesus-Regarding-Service

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-do-what-ever-it-takes

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Disregard-Status

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Lead-by-Example

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Personally-Touch-People

Jesus-our-Laver-Teaches-that-we-will-be-Tested

Yes, I will pray for you. Please keep me posted on your progress and otherwise let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

May God bless you in all ways to spread the word of His Son to all of India.

Papa Joe Gordon


 

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

Read my amazing true life story about how the forces of good and evil battle for my life and the vision that God has given me. My book, “Possess the Vision,” communicates my supernatural experiences and as a result, provides insight into the realm of the spiritual warfare that is raging for our souls and our purpose. This is a must read for all Christians. Learn more by following this link: Possess-the-Vision-at-Amazon

The Tabernacle Courtyard Is Prophetic of Jesus

 

The Tabernacle Courtyard

The Tabernacle Courtyard

In our previous postings we have presented the Tabernacle Courtyard as prophetic of the Jesus in that it foretells the life of Christ. We will now continue with our larger objective of substantiating the Tabernacle and its contents as prophetic of Christ Jesus.

Jesus and Moses at the Transfiguration Discuss the Fulfillment of the Tabernacles Prophesy

Jesus and Moses at the Transfiguration Discuss the Fulfillment of the Tabernacles Prophesy

To initiate this quest we will start with a review of all of the material we have presented to date, which addresses the Tabernacle Courtyard and demonstrates that Jesus is the Way to a relationship of grace with God.


 

The foundation for all of the work we will present on this subject is based upon the, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” statement made by Jesus. What we have revealed is that these names, (the way, the truth and the life), are also used to name the entrances into the Tabernacle chambers. “The Way,” for example is the name of the gate that leads into the Tabernacle Courtyard.

The Tabernacle Gate - The Way

The Tabernacle Gate - The Way

The Truth is the name of the door into the Holy Place,

The Brazen Laver In Front Of "The Way" To The Holy Place

and in like manner, “the Life,” is the passage into the Most Holy place of God. For a more detailed explanation of all of this please follow this link Jesus-is-the-Way-the-Truth-and-the-Life.

Priest in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle

Priest in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle

Another part of the work covered to date is that the Tabernacle is the place where God promised to dwell with His people in accordance with the covenant He made with them. Given that the chambers of the Tabernacle must be entered in sequence, what we have uncovered is that a progressively intimate relationship with God is achieved as each new chamber is entered. So for example, the Tabernacle Courtyard is the chamber where a relationship of grace (forgiveness of sin) is achieved. The Holy Place brings us to a relationship of enlightenment (purpose and path) and empowerment (spiritual warfare), while the Most Holy place offers a relationship of covenant (dwelling under the protection of God).

To date our investigation of the Tabernacle has been limited to looking at the Courtyard, the first of the three chambers of the Tabernacle. As a part of this investigation we have presented the objects found in the Courtyard, including their purpose and attributes and correlated them to the words and deeds of Jesus. So, for example, we found that grace is achieved in the Courtyard by way of blood sacrifice, in which a Lamb is slaughtered and then burned on the Brazen Alter (see details at Jesus-the-Brazen-Laver.) We then associated Jesus, the “Lamb of God,” to this object by correlating it to His sacrifice and death on the cross.

Jesus on the Cross Sheds His Blood

This sacrifice was required for the forgiveness of our sins. It also substantiates that Jesus as the fulfillment of the Brazen Altar and therefore the Courtyard of the Tabernacle. This correlation should also help us to better understand what Jesus meant when He said “I am The Way,” which means that He is the way of a relationship of grace. For more information about this please go to Jesus-is-the-Way and Becoming-like-Jesus-the-Way.

Our investigation of the Courtyard also presented an examination of the Brazen Laver, which is the other object found in the Tabernacle Courtyard (for more details go to Jesus-the-Brazen-Laver.) The Laver is a water basin used for purification prior to entering the next chamber (the Holy Place) and a closer relationship with God. The process of washing at the Laver required the priest to bend over it and as he did, he would see his reflection in its polished surface. The priests believed that when they looked into the Laver, that they saw themselves as God saw them. As a result their hidden faults were uncovered and they earnestly contemplated their worthiness to enter into a closer relationship with God in the Holy Place. This reflection resulted in a change in heart, which is necessary to enter into the Holy Place.

We then connected the function and attributes of the Laver with the life and words of Jesus. We used the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan as a fulfillment of prophesy of the Laver (for more information go to the-Laver-and-the-Holy-Spirit-of-Jesus.)

John Baptizes Jesus - Making Straight The Way Of The Lord

John Baptizes Jesus - Making Straight The Way Of The Lord

We also saw how the washing His disciple’s feet became a reflection of their readiness to enter into His ministry. In general we conclude that all of the words and deeds of Jesus are occasions for reflection and opportunities for change in preparation for ministry. Therefore our reading of scriptures that contain the words and deeds of Jesus are opportunities for reflection about our nature and how we stack up to in comparison to Jesus, our model of perfection. These occasions are opportunities to conform our heart and mind to Him as we pursue a more intimate relationship to our God. For additional information about this go to Applying-the-attributes-of-Jesus-our-Laver.

So, by passing through “the Way” and into the Tabernacle Courtyard we find that our sins are forgiven and that our nature is changed as we seek to move into a deeper relationship with the Lord in the Holy Place. In a like manner we find that by passing through Jesus that our sins are forgiven and our nature is changed as we read His word and seek to become like Him. When this metamorphosis is complete we become ready to move to the next level by entering the passageway called “The Truth.”

 

The Truth leads us into the Holy Place of God where our pathway is enlightened, our relationship with the Father is matured and we become empowered for spiritual warfare. Now we are ready to introduce you to, “Jesus the Truth” in our subsequent postings.  

 


Jesus is the Way

We now plan to present an investigation into the significance of Jesus’ statement; “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” with our primary focus for this post to be on what Jesus meant when He said “I am the Way.”

lamb


Our strategy is to draw parallels to the Tabernacle Courtyard as the passage way into this chamber of the Tabernacle is also called “the Way.” So the Tabernacle Courtyard will become a starting point of our investigation as we will present its artifacts, attributes and purpose.

the-full-tabernacle


Once we have achieved an understanding of the Courtyard we will turn our attention to the parallels in the life of Jesus. We will demonstrate that His life and words reveal Him to be the Courtyards’ prophetic promise for the forgiveness of sin through Gods’ relationship of grace with man. With that said, let us move on to looking at the Tabernacle Courtyard.

The Courtyard is enclosed by a linen fence and a gate (called the Way) that provides entry into the Tabernacle. Three objects can be found in the Courtyard. They are the Altar of Burnt Offerings, the Brazen Laver and the Sanctuary tent.

Upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings animal and blood sacrifices were made for the forgiveness of sins. The Brazen Laver was used for cleansing by the priest after performing their duties in the Tabernacle Courtyard and prior to entering into the Sanctuary tent.

To learn about the Tabernacle Fence and Gate follow the link below:

The-Tabernacle-Fence-And-Gate

tabernacle-gate

To learn about the Altar of Burnt Offerings follow the link below:

The-Altar-Of-Burnt-Offerings

To learn about the Activities at the Altar of Burnt Offerings follow the link below:

The-Activities-At-The-Altar-Of-Burnt-Offerings

Next our attention will turn to looking for parallels in the life of Jesus, starting with the Altar of Burnt offerings. First we will look at Jesus being the sacrifice for our sins because He is the Lamb of God. Next we will look at Jesus from the standpoint of being the good shepherd as He gave His life on the cross for us.

To learn about Jesus the Lamb of God follow the link below:

tabernacle-courtyard


Jesus-Is-The-Lamb-Of-God

To learn about Jesus the Altar of Burnt Offerings follow the link below:

Jesus-Is-The-Altar-Of-Burnt-Offerings

To learn about Jesus the Good Shepherd follow the link below:

Jesus-Is-The-Good-Shepherd

p1010227

The Good Shepherd gave up His life for His sheep.

The Brazen Laver is another object found inside the Tabernacle Courtyard. It’s main purpose is to allow for the cleansing of the priest prior to ministry. The following link will take you to the post that describes the Tabernacles’ Laver:

The-Brazen-Laver

One of the ways that can claim that Jesus is the fulfillment of Tabernacle prophesies is by looking at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The following link will take you to this discussion.

The-Baptism-Of-Jesus-And-The-Brazen-Laver

john-baptizes-jesus


Read my amazing true life story about how the forces of good and evil battle for my life and the vision that God has given me. My book, “Possess the Vision,” communicates my supernatural experiences and as a result, provides insight into the realm of the spiritual warfare that is raging for our souls and our purpose. This is a must read for all Christians. Learn more by following this link: Possess-the-Vision-at-Amazon

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

The Activities at the Altar of Burnt Offerings

The activities performed at the Altar give valuable insight into what was actually being accomplished there.

tabernacle-courtyard

The following passage taken from the Book of Leviticus describes one of the many processes that God gave Moses to perform at the Altar of Burnt Offerings:

It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will appear to you.” So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you.” And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.” Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar. But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses. The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp. And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar. Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar. And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. Then he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one. And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner. Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning. He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, and the fat from the bull and the ram; the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar; but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded. Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:1-24)

The Tabernacle Courtyard

The Tabernacle Courtyard

The Altar therefore, was the place that the priesthood offered blood and animal sacrifices on behalf of the people. These sacrifices included covering the priest, the Altar, the people and the objects inside the Tabernacle in the blood of the sacrifice, for the covering of sin[i]. Tradition has it that the process often involved the head of the family (who represented the entire family), to bring a perfect sacrifice (a lamb without spot, stain or blemish) to the Tabernacle court. The family head would hold the animal down with his hands, therein transferred the sins of the family to the animal. The priest would then cut the animals throat so that the sins of the family flowed out with its blood.

If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him. (Leviticus 4:32-35)

We will present how Jesus fulfills the prophesy of the Altar of Burnt Offerings and all of the activities performed around it in our next posting.


The Altar of Burnt Offerings

The Altar of Burnt Offerings can clearly be seen in the following picture. It is the object producing the flames in the center of the Tabernacle Courtyard.

the-full-tabernacle6

At the time of the Levitical Priesthood, God required blood sacrifices at the Alter of Burnt Offerings for the forgiveness of sins. These sacrifices required the priest to slaughter a goat, sheep or cow and have the choice body parts burned on the Altar. Then the priest would sprinkle the blood of the animal on the Altar, the people and himself.

Like all of the objects in the Tabernacle, God provided the specifications for building the Altar of Burnt Offerings. This is evidenced by the following scripture:

You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square; and its height shall be three cubits. You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it. (Exodus 27:1-8)

The Brazen Altar (or Alter of Burnt Offerings) is made of acacia wood and is covered with bronze. It is about ten and one half feet long, ten and one half feet deep and six feet three inches tall. There are horns of equal size placed on each of the corners of the Altar. It should be noted that there are a number of tools available to assist the priest in his work.


Jesus Is The Tabernacle Courtyard

In this posting we will continue with our presentation of scripture taken from Exodus in an effort to learn more about the Tabernacle and how it foretold the coming of Jesus.

Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

This scripture presents the objects found in the Tabernacle Courtyard, which is also referred to simply as the courtyard or in some cases the Outer Courtyard.  One must pass through the gate that is named “the way” when entering into the courtyard. The name of the gate is a direct correlation to the “I am the Way” proclamation of Jesus. The Altar of Burnt Offerings, which is also called the Brazen Altar, is the place that animal sacrifices were burned for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. The priests would first slaughter the animals and then place their carcass on the altar. He would then sprinkle their blood on the objects of the Tabernacle to make them holy.

The Laver is also called the Brazen Laver and it is used as a holding place for water that is used in the priests cleansing, prior to their entering into ministry. The laver also had a mirror like quality to it that enabled the priest to see their reflection as they washed. They viewed this reflection as seeing themselves as God did. This was critical as they were preparing for ministry in the Holy Place where their readiness to move into a deeper relationship with God was critical.

Jesus is our Brazen Altar because His crucifixion was the sacrifice that achieved the forgiveness of our sins. It is through the shedding of His blood on the cross that He bore the punishment we rightly deserve. It is because of this sacrifice that we are able to regain our relationship with the Father.

Jesus is our Brazen Laver because we are cleansed in the waters of His words and deeds found in scripture. It is in comparing our words and actions to those of Jesus that we can clearly see our own faults and shortcomings. We therefore see ourselves as God does. In recognizing our faults we are empowered to change the nature of our hearts and therefore the nature of the person that we are. We become ready for ministry and a deeper relationship with God.