The Altar of blessing. I got a revelation of this some time ago when I read parts of it from someone. I can’t remember who. So, I can’t take full credit for this. However, Bill Johnson says "any revelation that is received must be shared, otherwise it just serves to make a person more religious". Plus any revelation that is encountered is allowed to be restated, since no prophecy in scripture come’s from ones own understanding, but from the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20).
There’s a part that many find hard to believe about Jesus. Although he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he wants to be your divine servant. He wants to serve you. He wants to wash your feet. That’s why the very first judgement God gives is right after the ten commandments.
Lets start in Exodus 20. I will show you grace in this Old Covenant command that reveals a promise established in the New Testament. When I look at the Old or New Testament, I find Grace, because I’m studying behind the black and red print on the white background and view the whole bible through the lens of Grace. You’ve probably heard this, but what’s concealed in the O.T. is revealed in the N.T. What’s proclaimed in the O.T. is explained in the N.T. The O.T. is a shadow of what would and has come in the N.T. It’s like the O.T. is previews of coming attractions and the N.T. is the full show. Also, we must study the scriptures through the eyes of grace and not through the eyes of the law.
So, Ex 20:24-26 it says 24 “Build for Me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to Me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. build My altar wherever I cause My name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you use stones to build My altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use. 26 And do not approach My altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.”
Notice it says, He’ll come to you and bless you. God never says that in the 10 commandments. Yet here, at the altar, the place of the cross, the place of sacrifice, right after giving the ten commandments, He says He’ll come to you and bless you. We miss the very important portions of scripture, because we get a mindset around what we think is the topic, rather than getting a revelation of what truth is being presented.
In this area of scripture, we’ve just studied about “the law”, the 10 commandments, so we fix our paradigm thinking on harsh judgement and rule keeping and miss the blessing. By so doing, we miss the revelation in the scripture text before the blessing statement, which again is a prevue of coming attractions.
Remember, what’s concealed in the O.T. is revealed in the N.T. What’s proclaimed in the O.T. is explained in the N.T. It’s parables, or contrasts that we miss, because of our minds being set on what we think is going on, rather than listening to the Spirit tell us what is behind what’s going on. Are you thoroughly confused now?
Well, look at this scripture. I've used it before, but it is so powerful. Isaiah 30:18: “And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!”
Again, this is an Old Testament scripture that’s full of Grace. However, the religious/legalist will use it to condemn and warn the unlearned Christian by pulling one section of this verse out and beating them to death with it. That’s the portion that says “For the Lord is a God of justice”. Right there, the performance oriented, achievement based, rule-keeping legalist will lose sight of all the other portion of this scripture that is filled with Grace and say “See, right there. God will get ya if you don’t try to live up to the 10 commandments”. WHAT??? I don’t see the scripture saying that at all. I see the exact opposite. First of all the portion “For the Lord is a God of justice” has to be reconciled with the scripture and dispensations of time. Even here in the dispensation of the law, God is saying He is still a God of great Love. He’s saying He’s been a God of justice, He is a God of justice and He always will be a God of justice. Now we have to determine what that justice looks like.
Well then, why did God give the ten commandments? I’m glad you asked. The answer is, because the people asked for them. Just like later on they asked for a king rather than be ruled by a prophet. Where did they ask for the 10 commandments? Another good question. In Exodus 19:8.
As you study this, you see first the people say that anything God instructs us to do we will do. Another translation infers that they said they would be well able to do. Yet, God tells Moses to tell them not to come near the mountain until they hear the blast of the Ram’s horn, and then they may come up. However, when that happened, scripture says they stood at the foot of the mountain. They couldn’t even obey that little command after they said they would do whatever God said.
God already knew men would not keep the 10 commandments. It says that in Romans 8:7. “Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so”. I mean, this is God the Holy Spirit saying that there’s no way man will ever keep His commandments. He basically says, they never have and they never will, because they are not able to. He didn’t give the 10 commandments for us to keep. He gave them so we could realize how much we need a Savior.
The altar means you have failed. So here in Exodus 20:25 He says if you make an altar of stone don’t make it of cut or hewn stone. Why? Because cut or hewn stone is stone that is shaped or formed. That speaks to human effort, performance, works. God does not desire that. Then in vs 26 He says don’t go up by steps to My altar. Don’t try to perform or try to be righteous. Don’t try to achieve. Don’t work yourself little by little to My throne of Grace. Hebrews 4:16 says: “let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.
Remember the woman at the well in John 4? The woman had a need. Was her need water? Yes partly, but what she really needed was mercy and grace. Remember, the disciples went to find food. The bible says Jesus was sitting on a well. He was tired and hungry. Actually, it says He was sitting on Jacob’s well. Now that’s a well sitting on a well. WELL GLORY!!! The woman comes for water and you can study the rest.
After the encounter and the disciples come back, their immediate reaction is to get rid of the woman, but Jesus looked invigorated. He looked fresh, he looked full. The disciples wondered who brought him food. Jesus says, “I have meat to eat you know not of”. The more you take from Jesus, the greater His supply increases toward you. His mercies are renewed daily.
Romans 5:17 says “ For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ”.
Now this is another one of the “Big BUTS” in the bible. Whenever you see a BUT in the bible, you can discard everything that was before it. Like in Ephesians 2, verses 1-3. That describes how we used to be, how we used to live. Then comes the “Big BUT” in verse 4. That nullifies everything in verses 1-3.
He loves it when you receive from him. You don’t believe that??? Then don’t receive, but don’t get jealous of me when I receive. I’m all about Romans 5:17, especially the portion that says “ ALL who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ”. Count me in. I’m a receiver.
God doesn’t bless me at your expense. God has plenty to bless me and everyone in the world and still have plenty more. Look at the galaxies. Those are nothing to God. It’s like spending a penny out of a bank that has a zillion dollars, and it’s replenished every time we withdraw from it. The neat part is, He’s made and keeps making all the deposits. Our problem is, we refuse to go make the withdrawals at the altar of blessing. Grace and Peace.
