Aaron was laying in his bed wondering whether the God of his forefathers would come to him again this night. He enjoyed hearing about the plan of God for man. Last time the Lord promised to take him through the gate into the inner part of the Outer Court. He was anxious to enter in.
“Aaron,” the still small Voice called the young boy in his dream, “it’s time to continue our journey.”
Yes, the Lord came again! Aaron’s little heart leaped with joy. He quickly joined the Voice and found himself standing at the gate with its four pillars, exactly where they left off the last time.
“Aaron, would you like to enter through the gate?” the Voice asked him.
“I would, Lord,” Aaron answered, “I have desired it since You told me about it being possible.”
The Lord was pleased with his answer, “That is a good desire, Aaron, but let Me tell you first what it would mean for you to enter in. When you go through the gate, you will meet the first piece of furniture in the Tabernacle. As I have told you before, it is called the Brazen Altar and it represents the cross, or death to sin. You remember that all men were born sinners, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, Lord,” said Aaron sadly. He knew that there was nothing good in man and that he could not help but sin.
“The Brazen Altar talks about justification,” the Lord continued, “which means that you will be made just as if you had never sinned. It also talks about the beginning of salvation/ redemption meaning that you are bought and paid for. It says in Romans 8:24 that you are saved by hope. So at the Brazen Altar there is a part of that salvation imparted into you. This is why Jesus died on the cross so that you would not have to be a sinner any more and go to hell.”
“Now, let Me tell you what used to happen on the altar in the time of Moses. A bull was brought in to the Tabernacle by sheer force. He could smell the blood of the animals that died there before him and was fighting to retain his life, but it was all in vain. He was tied down with cords to the Brazen Altar with four brazen horns, which showed power and authority and force and judgment. Then he was slain with one stroke of the priest’s knife. This is also what I require of you – to die.”
Aaron thought about it deeply. He didn’t understand why the loving God would want him to die. He didn’t want to die, he was still very young!
“Aaron,” the Voice continued as He was able to read Aaron’s thoughts, “I don’t want you to die physically. I want you to die to your sin. Your carnality has to die in order for you to be able to live with Me.”
Well, that was a different story. “Lord, can You tell me more about this Brazen Altar?” Aaron asked. He wanted to know as much as he could so that he would be sure he knew what the Lord was asking of him.
“The knife that the priest used,” the Voice spoke again, “represents the Word of God. The sin life of the sinner is the bull. The rope is the physical circumstances, which bring you to the binding. And the Great High Priest is Christ. Jesus Christ Himself was the first Lamb slain on this altar, and since then you are only asked to do it in spirit. Then, you receive all the benefits of life. Because of sin, death becomes a necessity, for as it says in the Bible in Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death. The old life must die before the new begins.”
Aaron also learned that the altar was made of wood and overlaid with brass. Brass, as he already knew, represents judgment. Wood is a type of flesh and it shows that Jesus had to come as a man in order to save men from their sins. We can read about it in I Corinthians 15:21, For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Sin comes under judgment at the Brazen Altar. Repentance then is a basic part of receiving the work of the Brazen Altar within the soul of man.
Aaron was curious to know, “Why is repentance so necessary? Why could I not just accept Jesus as my Savior and receive all the benefits of salvation without repentance?”
The Lord just smiled at him, “Aaron, I cannot participate in sin. It says in Matthew 9:16, No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Can you imagine what would happen if you sewed a piece of new cloth on an old garment? It would only make it worse. In the same way, repentance is needed because you have to renounce the old for the acceptance of the new. In your past life you had been a servant of Satan and his spirits, because you submitted to them. But because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you can now have a better way than obeying the devil. You can repent of your sin and give your life to Me. And I will make sure that you will have an everlasting life and have the opportunity to walk through the rest of the Tabernacle. Is this what you want, Aaron? Do you want to enter through the gate?”
Aaron was deep in thought. He never knew that Jesus died to take away his sin. As he thought of it, the Lord showed him the cross, where Jesus died. He showed him all the wounds that were bleeding for him and other sinners. As he saw the cross, tears came into Aaron’s eyes. He never thought that somebody would want to die for him so that he would not sin any more, so that he would not be disobedient any more, so that he would not be naughty any more, so that he could live forever. He knelt down and told the Lord he wanted to die to sin and live with Him. He repented of his sin and received the work of Jesus into his heart.
How about you, young reader? Have you ever given your life to Jesus? If not, just know that Jesus is asking you to do the same as He asked Aaron. And the same promise that He gave to Aaron will belong to you also: you will live with Him eternally and He will give you the opportunity to walk with Him through the rest of the Tabernacle. If you don’t know how to give your life to Jesus, you may want to read the prayer below that might help you. Jesus longs for you to give Him your heart so that He might give you all the benefits of salvation.
Prayer that you may pray: Lord Jesus, I believe that You died for my sins on the cross and I thank You for it. I repent of my sins and ask You to forgive me. Please make me all clean. I confess with my mouth that God has raised You from the dead and I believe this in my heart. Please be my Lord and my God. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me.
Answer the following questions to see how well you understood this chapter:
- What does the Brazen Altar speak about?
- What happened on the Brazen Altar in the time of Moses? What does it all symbolically mean for us?
- What was the Brazen Altar made of? What is the meaning of it?
- Why is repentance necessary?
- Have you received Jesus into your life? Tell somebody about it!