And you may not approach my
altar by steps. If you do, someone might look up under the skirts of your
clothing and see your nakedness. Exodus
20:26 NLT
The Lord instructed Moses to build the altar low
to the ground to prevent exposing the nakedness of the priests, but there may have
been a more fundamental reason for this instruction.
In the days of Moses there was a belief that the
height of the sacrifice made them closer to heaven. There is always been
a tendency to externalize religion. It was true in the day of Moses and
Jesus, and is still true today. We have a tendency to dwell on the
external trappings of our faith, the forms and places we use to worship.
By instructing the priest not to approach the altar by using steps made
it necessary to build an altar that was low to the ground. Thus
communicating that God was not after the height of the sacrifice but the
elevation of the heart of the one who brought the gift. There is a simple
reason that we dwell on the height of the offering, it's much easier to build
and maintain an external or formal religion than one that comes from a pure
heart. We can fix our attention on an outward façade of faith while lacking the
inward motivations that produce a sincere heart. This kind of faith builds
beautiful looking houses that are empty on the inside.
Large and beautiful places of worship are not
necessarily wrong, as long as they are built from the inside out.
Constructed by elevated hearts where people don't need to walk up steps
to reach God.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken
Barnes, the author of “The
Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email:
kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
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