When we think of sacrifices, altars, and pillars, we think of the old covenant, because today we do not need an animal sacrifice for remission of sins, Jesus Christ was our sacrifice. But prior to the exodus there was no blood sacrifice for sin. The administration before the exodus was not instructed to make blood sacrifices for sin. Before Moses built a tabernacle, the ancients built altars and pillars or monuments. The first offerings we see were made by Cain and Abel. Most altars were made without sacrifice offerings or holocaust offerings. Pillars were made to declare “Yahweh Elohim Was Here”. Unfortunately, when believers who were faithful to Yahweh participated in this type of outward worship, Satanas inspired his people to do the same things for him. We do want to see how the ancients worshipped before the exodus to understand their faith. That administration ended when the exodus took place. After the exodus, holocaust offerings were for sin, but not before that time. The law administration ended with John, as Jesus told us. We live in a time with different rules for worship and redemption, but the patriarchs and their generations were saved by their faith.
Psa 40:6 (Brenton) Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require.
David understood that it was never Yahweh’s desire to sacrifice animals for remission of sins. Yahweh’s desire was and still is for the individual to be a living sacrifice. The pre and post flood generations were saved by their faith not by holocaust offerings.
What were Cain and Abel actually doing? How did they know to make a sacrifice? They must have heard it from Yahweh Elohim. We tend to put later rules into this idea, such as the sacrifice should have been blood, that’s why Cains’ sacrifice was not accepted. But we truly don’t know that that is what was required. It seems more likely that Cain did not bring his best fruits of the earth.
Gen 4:1 (Brenton) And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God.
Gen 4:2 And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3 And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord.
Gen 4:4 And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,
Gen 4:5 but Cain and his sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the Lord God said to Cain, Why art thou become very sorrowful and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou shalt rule over him.
Sacrifices
2378 LSJ Gloss:θυσίαan offering
Dodson:θυσίαa sacrifice abstr. and concr: sacrifice; a sacrifice, offering.
TBESG:θυσία sacrifice
G:N-F
θυσία, -ας, ἡ
(θύω) [in LXX chiefly for מִנְחָה, זָבַח ;]
__1. actively, an offering, sacrifice (Hdt., al.)
__2. Objectively, that which is offered, a sacrifice:
Thayer:
1) a sacrifice, victim
θυσία
thusia thoo-see'-ah From G2380; sacrifice (the act or the victim, literally or figuratively) KJV Usage: sacrifice.
In this story we see that Cain brings his fruits of the earth as a sacrifice. It does not say that Cain brought the first fruits of the earth as a sacrifice. Abel brought his first born of his sheep. We can assume that it takes five months for sheep gestation and probably about the same to grow a tomato in a favorable climate. Is it possible that Cains’ sacrifice was not the first fruit? Notice there is no altar here. There is no table mentioned or place to collect blood and fat.
Genesis 4:7 G3756 If not G302 G3723 rightly G4374 you brought, G3723 [3rightly G1161 1but G3361 2not] G1244 divided, G264 you sinned? G2270 Be still, G4314 to G1473 you shall be G3588 G654.1 his submission, G1473 G2532 and G1473 you G756 will control G1473 him!
Genesis 4:7 LXX-WH G3364 ADV ουκ G1437 CONJ εαν G3717 ADV ορθως G4374 V-AAS-2S προσενεγκης G3717 ADV ορθως G1161 PRT δε G3165 ADV μη G1244 V-AAS-2S διελης G264 V-AAI-2S ημαρτες G2270 V-AAD-2S ησυχασον G4314 PREP προς G4771 P-AS σε G3588 T-NSF η N-NSF αποστροφη G846 D-GSM αυτου G2532 CONJ και G4771 P-NS συ G757 V-FAI-2S αρξεις G846 D-GSM αυτου
“No not if upright offer upright, but me distribute, miss the mark, keep quiet towards you the submission his and you reign him.”
What Yahweh said was that Cain was to bring an upright offering, divided or distributed uprightly, but instead he missed the mark. Therefore Abel’s submission was going to be also counted for Cain and Cain was going to reign over Abel. There are some historical references suggesting that Abel’s animals were eating Cains crops and Cain was angry. If this is the case then verse seven makes more sense. We see here that the Masoretic text has altered this sentence. But this is why Cain did not offer his first fruits, and Abel’s offering counted for Cain. Cain must have heard the part about him reigning or ruling over Abel, but it seems that being corrected by Yahweh also made Cain mad.
From this we see that making an offering to Yahweh Elohim is not a flippant matter, it is a sacred matter and it should be understood with all seriousness. Why food? It would seem that the very substance of human life is the offering because without food we die. We offer what is most important to us.
The first altar we see in the Bible was made by Noah. There may have been other altars made before but we are not told about them.
Gen 8:15 (Brenton) And the Lord God spoke to Noe, saying,
Gen 8:16 Come out from the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
Gen 8:17 And all the wild beasts as many as are with thee, and all flesh both of birds and beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, bring forth with thee: and increase ye and multiply upon the earth.
Gen 8:18 And Noe came forth, and his wife and his sons, and his sons' wives with him.
Gen 8:19 And all the wild beasts and all the cattle and every bird, and every reptile creeping upon the earth after their kind, came forth out of the ark.
Gen 8:20 And Noe built an altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and offered a whole burnt-offering upon the altar.
Gen 8:21 And the Lord God smelled a smell of sweetness, and the Lord God having considered, said, I will not any more curse the earth, because of the works of men, because the imagination of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will not therefore any more smite all living flesh as I have done.
Gen 8:22 All the days of the earth, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease by day or night.
Noah loaded up the animals into the ark, and is now unloading them but also bringing an offering to Yahweh Elohim. The offering he brought was probably animals born on the ark. To a non-believer, giving up food and burning it to a crisp for a God who doesn’t need to eat it, and has no use for ashes, seems silly. But in the world of faith in Yahweh Elohim, giving something as an offering that is important, like food, is what is required. It simply means that we can trust Yahweh Elohim with our lives. Notice that no one went hungry.
Genesis 8:20 G2532 And G3618 Noah built G* G2379 an altar G3588 to the G2316 lord . G2532 And G2983 he took G575 from G3956 all G3588 the G2934 [2cattle G3588 G2513 1clean], G2532 and G575 from G3956 all G3588 the G4071 [2winged creatures G3588 G2513 1clean], G2532 and G399 offered G1519 them for G3646.1 a whole burnt-offering G1909 upon G3588 the G2379 altar.
2379 LSJ Gloss:θυσιαστήριον an altar
Dodson:θυσιαστήριον an altar an altar (for sacrifice).
TBESG:θυσιαστήριον altar
G:N-N
θυσιαστήριον, -ου, τό
(< θυσιάζω, to sacrifice), [in LXX (where the word first appears) very freq., nearly always for מַדְבַּח ;]
an altar:
__(a) generally, Jas.2:21; pl., Rom.11:3 (LXX); metaph., Heb.13:10 (see Westc., in l, and esp. his add, note on the history of the word, 455 ff.);
__(b) of the altar of burnt-offering in the Temple,
__(with) of the altar of incense in the sanctuary
symbolically in Heaven,
(AS)
Thayer:
1) the altar for slaying and burning of victims used of
1a) the altar of whole burnt offerings which stood in the court of the priests in the temple at Jerusalem
1b) the altar of incense which stood in the sanctuary or the Holy Place
1c) any other altar
1c1) metaph., the cross on which Christ suffered an expiatory death: to eat of this altar i.e. to appropriate to one's self the fruits of Christ's expiatory death
θυσιαστήριον
thusiastērion thoo-see-as-tay'-ree-on From a derivative of G2378; a place of sacrifice, that is, an altar (specifically or generally, literally or figuratively)KJV Usage: altar.
The word for whole burnt offering, ολοκάυτωσιν, means “holocaust offering”. A holocaust offering is a sacrifice that is completely burnt. This is not a symbolic gesture of draining the blood and then eating the meat as the pagans did. Paul refers to this when saying not to eat meat sacrificed to idols, 1Corinthians 8 & 10. If they sacrifice an animal that someone eats, it is not a holocaust sacrifice. In Daniel 14, there is story about a deity called Bel that people believed was eating their sacrifices in Bel’s temple. Daniel proved to Cyrus that it was the priests and their families eating the offerings. So offerings to pagan gods were acceptable for pagans to eat, but holocaust offerings were consumed completely.
Now we come to Abram. Yahweh tells Abram to go to Canaan and he will bless him.
Gen 12:1 (Brenton) And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father, and come into the land which I will shew thee.
Gen 12:2 And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.
Gen 12:3 And I will bless those that bless thee, and curse those that curse thee, and in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.
Gen 12:4 And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan.
Gen 12:5 And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Charrhan, and they went forth to go into the land of Chanaan.
Gen 12:6 And Abram traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Sychem, to the high oak, and the Chananites then inhabited the land.
Gen 12:7 And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to thy seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him.
Gen 12:8 And he departed thence to the mountain eastward of Baethel, and there he pitched his tent in Baethel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord.
Abram goes to Shechem and builds an altar. We are not told what kind of an altar it was but it does not say that he was making holocaust offerings. This was an altar of worship, like the later altar of incense. Abram made this altar to commemorate the meeting he had with Yahweh. This altar was to notify the Canaanites that Yahweh was there and Abram was there, and Abram was taking the land for his heirs. The Canaanites knew they did not own the land, that it was deeded to Shem and his heirs, so Abram made an altar in that place as a testament that Yahweh would give that land to Abram and his seed.
When Abram left Egypt he returned to the place he had made the altar.
Gen 13:1 (Brenton) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness.
Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, and silver, and gold.
Gen 13:3 And he went to the place whence he came, into the wilderness as far as Baethel, as far as the place where his tent was before, between Baethel and Aggai,
Gen 13:4 to the place of the altar, which he built there at first, and Abram there called on the name of the Lord.
Lot and his crew leave for the plains of Sodom. Abram is worshipping at the altar he built when he was promised the land for his seed. Again, this is not an altar for sacrifices or for sin, it is a worship altar. Yahweh speaks to him there.
Gen 13:14 (Brenton) And God said to Abram after Lot was separated from him, Look up with thine eyes, and behold from the place where thou now art northward and southward, and eastward and seaward;
Gen 13:15 for all the land which thou seest, I will give it to thee and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed like the dust of the earth; if any one is able to number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed be numbered.
Gen 13:17 Arise and traverse the land, both in the length of it and in the breadth; for to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:18 And Abram having removed his tent, came and dwelt by the oak of Mambre, which was in Chebrom, and he there built an altar to the Lord.
Now Abram settles in Hebron and builds another altar there. Again this is not a holocaust offering or an altar for sin sacrifice. Now we can imagine that building altars referencing what the Elohim has said probably caught on as a thing to do. People probably made altars for their idols and their gods as if they are leaving a mark on the land like Abram did.
When we get to the actual offering of Isaac we see that Isaac was to be a holocaust offering. He was to be completely burnt.
Gen 22:8 (Brenton) And Abraam said, God will provide himself a sheep for a whole-burnt-offering, my son. And both having gone together,
Gen 22:9 came to the place which God spoke of to him; and there Abraam built the altar, and laid the wood on it, and having bound the feet of Isaac his son together, he laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Gen 22:10 And Abraam stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son.
Gen 22:11 And an angel of the Lord called him out of heaven, and said, Abraam, Abraam. And he said, Behold, I am here.
Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything to him, for now I know that thou fearest God, and for my sake thou hast not spared thy beloved son.
This shows us the importance of giving the Elohim what is most important to us as an offering. Isaac was most important to Abraham as he was to multiply Abraham’s seed. Abraham had food, land, a wife, a son by Hagar, and many servants. But his most valuable asset was Isaac. In this story Abraham built the altar to burn Isaac.
After the holocaust offering Isaac goes to Shem and Ebers, and Sara dies. Abraham takes Keturah as a wife and has six sons with her. Abraham gives them gifts and tells them that the Canaanites would be driven out of the land. Isaac marries Rebecca and now Isaac builds an altar.
Gen 26:24 (Brenton) And the Lord appeared to him in that night, and said, I am the God of Abraam thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraam thy father.
Gen 26:25 And he built there an altar, and called on the name of the Lord, and there he pitched his tent, and there the servants of Isaac dug a well in the valley of Gerara.
Isaac’s altar is in Gerar where Yahweh met with him. Again this is a worship altar not a sin sacrifice altar. Jacob goes to Shem and Ebers to learn about the Lord, and Esau marries two Hittite women, then he marries a third woman, an Ishmaelite. Jacob leaves to go to Labans house and has a dream.
Gen 28:10 (Brenton) And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan.
Gen 28:11 And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place,
Gen 28:12 and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.
Gen 28:13 And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
Gen 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.
Gen 28:15 And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.
Gen 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
Gen 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Gen 28:18 And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he had laid there by his head, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
Gen 28:19 And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Ulam-luz.
Gen 28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Gen 28:21 and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be for a God to me.
Gen 28:22 And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of all whatsoever thou shalt give me, I will tithe a tenth for thee.
Jacob’s dream takes place in Bethel. He sets up a pillar or a monument to dedicate that place as the House of God. Because Jacob perceived that that place was the gate of heaven, he made a monument to Yahweh Elohim. Jacob then makes a vow. He vows to give a tenth of whatever Yahweh Elohim gives him.
Genesis 28:22 G2532 and G3588 G3037 this stone G3778 G3739 which G2476 I set G4739.1 as a monument, G1510.8.3 will be G1473 to me G3624 a house G2316 of God. G2532 And G3956 all, G3739 what G1437 ever, G1473 you should give to me, G1325 G1181 [2a tenth G586 1I will tithe] G1473 of it G1473 to you.
The word pillar, στήλην, stílin, is a monument, a column, or something that stands firm.
While Satanas has distorted the things of the Elohim, and people made pillars and idols and worshiped them instead of the Elohim, this pillar or monument was not something that Jacob worshipped. It was a dedication. It was something to signify that this place in Bethel was Yahweh Elohims. It was also a reminder of Jacob’s vow. Now we might ask, who was Jacob’s tithe going to go to? Probably Eber and those who still worshipped in the first temple in Salem made by Shem. Since Jacob was a student and minister in Shem’s temple, Jacob would give his tithes to Shem’s temple.
While there is a lot of poor teaching within the Body of Christ to suggest that all pillars/monuments were groves or for worshipping false gods, David made a monument. He wrote several Psalms on a monument or monuments, Psalm 16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. David did this to teach and remind people about the things that Yahweh Elohim did for them.
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2017/08/prophecies-of-david-mega-epiphany.html
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-path-of-life-davids-monument-not.html
Today we cringe at the thought of putting up a religious monument but the idea was prevalent at the time of the patriarchs and into the time of David.
Jacob has to have a family meeting.
Gen 31:1 (Brenton) And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and of our father's property has he gotten all this glory.
Gen 31:2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before.
Gen 31:3 And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee.
Gen 31:4 And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were.
Jacob presents the idea that they have to leave Laban’s house as Laban has treated him poorly. Jacob feared because his prosperity was greater than Labans and Labans sons. Jacob tells Leah and Rachel about his meeting years ago with Yahweh Elohim, and then the Elohim visits Jacob again.
Gen 31:11 (Brenton) And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it?
Gen 31:12 And he said, Look up with thine eyes, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to thee.
Gen 31:13 I am God that appeared to thee in the place of God where thou anointedst a pillar to me, and vowedst to me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of thy nativity, and I will be with thee.
Yahweh Elohim green lights Jacob’s travels, but as the story goes, Laban is mad that Jacob and the ladies left, so he chases after them. Jacob and Laban finally come to some terms and make a covenant with a pillar to mark the covenant they made.
Gen 31:44 (Brenton) Now then come, let me make a covenant, both I and thou, and it shall be for a witness between me and thee; and he said to him, Behold, there is no one with us; behold, God is witness between me and thee.
Gen 31:45 And Jacob having taken a stone, set it up for a pillar.
Gen 31:46 And Jacob said to his brethren, Gather stones; and they gathered stones and made a heap, and ate there upon the heap; and Laban said to him, This heap witnesses between me and thee to-day.
Gen 31:47 And Laban called it, the Heap of Testimony; and Jacob called it, the Witness Heap.
Gen 31:48 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and thee; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called, the Heap witnesses.
Gen 31:49 And the vision of which he said—Let God look to it between me and thee, because we are about to depart from each other, —
Gen 31:50 If thou shalt humble my daughters, if thou shouldest take wives in addition to my daughters, see, there is no one with us looking on. God is witness between me and thee.
Gen 31:51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold, this heap, and this pillar are a witness.
Gen 31:52 For if I should not cross over unto thee, neither shouldest thou cross over to me, for mischief beyond this heap and this pillar.
Gen 31:53 The God of Abraam and the God of Nachor judge between us; and Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Gen 31:54 And he offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren, and they ate and drank, and slept in the mountain.
Gen 31:55 And Laban rose up in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban having turned back, departed to his place.
Jacob made a deal that was sealed with a pillar, a heap of stones, and a sacrifice offering to Yahweh Elohim. The heap of stones and pillar was the boundary line between Laban and Jacob. Then Jacob meets with Esau. After that meeting, Jacob goes to Shechem.
Gen 33:17 (Brenton) And Jacob departs to his tents; and he made for himself there habitations, and for his cattle he made booths; therefore he called the name of that place, Booths.
Gen 33:18 And Jacob came to Salem, a city of Secima, which is in the land of Chanaan, when he departed out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and took up a position in front of the city.
Gen 33:19 And he bought the portion of the field, where he pitched his tent, of Emmor the father of Sychem, for a hundred lambs.
Gen 33:20 And he set up there an alter, and called on the God of Israel.
Jacob buys the field from Emmor, the father of Sychem who slept with Dinah. We all remember the trouble that took place there. But before that, Jacob set up an altar. This altar was a place of worship, we do not see a holocaust offering here. If we remember, Abram built an altar in Shechem.
Jacob is told to go back to Bethel and make an altar there. This is where Jacob had made a pillar, calling it the House of the Elohim. It was the gate of heaven in Jacob’s dream. Now he is to make another altar.
Gen 35:1 (Brenton) And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to the place, Baethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to the God that appeared to thee, when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
Gen 35:2 And Jacob said to his house, and to all that were with him, Remove the strange gods that are with you from the midst of you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes.
Gen 35:3 And let us rise and go up to Baethel, and let us there make an alter to God who hearkened to me in the day of calamity, who was with me, and preserved me throughout in the journey, by which I went.
Gen 35:4 And they gave to Jacob the strange gods, which were in their hands, and the ear-rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the turpentine tree which is in Secima, and destroyed them to this day.
The people all cleansed themselves from their idols and left Shechem. The surrounding people heard about what happened in Shechem and they feared Jacob and his crew.
Gen 35:5 (Brenton) So Israel departed from Secima, and the fear of God was upon the cities round about them, and they did not pursue after the children of Israel.
Gen 35:6 And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, which is Baethel, he and all the people that were with him.
Gen 35:7 And he built there an altar, and called the name of the place Baethel; for there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau.
Jacob builds an altar in Bethel and the Elohim appears again.
Gen 35:8 (Brenton) And Deborrha, Rebecca's nurse, died, and was buried below Baethel under the oak; and Jacob called its name, The Oak of Mourning.
Gen 35:9 And God appeared to Jacob once more in Luza, when he came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and God blessed him.
Gen 35:10 And God said to him, Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and he called his name Israel.
Gen 35:11 And God said to him, I am thy God; increase and multiply; for nations and gatherings of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.
Gen 35:12 And the land which I gave to Abraam and Isaac, I have given it to thee; and it shall come to pass that I will give this land also to thy seed after thee.
Gen 35:13 And God went up from him from the place where he spoke with him.
Gen 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God spoke with him, even a pillar of stone; and offered a libation upon it, and poured oil upon it.
Gen 35:15 And Jacob called the name of the place in which God spoke with him, Baethel.
After this, Rachel dies and Jacob leaves again, this time for Ephrath. We see that the reasons people built pillars, and altars, and made sacrifices were to commemorate the Elohim speaking to them, or marking a boundary, or making an offering of the most valuable thing in their lives to show trust in the Elohim. These were the precepts of Shem/Melchizedek. While we do not have an intricate view of the day to day operations of the Zedek/Zadok priesthood, we see that Shem was around when Noah made a holocaust offering. Abraham made altars which were not for holocaust offerings, except for Isaac. If we remember, Abraham lived with Shem and Noah and learned the ways of Yahweh Elohim from them. This is why Abraham gave Shem ten percent of his spoils, he knew him. We also see Jacob giving whoever was running Shem’s temple ten percent as well. This was not to make the priests in the temple of Shem rich but to help with their sustenance. When we come to the Holy Convocation, the meeting in the wilderness, we see that Moses was told how to make an altar with some very specific instructions.
Exo 20:18 (Brenton) And all the people perceived the thundering, and the flashes, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and all the people feared and stood afar off,
Exo 20:19 and said to Moses, Speak thou to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die.
Exo 20:20 And Moses says to them, Be of good courage, for God is come to you to try you, that his fear may be among you, that ye sin not.
Exo 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses went into the darkness where God was.
Exo 20:22 And the Lord said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and thou shalt report it to the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
Exo 20:23 Ye shall not make to yourselves gods of silver, and gods of gold ye shall not make to yourselves.
Exo 20:24 Ye shall make to me an altar of earth; and upon it ye shall sacrifice your whole burnt-offerings, and your peace-offerings, and your sheep and your calves in every place, where I shall record my name; and I will come to thee and bless thee.
Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make to me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build them hewn stones; for thou hast lifted up thy tool upon them, and they are defiled.
Exo 20:26 Thou shalt not go up to my altar by steps, that thou mayest not uncover thy nakedness upon it.
They were to make an altar of earth. That’s new. Then if they make a stone altar they cannot use tools, they have to be natural stones. There is not supposed to be any steps going to the altar either so that no one can see under their clothes as they walk up the stairs. Now that we understand what the patriarchs did we can see that the rules change because the altars and pillars are not for simple offerings and worship but for sin. The people had to be cleansed from sin. Today Jewish people have no remedy for sin as there is no temple and no altar of sacrifice or earthen altar for sacrifice. By this time period, in this new administration, sin was so prevalent that the people needed cleansing. Yahweh Elohim provided a Messiah and today he is the only way to be cleansed from sins. Jesus is the perfect lamb of the Elohim who was slain for our sins.
Hebrews 13:8 (AMP) Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages).
9 Do not be carried about by different and varied and alien teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and ennobled and strengthened by means of grace (God’s favor and spiritual blessing) and not [to be devoted to] foods [rules of diet and ritualistic meals], which bring no [spiritual] benefit or profit to those who observe them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve and worship in the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 For when the blood of animals is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin, the victims’ bodies are burned outside the limits of the camp. [Lev. 16:27.]
12 Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the [city’s] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God].
13 Let us then go forth [from all that would prevent us] to Him outside the camp [at Calvary], bearing the contempt and abuse and shame with Him. [Lev. 16:27.]
14 For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come.
15 Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. [Lev. 7:12; Isa. 57:19; Hos. 14:2.]
The Amplified Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Heb 13:8–15.
We have an altar that those in the temple have no right to eat from, meaning Jesus is not for those in the temple who repeat old covenant laws and rituals. We do not need to rebuild or attempt to replicate the tabernacles or temples or altars. We can offer a sacrifice of praise anywhere at any time and regularly sacrifice praise to Him. Why? Because we should be living sacrifices.
Romans 12:1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
The Amplified Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Ro 12:1–2.
Jesus Christ, Yahweh Messiah is the once for all sacrifice. We can and should live as the patriarchs did, worshipping and praising Yahweh Elohim, wherever we go and dedicating places to Him where he speaks to us. We are not bound by the law or any of that generations laws, we are free in Christ. The snapshot of the worship practices of the patriarchs inspires us to live and worship in our age, as they did, with whole hearts as living sacrifices.
