The Altars of the Bible

The Altars of the Bible: From Noah's Altar to We Have an Altar

Wherever people meet God in the Bible, they tend to build an altar: a place where something is given up, where blood is spilt, where heaven and earth are stitched together for a moment. Noah builds one on the drying ground. Abraham builds one on Moriah and lifts the knife, and God provides a ram in his son's place. The bronze altar burns without ceasing outside the tabernacle. A terrified Gideon builds an altar and names it The LORD is peace. And when the whole system of altars has done its work, the writer of Hebrews says something startling: we have an altar. Each page below follows one altar through Scripture, tells honestly where its meaning is stated and where it is drawn out, and shows how every altar leads to Jesus, who is at once the altar, the priest, and the offering.