Exodus 27

A life on the Alter

“Using acacia wood, construct a square altar 7-1/2 feet wide, 7-1/2 feet long, and 4-1/2 feet high. ~ Exodus 27:1

 Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to truly live your life on the altar? In the Old Testament, the altar was a place of sacrifice, worship, and surrender. It was the meeting point between humanity and God. Every detail of the altar described in Exodus 27 had meaning. It was built from sturdy wood, overlaid with bronze, and designed to withstand the fire of sacrifice. It represented the seriousness of sin and the holiness of God.

When I read this chapter, I imagine what it must have been like to stand before that altar. The smoke, the fire, and the offering rising as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It was both beautiful and sobering. For a long time, I struggled to understand how this kind of sacrifice connects to my life today. But as I began to grow in my walk with the Lord, I realized that the altar didn’t disappear when Jesus came, instead it was transformed.

Jesus became the living sacrifice once and for all. He fulfilled the purpose of the altar by laying down His life so that I could live free from sin and shame. Because of His sacrifice, I am now invited to place my life on the altar, not to die for my sins, but to live for Him. Romans 12:1 says that I am to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is my reasonable act of worship. That means I lay down my plans, my pride, and my will each day to follow His leading and live my life on His agenda, not mine.

It wasn’t all that long ago in my life when surrendering to God’s plan felt uncomfortable. I wanted to trust Him, but I also wanted control. It wasn’t until I fully gave Him my heart, my ambitions, and my fears that I began to experience real peace. I learned that the altar of surrender is not a place of loss, but a place of freedom. When I place my life before Him, He shapes it into something far greater than I could ever make on my own.

Just as the altar in the Old Testament stood at the entrance of the tabernacle, surrender is the doorway to intimacy with God. The fire that once consumed the sacrifice now burns within every believer through the Holy Spirit, keeping our hearts devoted and our lives pure before Him.

Here are some things you can do to begin living your life of a living sacrifice:

• Begin each day by offering your plans, time, and energy to God in prayer.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any area of your life that you have not yet surrendered.
• Choose obedience over comfort when God asks you to do something that stretches your faith.
• Remember that sacrifice is not about loss but about gaining deeper purpose and peace.
• Spend time in worship, thanking God for Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice and the privilege of living for Him.

Today I want to encourageyou to place your life fully on God’s altar. Offer yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him. Let your daily surrender become an act of worship that draws you closer to His heart. Just as the fire on the altar was never to go out, keep the flame of your devotion burning through prayer, surrender, and love. God is not asking you to give up your life; He is inviting you to live it for Him with passion and purpose.

Today’s scripture reading: Exodus 27

1 “Using acacia wood, construct a square altar 7-1/2 feet wide, 7-1/2 feet long, and 4-1/2 feet high. 

2 Make horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar are all one piece. Overlay the altar with bronze. 

3 Make ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans, all of bronze. 

4 Make a bronze grating for it, and attach four bronze rings at its four corners. 

5 Install the grating halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge. 

6 For carrying the altar, make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 

7 Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the altar. 

8 The altar must be hollow, made from planks. Build it just as you were shown on the mountain.

Plans for the Courtyard

9 “Then make the courtyard for the Tabernacle, enclosed with curtains made of finely woven linen. On the south side, make the curtains 150 feet long. 

10 They will be held up by twenty posts set securely in twenty bronze bases. Hang the curtains with silver hooks and rings. 

11 Make the curtains the same on the north side—150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts set securely in bronze bases. Hang the curtains with silver hooks and rings. 

12 The curtains on the west end of the courtyard will be 75 feet long, supported by ten posts set into ten bases. 

13 The east end of the courtyard, the front, will also be 75 feet long. 

14 The courtyard entrance will be on the east end, flanked by two curtains. The curtain on the right side will be 22-1/2 feet long, supported by three posts set into three bases. 

15 The curtain on the left side will also be 22-1/2 feet long, supported by three posts set into three bases.

16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, make a curtain that is 30 feet long. Make it from finely woven linen, and decorate it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Support it with four posts, each securely set in its own base. 

17 All the posts around the courtyard must have silver rings and hooks and bronze bases. 

18 So the entire courtyard will be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with curtain walls 7-1/2 feet high, made from finely woven linen. The bases for the posts will be made of bronze.

19 “All the articles used in the rituals of the Tabernacle, including all the tent pegs used to support the Tabernacle and the courtyard curtains, must be made of bronze.

Light for the Tabernacle

20 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 

21 The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.

Journal:

• What area of my life do I need to place on the altar today?
• How can I live as a daily sacrifice in the way I speak, serve, and love others?
• What does it look like for me to keep the fire of devotion burning in my heart?