We are in chapter 33 of Genesis with our word for today. מִזְבֵּחַ altar, a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made often made of stone. It is used 401 times in the Old Testament. God commands that his people not use altars to any other God but himself. Exodus 34:12-14 Break down their מִזְבְּחֹתָם֙ altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. So we don’t worship any other god on any altar because God has a protective jealousy for us because he loves us.
In the Old Testament God set up an altar and very specific guidelines with all kinds of sacrifices offered on it. Bull and blood Leviticus 1:5,11 You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting… You are to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash its blood against the sides of the הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ altar. Burnt offerings. Grain, oil and food offerings. Leviticus 2:1-2, 8; 3:11 They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord…Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ altar.
So what was the point of all of this sacrificing. Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. The Holy Spirit clarifies this concept in Hebrews. Hebrews 9:19-22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The good news is that God himself provided the sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:24-28 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. This is great news! The very best news! What is our response to having our sins done away with once and for all? Our response is also a sacrifice not for sins but because our sins have been forgiven in Christ. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. This action of sacrificing our own will to God will also include our bodies and minds which will lead to seeing everything from God’s perspective and experiencing his amazingly over the top will for us. I’ll close with this amazing verse that explains our response to Jesus sacrifice for us. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So bring all of this into our chapter today where we find Jacob building an altar to his God the God of Israel. Genesis 33:18, 20 And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem… There he erected an מִזְבֵּחַ altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
