Chapter 3. Altars of Abraham

Moses and the Altars

The Mizbeach or altars are said to be of two types.

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. Exodus 20:24

Moses made an altar of earth. He was told to do so. He was not told to use just any type of earth but particularly the ‘red clay’.¹ God had made Adam from this red clay. Was the altar made of dirt or was this another metaphor? Was the altar clay or was it people?

This altar was used to receive the sacrifices of the people. The chief characteristic of sacrifice is not so much that something is destroyed by fire but rather that it is lost to the grantor. The grantor must be willing to truly concede the, “surrender of something for the sake of something else… something given up or lost.”

Such giving was essential in a free society where no government collected funds through taxation for redistributing wealth. Society needed a way of taking care of community needs. Such voluntary assistance is an extension of what should already be a part of the family but on a community and national level. Nothing is more benevolent than the parents sacrifice for their children and the children’s for their parents. The same applies to nations.

The burnt offering is dedicated or hallowed upon the altar by the grantor. Like bread upon the waters or tribute to the king it is lost to him forever. If you have anything more than intangible hope and faith to insure its return then it is not truly given and charity is not truly exercised. In the City State there is a contribution for the good of the populous and the general welfare of the corpus of the State. The difference between that contribution and those set on Abraham’s and Moses’ altars was the former is extracted by authority upon entering the jurisdiction of the State and the latter was a freewill offering with personal daily choice. The State guarantees social security within its walled boundaries in the form of entitlements while God’s altars offer only hope and faith.

Abraham and the people who exercised the free will choice to support one another formed an altar of earth and brotherhood. As he spread his tent, his tabernacle, the way of liberty became strong in the land. When kings like Chedorlaomer devoured one City State after another, it was Abram and those who believed in the law of liberty and choice who were the saviors of the day. This prophetic principle may still hold true in our own time.

There was another altar mentioned by God but not with the terms “thou shalt” but with the terms “if thou wilt make”. This altar was different and carried specific restrictions.

And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. Ex. 20:25-26

This altar was made of stone not hewn by the hands of men, not touched by tools of iron. You are also warned not to make the altar tiered where you go up to its higher places by steps or degrees. If you do so you will reveal a nakedness or lack of the covering.

The Hebrew word rigmah [hmgr] is translated into council but actually means literally a gathering of stones. It is from the Hebrew word Regem [Mgr] which is translated friend and the same as ragam [Mgr] meaning stone. Both words have as a common origin [bgr] regeb clod (of earth).

God wrote the Ten Commandments upon dead stone. It is not the medium that He preferred but was a secondary choice, as the hearts of the people were too hard. They were stiff necked and hard hearted. It was easier to write His laws on stone than upon the hearts of the Israelites. There would come a day when this was no longer true.

For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Hebrews 8:10

God wishes to write His laws upon lively stones and to construct His altars and temple with those same stones of living flesh.

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

The stones of the altar of God were men. The use of the word stones was a metaphor, just as the words burnt offering were a metaphor for the idea of giving a thing up entirely. These altars were composed of men who the community trusted as friends not rulers.

One of the key characteristics of these altars of men is that they are not to be hewn with iron tools. Again a metaphor of the language common to Abraham. This is in reference to regulations and restrictions placed upon these men as to how their job is done.

Why would it not be a good idea to regulate these men of the Altar? First, you should ask who is doing the regulating and who made them judge over the men of the altar?

The people who give offerings freely govern by their power to choose to give or not give. If they did not trust or choose to give they could stop donating and that living altar would no longer receive their offerings. The people were the governors of the system and tempered the wisdom of the altar by their own free will charity.

No steps that go up is another limitation on these stone altars of flesh. The going up by steps would also be creating a hierarchy of power and control. It would be a centralization of the wealth of the altar. This would lead to power and authority amongst those who tend the altar. A different kind of soul would be drawn to the service of the altar, one thirsty for position, prestige and power. They would assume the duties and responsibilities of the people one to another and in the repose of the people apathy and corruption would grow. The people need to participate in the daily choice of charity. Such activity builds virtue and character as well as fellowship and community. Any centralization of authority leads to a ruling elite and the slothful depravation of man’s individual dominion or freedom granted by God’s good grace is diminished.

“What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose; the right to create for yourself the alternative of choice. Without the responsibility and exercise of choice a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing.”²

These systems of charitable altars allowed communities and nations to remain free from the exercising authority established by men like of Cain, Nimrod and others. It encouraged strength amongst the gathering of the people through virtue, brotherhood and sacrifice. It did not diminish the role of the individual or the family. It left honor within the family and compelled men only by the practice of God’s love.

At the core of this system was the family. It was the family that provided security for men through the blessings of the ways of God the Father. Each family as members of the community cared one for the other forming the whole nation through a network of caring.

In this fragile life we live, families may falter or suffer calamity or experience destitution. When larger groups came together to safeguard the whole community they would devise methods by which all could be secure. There was always a danger of a loss of freedom the people sought social security. Abraham’s Altars gave a solution to the dilemma.

In the City State security was established by controls, force and regulation of men by men. These edicts hewed away at the freewill of men, giving power to other men instead. Men who sought power and control carved this new system into their own image. The exercising authority corrupted men and with that power came the danger of tyranny.

“Protection draws to it subjection; subjection protection”³

These leaders were granted the power to enforce the security of the State. Stripped of the presence and plan of God these men revealed their naked assent to the position of gods or ruling judges of the city or civil powers. The dominion granted by God to the individual was now incorporated into the City or Civil State. The ruling elite were perpetually tempted by that power granted them, by the demagoguery of the people.

From their high positions over other men and their lofty offices these principalities exercised authority that became totalitarian. The temptation to become a beast, devouring the people and their substance, was too great except for men like Moses and Abraham. There was none more divinely suited as ruler of a free state than Jesus, who came as a servant.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Ez 16:49

Leaders are corrupted by their weakness for power and the weakness of slothful people. Equally important in the devolution of mankind is the cultivated apathy of the general populations. People no longer had to choose corporeal sacrifice in charity. No longer was faith in the Creator and love of neighbor the essential principles of social security

It was the will of the organized State that men conformed to the will of the state and not the will of the Father in Heaven. The State promised to provide security from famine, catastrophe and other acts of God or the tyranny and attacks of other civil gods of power.

A new kind of faith was directed toward the State and its gods. This faith was called allegiance. To insure the loyalty and fidelity of men oaths were required. These ruling Benefactors also required tribute from all to insure the benefits of this controlled society. Ultimately one class of citizens were deprived to pay for the appetites of the other. Coveting your neighbors goods became a policy of the State with a granted license by the voice of the people. Love of the State was more undeniable than love of neighbor. Private wealth became an enemy of the state and we soon saw Plato’s simple economic policy whereby no gold or silver shall be owned by any citizen become true, even before he taught it.

Gold in the hands of the public is an enemy of the state. Adolph Hitler

Children were taught by the State or abandoned to the care of strangers. The sanctity of marriage diminished and the natural use of the flesh became dissolute. Fear of the State was more real than fear of God for despite the praises in their temples and churches their real homage and worship was to the State.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools… Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature [institutions] … For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Romans 1:22-26

Under the perfect law of liberty and at the altars of Abraham and Moses each individual or family exercised faith, hope and charity. While at the altars and temples of the City State obedience and compliance were the ruling creatures. The spirit that moved those altars of force was that of covetousness, control and cupidity.

Men may choose to apply or pray at a government altar of authority and force or the altar of God’s granted liberty. God created a law that forbid coveting or stealing from your neighbor. Man created institutions based on taking from your neighbor.

Because the creature [institutions]⁴ itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Romans 8:21

Mankind is changed by his choice. He chooses the institutions made by men to rule over men or he chooses to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

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