The altar of the burnt offering typifies the cross of Christ. Referring to this, Hebrews 13:10 says, “We have an altar, from which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle.” The altar among the Israelites in ancient times was a type of the cross as the real altar. Today we have an altar. We are not speaking about something that we do not have. On the first day of every week, we come together to eat the sacrifice on this altar. This altar refers to the Lord’s table. On this table we can see the shed blood and the slain body represented by the cup and the loaf. Concerning the table, the Lord Jesus said that we should take and eat of His body and drink of His blood. The altar is the cross, and the cross is the table for our enjoyment.
We need to have a fuller comprehension of the significance of the Lord’s table. Now we see that this table is an altar, not just a feast. In the Old Testament certain offerings, after being presented on the altar to God, became the food for God’s people. When the children of Israel came together in ancient times to keep the feasts, what they feasted on was first offered to God and then it became food for their enjoyment. We need to realize whenever we come to the Lord’s table that the table is an altar where Christ presents Himself to God. Then we may share in what Christ has offered.
The altar was made of acacia wood (27:1a), signifying the Man Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5) being judged as our Substitute by God. At this point we need to ask an important question: Is the cross, the altar, a person, or is it a thing? The reason we must raise this question is that the substance of the altar is acacia wood, and acacia wood signifies the Lord’s humanity. The acacia wood used in making the altar was overlaid with bronze. The basic substance, the basic material, of the altar, however, was acacia wood, not bronze. This acacia wood signifies the Man Jesus. This implies that the altar, the cross, is related to a man.
Suppose there was an altar, but there were no sacrifices on it. Could the altar itself save anyone? Certainly not. In like manner, suppose that there was the cross, but no one dying on the cross for us. Could the cross in itself save us? Again, the answer is no. The saving element is not in the cross as a thing; it is in the Person who was crucified on the cross for us. In the same principle, when we come to the Lord’s table, we do not partake of the table itself, but we eat the food on the table. We eat what is offered on the altar, the table. Thus, when we speak of the altar, we do not mainly refer to the altar itself; we mainly are speaking of what is offered on the altar. When we say that the cross saves us, we do not mean the cross as an instrument of execution used by the Roman Empire. Rather, we mean the Christ who died on the cross. Actually, it is not the cross itself that saves us. The One who saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered God’s judgment for us.
In typology, the Lord used acacia wood as the material for the building of the altar. This indicates that the effectiveness of the cross is not in the cross itself, but in that humanity which is related to the cross and which was crucified on it. This humanity is the same as that indicated by the ark, which was also made of acacia wood. Acacia wood is the essence and substance of both the ark and the altar. Only that humanity which is up to the standard of the ark can be our substitute on the cross to save us. This humanity, of course, is found only in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the only One who has this humanity.
Exodus 27:1 says, “The altar shall be squared.” To be square is one thing; to be squared, or made squared, is another thing. The fact that the Lord Jesus was squared means that with Him there was a great deal of testing or proving. To be made squared means that He was tested and proved. Not only was He square; He was squared. He was tested, He was tried, He was proved. To be square means to be upright, perfect, without any deficiency. One who is upright in this way would be called a square person. The Lord Jesus was square, and He was also squared. He was proved by means of many testings to be upright and perfect. Therefore, He was equipped to be our Substitute, qualified to be our Redeemer. He was qualified to fulfill the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. God’s requirements are related to His righteousness, holiness, and glory. Only by fulfilling all these requirements of God could the Lord Jesus be qualified to be recognized by God as the Substitute for us sinners. Oh, how we must thank and praise the Lord that He was tested and was found to be such a qualified One! By both man and God Christ was proved to be upright and perfect. Therefore, He was squared.