The bronze altar typifies the cross of Christ. Hebrews 13:10 says, “We have an altar from which they who are serving the tabernacle have no right to eat.” This altar refers to the cross of Christ, on which He offered all that He was as a sacrifice to God (10:12).
According to the arrangement of all the furniture inside and outside the tabernacle, the ark and the bronze altar are at two ends. The two ends are related to two parties, God and man. God’s end is at the ark, and man’s end is at the bronze altar. A sinner who wants to go into the tabernacle to meet God must first pass through the altar, that is, the cross of Christ.
Because of the fall, man became lost, fell into sin, and was under the righteous judgment of God. Hence, for man to come into the presence of God, he must rely on the cross of Christ, typified by the altar, to redeem him from his sins and to deal with his sins. Christ as the Lamb of God offered Himself as the sacrifice for sins (Heb. 10:12), and His blood has accomplished for us an eternal redemption from our sins (9:12, 14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) that our sins may be forgiven by God. Furthermore, He was made sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21) in the likeness of the flesh and condemned sin through His death on the cross (Rom. 8:3) that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Thus, through the cross of Christ we have access to God and are fully reconciled to the righteous God and live to Him.
In Numbers 16 we see that the bronze used to overlay the altar came from the censers of two hundred fifty rebellious ones who were judged by God with fire. After God judged them, He charged Moses to take the bronze censers and make them broad plates for a covering of the altar as a sign to the children of Israel (vv. 2-3, 17-18, 36-38). Hence, the bronze altar signifies the cross as the place where sinners are judged by God. Christ became a man to be our Substitute, and on the cross He took the position of a sinner (1 Pet. 3:18), bearing up the sins of the entire human race (2:24) and suffering God’s judgment on behalf of us, the sinners, to save us from God’s righteous judgment.
The altar was located in the outer court of the tabernacle. According to the interpretation given in the New Testament, the outer court signifies the earth, and the entire tabernacle, including both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, signifies the heavens. Therefore, the fact that the altar was located in the outer court signifies that the cross of Christ was accomplished on the earth and is very close and convenient to sinners. Christ came from the heavens to the earth and from God into the midst of men to be the Lamb of God who died on the cross for sinners and accomplished eternal redemption (John 1:29; Heb. 9:12). This cross, which is so close to sinners, is exceedingly convenient for sinners to apply the redemption of Christ.