Exodus 20:22-26 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. 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. 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."
Just as coming into God’s presence is always “going up” for us, we realize that the LORD’s word comes from above. Whether they come with of chastisement or joy, we know that we have encountered something lofty and high. There is nothing in this world that deserves to stand beside Him. Riches, whatever we may deem them to be, are not equal with God.
God does not desire an offering to be made from things that we have designed or accumulated. His command was to make Him an altar of earth. We are the altar from which God accepts our living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). He has recorded His name within our hearts and minds, and He comes to us and blesses us in our offering of worship.
His altar is always to be of His making. We cannot bring our worldly desires and think it is acceptable unto Him. We cannot come before Him to boast of what we have done. It is simple and obvious that if we have fashioned it then it is polluted.
If our altar has steps, then these are things that we have put our tool upon. These are things that we have built to elevate ourselves. Just as surely as we try to offer on an altar that we have hewn with steps that we have made, our shame (nakedness) will be revealed (discovered). There is no acceptable sacrifice we can make unto Him from such an altar.
Beloved, let us humble ourselves today before Him who has recorded His name in our altar of earth. Let us bring our sacrifices and offer them up with humility, serving in love and joy. Let us put aside our own devices and rejoice that the LORD speaks to us from heaven. May we hear His voice and tremble at His word!