Corner Stones

Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” Judg.6:26 [emphasis added]

“…laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood…”. In raising an altar there are three things we must pay attention to.

The Stone: In obedience, by faith, Jerub-baal [that is Gideon] gathered the stones for the altar as instructed by God. So what do the stones represent when it comes to building an altar? Does this mean you and I need to need to start gathering stones? How does this apply to present day altar building? “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1Pet.2:5 [emphasis added]. The stones represent you and I, so the stone you need to build an altar for God is yourself. God says, you, come yourself. And when you and I come together, we become lively stones and this becomes an altar to the Most High God.

The Wood: The wood represents the fuel and the fuel is the Holy Spirit. The wood can come from anywhere but the fuel is the Holy Spirit.

The Sacrifice: The sacrifice represents your body, your time, and your substance. Mathematically speaking, Sacrifice = Body + Time + Substance. In fact, your sacrifice is your life and that is what must be consistently present for the fire to burn and to keep burning. “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” Rom.12:1 [emphasis added]. We are to give God our bodies as a living and a holy sacrifice, the kind He will find acceptable, because of all He has done for us. This is truly the way to worship Him. Some people erroneously say that when you get born again, it is your spirit that gets born again. So you can do anything with your body but just worship God in your spirit. And they will support it with this scripture, God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. While it is true that God is a spirit, it is not true that God does not care about your body. God wants your body as is clearly stated in scripture. And that is in the New Testament for those who want to differentiate New Testament from Old Testament. Give your body. If you have given God your body, it is difficult to allow the same body to be defiled. If your body belongs to God, no rascal should be able to touch it because your body belongs to God.

Prayer: Jesus, my body belongs to You and I present it to You today afresh as a living and holy sacrifice; may it always be pleasing to You, in Jesus Name.