Exodus 27 details God's instructions to Moses for building the bronze altar of burnt offering, the courtyard of the tabernacle, and providing pure olive oil to keep the golden lampstand burning continuously.
Key Points by Verses
- The Altar of Burnt Offering (Bronze Altar) (27:1–8): The dimensions and design of the outer altar where animal sacrifices took place.
- Built of acacia wood and overlaid with bronze. It was five cubits square (about 7.5 feet) and three cubits high (about 4.5 feet), hollow and made with boards.
- Four horns, one at each corner and of one piece with the altar, were also overlaid with bronze.
- Bronze utensils: pails (for removing the ashes), shovels, basins, fleshhooks and firepans, along with a bronze net grating.
- Rings and acacia poles overlaid with bronze were provided for carrying it.
- The Courtyard of the Tabernacle (27:9–19): The layout, size and hangings of the court that enclosed the tabernacle.
- Dimensions: 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide (roughly 150 feet by 75 feet).
- Enclosed by fine twined linen hangings five cubits high (about 7.5 feet), hung on pillars set in bronze sockets, with silver hooks and silver bands (connecting rods). There were twenty pillars on each of the long sides.
- The eastern gate was 20 cubits wide, a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, hung on four pillars.
- All the tent pegs and the utensils used in the court's service were bronze.
- The Continual Light of the Lamp (27:20–21): The people were to supply beaten olive oil so that the priests could keep the lamp burning from evening until morning.
- The Israelites were to bring pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that a lamp might be kept burning continually.
- Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamps in the tent of meeting, outside the veil, from evening to morning before the Lord.
- This was established as a permanent statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.
Spiritual Implications
- The Bronze Altar: The Cross Comes First.
- The Old Testament meaning: The altar stood just inside the court gate, before the tabernacle entrance. People came with sin and uncleanness and could not go further without sacrifice. Through the blood, their sin was covered (Leviticus 17:11). The Hebrew word for "altar" means "place of slaughter," and bronze is traditionally read as a symbol of judgment, so the altar shows both God's judgment on sin and the way of salvation He provided.
- Fulfilled in Christ: Jesus offered Himself once for all as the complete sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:10-14).
- Application: Faith and worship cannot bypass the cross. Believers today draw near to God on the same ground: the eternal redemption the Lord Jesus accomplished at Golgotha.
- The Courtyard: A Boundary of Holiness, a Single Way In.
- Holiness and righteousness: The fine linen wall separated the holy ground from the worldly wilderness. God longs for people to draw near, yet He never compromises with sin. The wall stopped anyone from peering in or breaking in casually.
- One gate: The court had a single entrance. People had to come in by the way and in the order God prescribed, not by their own preference (John 10:9; 14:6).
- Application: God calls His people to live a life set apart from the world, so that they may declare His praises (1 Peter 2:9).
- The Lamp: The Light of the Spirit, Sustained by the Whole Community.
- The oil: Olives must be crushed before they yield pure oil. This pictures Christ, crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5), from whose suffering the light of life comes. Oil traditionally represents the work of the Holy Spirit.
- The lamp: In the dark wilderness, and in a dark world, God's people constantly need the light of the Spirit and the truth. The priests tended the lamp "from evening to morning," and by way of application, this light is kept burning through daily obedience and spiritual alertness, so that believers bear good witness for the Lord.
- A shared responsibility: Tending the lamp was the priests' ministry, but supplying the oil was the duty of all Israel (27:20). True worship requires the participation, provision and surrender of the whole community.
出埃及記第 27 章詳細記載了神指示摩西建造銅製燔祭壇和會幕院子，以及供應純淨橄欖油以維持金燈檯持續燃燒的事宜。
本章經文要點
- 燔祭壇（銅壇）（27:1–8): 用於獻祭牲畜的外院祭壇的尺寸與設計。
- 用皂莢木製成，外包青銅。它呈正方形，長寬各五肘（約 7.5 英尺），高三肘（約 4.5 英尺），內部中空，由木板構成。
- 四個角落各有一個與祭壇連為一體的角，也都包上了青銅。
- 銅器具：桶（用於清除灰燼）、鏟子、盆、肉锸子和火鼎，以及一張青銅網格。
- 為搬運它，配備了圓環和包銅的皂莢木槓。
- 會幕的院子（27:9–19): 環繞會幕的院子的佈局、尺寸與帷幔。
- 尺寸：長 100 肘，寬 50 肘（約 150 英尺乘 75 英尺）。
- 四周環繞著高五肘（約 7.5 英尺）的細麻布帷幔，這些帷幔掛在安於銅座的柱子上，並配有銀鉤和銀帶（連接桿）。在長邊的每一側各有二十根柱子。
- 東門寬二十肘，掛著由藍色、紫色、朱紅色線和細捻細麻布製成的帷幕，懸掛在四根柱子上。
- 帳幕所有的橛子和院內供職所用的器具，都是銅製的。
- 常燃的燈（27:20–21): 百姓須提供壓榨的橄欖油，以便祭司能使燈火從晚上到早晨一直燃燒。
- 以色列人須帶來搗製的純橄欖油作點燈之用，使燈能持續燃燒。
- 亞倫和他的兒子們要在會幕內、幔子外，從晚上到早晨，在耶和華面前料理燈盞。
- 這是以色列人世世代代應遵守的永久條例。
屬靈意義
- 銅祭壇：十字架居首位。
- 舊約中的意義：祭壇矗立在院門內側、會幕入口之前。人們帶著罪與不潔來到這裡，若不獻祭便無法繼續前進。藉著血，他們的罪得以遮蓋（利未記 17:11）。希伯來文「祭壇」一詞意為「宰殺之地」，而銅在傳統上被視為審判的象徵；因此，這座祭壇既彰顯了神對罪的審判，也展示了祂所預備的救贖之路。
- 在基督裡得以成全：耶穌最終獻上自己，作為贖罪的完全祭物（希伯來書 10:10-14）。
- 生活應用：信仰與敬拜不能跳過「代贖與十字架」。今天的信徒也是基於同樣的根基親近神－即主耶穌在各各祂所成就的永遠救贖。
- 院子：聖潔的界限，唯一的入口。
- 聖潔與公義：那道細麻布圍成的牆將聖潔之地與世俗曠野隔絕開來。神渴望人親近祂，卻絕不向罪妥協；這道圍牆阻擋了任何人隨意窺探或擅自闖入。
- 一扇門：院子只有唯一的入口。人必須按照神所規定的方式和次序進入，而不能隨從己意行事（約翰福音 10:9；14:6）。
- 生活應用：神呼召祂的子民過著與世俗分別的生活，好讓他們能宣揚祂的美德（彼得前書 2:9）。
- 燈：靈之光，由整個社會維持。
- 油：橄欖必須經過壓榨，才能流出純淨的油。這預表了基督－祂為我們的罪受壓傷（以賽亞書 53:5），而生命之光正是源自於祂的受苦。在傳統上，油象徵聖靈的作為。
- 燈：在黑暗的曠野與黑暗的世界中，神的子民時時刻刻需要聖靈與真理之光。祭司們「從晚上到早晨」看守這燈；就屬靈應用而言，這光乃是藉著每日的順服與屬靈的警醒而得以長燃，使信徒能為主作美好的見證。
- 共同的責任：照管燈盞是祭司的職分，但供應燈油則是全以色列人的責任（27:20）。真正的敬拜需要整個團體的參與、奉獻與委身。
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