“The minister says we are to call it the communion table, not the altar.”
A church member at an outdoor gathering did not explain why it was a communion table, not an altar. I had asked if the community ever worshipped outside and suggested a place under a gazebo for an altar, believing the altar was central to worship. It appears I was mistaken. What is an altar in Christianity? Does the Old Testament meaning of an altar still resonate in worship? Is it still part of congregational or individual worship to God?
What Is an Altar’s Function?
A church altar is used for kneeled prayers, communion, weddings, and other sacred rituals. Historically, the altar is a structure where people make offerings to a god (such as an animal, or even a person, in some cultures). The Hebrew word for altar is mizbeah, which means “to slaughter.” In Greek, the word for altar is thusiasterion, which means “a place of sacrifice.”
The dramatic story of God’s commanding Abraham to sacrifice his only child Isaac illustrates the literal meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words for “altar.” Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their later years. He was a miracle child, the first step in God’s fulfilling His covenant with Abraham to multiply His chosen people. When Isaac was young, Abraham followed God’s orders and laid his precious son on an altar in the mountains of Moriah. Before Abraham lit the fire for this human sacrifice, an angel of the Lord stopped him. The angel said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Genesis 22:12). With great relief, Abraham looked up and saw a ram with its horns caught in the branches of a bush. Abraham sacrificed the ram to God instead.
Abraham built an altar to God at each place he and his family lived (being nomads, they moved around to different pastures). Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob carried on this spiritual tradition. The altar continued to be a special place for an encounter with God, to give thanks, and maintain a strong relationship with the God of Israel.
Noah was another early altar builder. He built an altar to thank God for his family’s and creatures’ safe landing on dry ground. Noah burned incense, and God found the aroma pleasing. God then made the covenant of the rainbow with Noah—a promise that God would never again destroy life on Earth with a flood (Genesis 8:20-22).
Later in Old Testament history, God asked Moses to make an altar of incense so the Hebrew people would remember their God at regular intervals. The priests offered an incense offering twice a day, at daybreak and twilight, and once a year for atonement (Exodus 30:1-10). The altar in the tabernacle tent spiritually united the Hebrew people wandering in the desert for 40 years (and for centuries afterward). In 960 B.C., the altar of incense was moved from the tent tabernacle of Moses into the newly built temple in Jerusalem.
What Is an Altar’s Design?
King Solomon had the first temple, the center of the Jewish people’s spiritual life, built at Mount Moriah, where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac (2 Chronicles 3:1).
The temple’s inner sanctuary contained an oracle—a place where God’s words are received—housing the altar of incense. God announced his plan for a temple to David. However, because David shed too much bloodshed, and God wanted the temple built by a man of peace, David’s son Solomon (2 Chronicles 22:6-10).
The temple built under Solomon’s rule as king was twice the size of the tent holding the tabernacle of the Israelites. The temple was about 90 feet across and 30 feet wide.
A chain curtain made of gold or bronze separated the temple’s main hall from the place called the Holy of Holies (I Kings 6:14-35). The incense altar stood upright in this space, measuring about one by one by two cubits. Archaeological data indicates that all four corners of the upper surface were slightly peaked, believed to be horns protecting the altar.
The magnificent temple building surrounding the altar was made of expensive materials gathered by King David (2 Chronicles 22:14) after God requested he build a temple. All its architectural features were olive and cedar wood overlain with gold. Bronze pillars made by a master craftsman adorned its porticos (porches). Carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers adorned the outer and inner rooms.
What Did God Command about His Altar?
After priests brought the altar of incense into the temple (and with it, the ark of the covenant containing the 10 Commandments), Solomon dedicated the temple to God (1 Kings 8:3-9). Solomon dedicated the temple in 960 B.C., 14000 years after the Hebrews left Egypt. The temple was “God’s royal palace and Israel’s national center of worship,” according to a footnote in the New International Version of the Bible. God blessed the temple with Solomon’s words at the dedication ceremony:
“I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” (1 Kings 9:3)
Yet wise Solomon prayed to God at the dedication of the temple:
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27)
The altars in the temple—there was a second altar in the temple courtyard—did not last as long as God promised the Hebrew people. Due to the Israelites’ sin, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Solomon’s temple around 586 or 587 B.C. (2 Kings 25), and the Israelites were taken captive in Babylon for the next 70 years. When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, rebuilding the temple became their top priority (Ezra 1:1-4).
How Does Jesus’ Death Connect to Altars?
Altars were important to God and man’s relationship in Old Testament history. A sacrifice at an altar was an attempt to seek God’s grace. During the New Testament period, God sacrificed his only son Jesus on the cross, and Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God. The love of God, letting his son be a sacrifice made for all people, was enacted in Christ’s death and resurrection. This supreme sacrifice was made for our salvation. Jesus expresses this idea to the Pharisees when he says in Matthew 23:19, “You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?”
The curtain in the temple in Jerusalem, separating the Holy of Holies from the temple’s outer areas, tore in two as Christ’s human life ended. The separation of cloth was significant: it represented the fact that there was no longer any separation between God’s grace and human life. Therefore, sacrifices made by people at an altar to appease God were no longer necessary after Jesus’ great sacrifice for all of us.
Why Don’t We Use Altars Anymore?
The spiritual director who advised that the table in the church’s front area is the “communion table” had the right idea. There is no longer a need to make animal or incense sacrifices to God on an altar. Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Jesus’ death and resurrection have removed our sins.
Long before Jesus, the prophet David writes what God wants in a true sacrifice: “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalms 51:17). Hosea 6:6 affirms this point: “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
In a sense though, any special place where people encounter God becomes an altar. Whether the altar is an ornate piece of furniture or a pile of rocks, our spirit may go on high alert when we feel God is close.
My personal altar is a beach near my house. A small cottonwood tree on a sand dune has branches hung with wind chimes and ceramic pots at its base. Other worshippers have decorated this altar. Another altar I used in the past as a praying place was a small pine tree supported by wooden planks. I found this altar on my walks in a nature reserve near my house. My dogs learned the command “pray” and would run to the tree when we were nearby. I have heard God’s voice at these makeshift altars.
I don’t sacrifice anything but my heart, mind, and soul at these altars. Jesus has already made the supreme sacrifice. I am at the altar to thank God for His sacrifice and continue my journey with His blessing.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/DmitriMaruta
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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