Altars and two kinds of animal sacrifice (Exodus 20: 22-26)
An altar marks the earthly
meeting place between God and man. In the Patriarchal narratives there are
accounts of how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob set up altars in the places where
they received a theophany. The instructions given in this passage require
absolute simplicity in the setting up of an altar. It should be either a heap
of earth or a pile of uncut stones, without any steps leading to it. The
instructions about the material from which an altar is to be made imply that an
altar can be put in any place where God shows his presence, and as God is Lord
of all creation, he chooses where he will reveal himself to man. In itself no
place is any more holy than any other place. The revelation of God's presence
sanctifies the altar site.
In this passage two kinds of
animal sacrifice are commanded. The first
i is the burnt-offering which
was to be completely burnt on the altar, so offering the whole sacrificial
animal to God. The second was the fellowship-offering or peace-offering, in
which part of the animal was burnt on the altar and the rest eaten by those
offering the sacrifice. In this offering, the worshippers entered into
fellowship with God and with each other through the shared meal, accepting the
blessing of peace from God.