What other scriptures highlight the importance of unaltered materials in worship? Root principle: Deuteronomy 27:6 “You are to build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the LORD your God.” • God Himself chooses the material—natural, untouched, and therefore uncontaminated. • The altar must not bear the impress of human skill, keeping worship focused on Him alone. Stone altars left untouched • Exodus 20:25 — “If you make Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with cut stones; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.” • Joshua 8:31 — “He built an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool had been used, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites.” • 1 Kings 6:7 — During temple construction “no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.” The stones were shaped off-site so the holy area remained free from the clang of human tools. Sacrifices without human alteration • Leviticus 22:20 — “You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.” • Numbers 19:2 — A red heifer “without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.” • Exodus 12:5 — The Passover lamb must be “an unblemished male.” • All offerings mirror the altar itself: unmodified, whole, and set apart. Pure ingredients in worship • Exodus 27:20 — “Bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.” • Exodus 30:34-35 — Incense made from selected spices, “salted, pure and holy.” • Leviticus 2:11 — “No grain offering… shall be made with leaven.” Even a pinch of yeast would alter what belonged wholly to God. Guarding against man-made images • Deuteronomy 4:16 — Israel warned not to “act corruptly and make for yourselves an idol.” • Acts 17:29 — “We should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.” Worship insists on God’s own design, never human invention. From symbol to Savior • 1 Peter 1:18-19 — Redemption comes “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” • Hebrews 9:14 — Christ offered Himself “unblemished to God,” fulfilling every earlier picture of unaltered purity. Living the pattern today • Keep worship centered on God’s revealed Word, resisting the urge to improve on what He has spoken. • Offer Him lives that are pure, sincere, and undiluted by worldly compromise. • Trust the perfect, untouched sacrifice of Jesus, the once-for-all fulfillment of every altar, offering, and pure ingredient. |
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