hargers of silver, twelve silver
bowls, twelve spoons of gold. Each charger of silver weighing a hundred
and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed
two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the
Sanctuary. The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing
twelve shekels apiece, after the shekel of the Sanctuary; all the gold
of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels.

"All the oxen for the burnt-offering were twelve bullocks, the rams
twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat-offering;
and the kids of the goats for sin-offering twelve. And all the oxen for
the sacrifice of the peace-offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the
rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty.

"This"--_all this_--"was the dedication of the altar, after that it was
anointed."

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ALTAR.

In this glad summing up of the great aggregate value of the offerings,
we not only get a further view of the Divine complacency in the
love-gifts of His people, and in the persons of the offerers, but the
object of the offerings is also brought into special prominence. As the
list of each prince's offerings was preceded and followed by reference
to the _person_ of the offerer, so the list of totals is preceded and
followed by the thought, This was the dedication of the altar in the day
when it was anointed.

The importance of the brazen altar can scarcely be exaggerated. The
Tabernacle contained many precious things, each typifying most important
truths concerning our LORD and His ministry; the ark on which rested the
Shekinah, which enshrined the tables of the law, and was covered by the
mercy-seat, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick of gold, and the
golden altar were all most precious; but, apart from the brazen altar,
_there was no access to them for guilty man_; without shedding of
blood there is no remission of sin. Hence the recognition by the princes
of the importance of the altar; and hence the Divine emphasis placed
upon those gifts--an emphasis wholly without parallel in the sacred
Records. To the godly Israelite the brazen altar typified that which was
fulfilled at the Cross, and well may we exclaim: "GOD forbid that I
should glory, save in the Cross of our LORD JESUS CHRIST" (Gal. vi. 14).

* * * * *

Looking back over the two chapters on which we have been dwelling we see
in them a marvel