13 “These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span round its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar: 14 from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; 15 and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upwards, four horns. 16 The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. 17 The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim round it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all round. The steps of the altar shall face east.”
18 And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it, 19 you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, a bull from the herd for a sin offering. 20 And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all round. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. 22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. 24 You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. 26 Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it. 27 And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”
A useful illustration of the point made in the previous Note may be found in the incident belonging to the earlier days of King David's reign (2 Samuel 6) which tells of the return of the Ark to Jerusalem, from the house of Obed-edom, where it had remained for twenty years. The king, in restoring the nation to its proper destiny as a worshipping people, was intent on bringing back the Ark, the symbol of the divine Presence - a right and proper concern indeed. It was, however, the casual, and almost cavalier, way in which this was done that invoked the anger of God. God was not prepared to have fellowship with His people on these terms, resuming the relationship as if nothing had happened, as if there had been no estrangement. In such a context, easy familiarity with holy things amounts to not much less than blasphemy, and angers the holy law of God. In the same way, Ezekiel was saying to the captives, 'Remember, it is you who have been in the wrong, not God, and you cannot just come back to Him casually, as if nothing had happened. The whole situation must be purged and cleansed.' This underlines the reality of the holiness of God and it is a lesson that has constant and continuing relevance for the people of God in days when there has been spiritual barrenness, and then God is pleased to return to His people. It ill befits us to treat the Presence casually, and take it as a matter of course. We may not lightly assume that all we have to do is to beckon to the Lord, and He will come at the trot. Not so, says Ezekiel, not so, says God. Our God is a consuming fire.