Surely, a man who denied this in his practices can never serve as a living Building Stone in Masonry's Temple! In its proper sense also the Altar serves as a sanctuary, a place of refuge, and this too has much to tell us, though I am aware of the dangers of moralising.
In the earlier centuries of our era, before the complete development of common law, the hunted criminal, fleeing from his pursuers, would escape to a church and there lay hold of the horns of the Altar; in that he found safety, and an opportunity to prove his innocence, if innocent he was. Out of this arose the beautiful customs of "sanctuary," the chivalrous unselfish harbouring of the weak, the sorrowful, and the afflicted.
Is there not a sanctuary in Masonry? Certainly there is, for in the Fraternity itself, in the privacy of its inner fellowships, a brother will often find rest for his heart and relief from the bruisings of the world; and a man is no true Mason in whose nature there is not at least one inner chamber in which the weary may find rest and the weak may have protection. Abraham Genesis , , Unknown construction, but most probably of stone. The altar which Moses and the Children of Israel moved with them as they wandered through the wilderness after leaving Egypt was made of shittim acacia wood, overlaid with brass.
Except for a mesh grate which was placed inside half way down, on which the wood sat for the burning of the sacrifices, it was hollow. The area under the grate was filled with earth. There were rings set on the two opposite sides of it, through which poles could be placed for carrying it. These poles were also made of shittim wood, acacia , covered with brass. Its construction is described in Exodus Later, after Solomon's Temple was built, there were actually two altars The first and largest of these was the Altar of Burnt Offerings , where all the portions of the sacrifices were burned.
The second fire provided the coals for the Altar of Incense within the sanctuary. The third fire was the Perpetual Fire, which constantly burned on the altar. God talked to them and told them the specifications of the altar including the size, the materials to be used and other specifications. They were men that gave themselves up to the pursuit of becoming closer to God and communing with him.
This is the same thing that Freemasons are in pursuit of. They are in search of the things that please God and make him happy. We live right by God to please him and receive his blessings. Of course, Freemason ritual is not the same as Christian traditions and worship conventions, but both seek to worship God and do His will. Isaac Genesis Material used: Stone. Noah Genesis Material used: Unknown.
Moses Exodus Material used: Shittim. Moses Exodus Material used: Earth. Moses Exodus Material used: Unhewn stone. Moses Exodus Material used: Brass. We repeated what the Master told us to repeat. We adjusted our arms, hands, knees, and legs according to the commands of the Sr. The Sr. Warden and Deacons attended to us, impressing the penalty physically as we repeated vocally what we heard.
We were blinded during the obligation with our other senses heightened. Personally I remember the cold metal and smell of an old book VSL in front of me. We concentrated on the words and phrases from the WM as best we could, enunciating them and finding value in them at times.
We tried and failed to grasp everything we were saying while we were saying it, remembering less after the event that same night. After each of us had finished our obligation, a request for illumination is met with an allegorical lesson binding us to our brothers, symbolism of the setting of the square and compass for that specific degree, and a mode of recognition of the degree.
The obligation in closed lodge initiates, passes, or raises us to the next level in our Masonic journey. Why the ritual? Why the darkness? Why the Altar? An Altar belongs in a church, but a lodge? Did the traveling guilds of medieval Europe carry an Altar with them from building site to building site? Did they borrow one from the Cathedral under construction? In this short presentation select altars and their uses in rituals religious and Masonic will be reviewed.
I have focused on cultures and ritual that hold familiarity to modern Masonic traditions regarding the altar and teachings. Although the altar has been used in religious ritual worldwide, I have chosen to review altar practices in the Jewish Tabernacle and Temple, the Egyptian Sun Temple, and the Zoroastrian Fire Temple. In the Old Testament, altars were heaps of stones or elevated earth where a portion of your best harvest or livestock would be offered up as a sacrifice to the Lord.
The altars of Cain and Able showed differences between giving God your best vs. Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on an altar in Moriah Genesis Noah gave an offering of beasts and birds to God after being spared in the Biblical flood Genesis 8. The altar of the Hebrew tabernacle was constructed of acacia shittum wood, covered in gold, and was used to burn incense daily in the Holy Place of the tabernacle.
The altar had horns crafted into its corners.
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