The Brazen Altar

We are moving out of the tabernacle proper and into the courtyard as we take a look at the items on the outside. So thus far we have gone through the tabernacle itself, the construction of the tabernacle, the way it was built, the different things that the items or the construction represented.

And then we have looked at all of the items that rest within the holy place and the holy of holies with the exception of one. And it's interesting that God has chosen in His sovereignty that He not reveal this final object until the 30th chapter after the priests are clothed and set apart.

And part of that we'll talk about as we get to it, but it has a lot to do with the fact of what this particular item is and how it is used. And so we'll look at that once the priestly clothing have been issued and once Aaron and his sons have been properly set apart or we have received the instructions for properly setting Aaron and his sons apart.

As we will see a little later in our study, especially beginning next week as we look at the courtyard proper of the tabernacle, we will see that basically the courtyard is a fenced in or an enclosed area surrounding the tabernacle proper that contains within it the fencing or the walls of the courtyard, the altar, and then one other item, which is the lava or the labor or the wash basin that the priest would use in preparation to enter into the holy place and the holy of holies.

Now the area of the tabernacle compound, this particular area, is accessible to the entire population of Israel. And so one of the things that you need to remember that as previously we have been talking about the tabernacle, we have said over and over and over that the holy place, and especially the holy of holies, was accessible only by the priesthood.

The courtyard of the tabernacle would have been accessible by the people of Israel. And so later when we switch from the tabernacle to the temple, and especially as you get into the time of Christ, we see much of the teaching that is taking place in the temple when they talk about going to the temple, going to the synagogue, the teaching that is occurring is occurring in the area that was the courtyard.

And so it doesn't happen, it's not quite like our setup where they would come into a building like this and they'd sit in pews and watch somebody stand on a podium and speak. What they would do is they would sit around in little groups around the courtyard and get the teaching.

And so that's the teaching that you would see in Jesus' day and it all took place in the courtyard. But as an Israelite, if you were to enter into the compound of the tabernacle, into the courtyard, the first object, and later when we get to a little bit more specifics around the layout you will see this, but the first object that you would come into contact with is the brazen altar and that object is our topic for discussion this morning.

The Weight of Sin, the Veil, and the Need for Sacrifice

But I would be remiss if I did not say as we prepare to enter this conversation that it will be a heavy conversation. It will be a conversation that much of modern Christendom would like to forget and ignore and pretend as if it does not exist.

There are truths that are contained within the altar that will and do offend many who call themselves believers, some of who may be sitting here this morning. The truth is that this is a conversation that should strengthen the heart and fortitude the faith of those who believe.

But for those who do not believe, the result of our conversation this morning will be one of two things. Either A, the Holy Spirit will use this conversation to quicken their hearts, or B, the Holy Spirit will use this conversation to harden them.

This morning we will dip into one of the most hated topics in all of Christianity. My prayer during preparation and certainly as this message is being delivered is that those who have an ear, let them hear the word of the living God.

Last week we discussed as our final portion of the tabernacle itself, the last two curtains that exist that close off the tabernacle. The first being the screen that is the doorway into the Holy of Holies, into the interior of the tabernacle and how it closes off the tabernacle from all those who would enter except those of the priesthood who have been set apart to do so.

And then finally we talked about the veil. And we talked about how this veil that separates the holy place from the Holy of Holies was there to prevent entry into the presence of God. That it was to keep sinful man from entering into this presence and that this particular entry apart from the proper preparation, apart from the proper time, apart from the way in which God had set it apart would result in the death of an individual.

We talked about how Christ's sacrifice on Calvary's cross tore the veil and made access possible into the very presence of God for those who would believe. But as we talked about this, we also talked about the reason that man could not enter into the presence of God.

And what two better songs to open us up this morning than the two that we sang in relation to conversations about what we're going to have this morning. And the reality that sinful man cannot enter into the presence of a holy God because if sinful man came into the immediate presence of a holy God because of His absolute holiness, because of His absolute righteousness, God would be left with no alternative but to pass judgment and rain down His wrath on that person leading to death and subsequently eternity in hell.

This is the fate of all humanity apart from the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. As I said, our conversation this morning will be a weighty one. And so to begin, we will turn to our text in Exodus chapter 27 and we will look at the first eight verses which describe for us the construction of the altar.

Exodus chapter 27 beginning in the first verse, the Word of God says thus, And you shall make the altar of acacia wood five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square and its height shall be three cubits.

You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horn shall be of the same piece and you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make its pots for removing its ashes and its shovels and its bowls and its flesh hooks and its fire pans.

You shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall make for it a grading, a network of bronze. And on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. You shall put it beneath under the ledge of the altar so that the net would reach halfway down the altar.

You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood and overlay them with bronze. Its poles shall be inserted into rings so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.

You shall make hollow with planks as it is shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it. Father, grant us through your spirit to help us rightly worship or to put the world away, to forget the things of the world, to enter into your presence, presence that is filled with life that you give, and that by entering in we be refreshed, we be comforted, and we be encouraged.

Lord, we pray as we deal with a weighty task, Father, that you would grant us knowledge.

Of your goodness.

Lord, that through your word you would reveal our mediator Christ, that you would remind us that we gather to worship, that because of the sacrifice on Calvary's cross that the veil has been torn, that we can enter into the very presence of you.

Lord, may our hearts be guarded and protected against worldly thoughts or cares. Our minds be filled with peace beyond comprehension. Our meditations on your word be sweet, our acts of worship filled with life and with.

Joy.

Lord, we pray that we would draw sustenance from your precious word, that our hearts be drawn closer to our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, we ask all things in this name.

Amen.

As we read through the directions that are given to us regarding the construction of the altar, one of the first things that we would very quickly notice, especially if you are someone who builds anything, is that we lack sufficient instruction to truly replicate this piece, to recreate this detail.

And again, we should be reminded that our call is not to go out and recreate the nation of Israel. We are not the nation of Israel. We are not living in the time before the final sacrifice. These things are types and shadows that show us the things that are to come.

But it is also to remind us that as we look at this, Moses was given specific instructions for building each one of these things. As you may recall, verse 8 should have sounded very familiar when at the end of it it says that you would build it as it was shown to you in the mountain.

Once again, God has placed this call and reminder of the seriousness of being obedient to Him specifically in the ways in which He has commanded. I want to take a moment here and just mention, because this will bear out a little bit later and I think it will help tie a couple of things together.

Much of the Christian world would argue that obedience to God, obedience in the manner in which I just described, would be called legalism. The problem is that we are not being obedient for the purpose of salvation.

We are being obedient as a result of salvation. It is only legalism when you are obeying in an effort to obtain something which you cannot obtain apart from faith in Christ alone. And so just by virtue of talking about obedience does not mean we are entering into the realms of legalism.

What we are doing is being faithful to the proclamation of the Word of God and the commands of God. Jesus Himself says to us, if you love Me, you will keep My commands. Not if you love Me, you will go off on your own and figure out your own way of doing things and everything and anything goes, but if you love Me, you will obey My commands.

Those commands include everything from Genesis 1 to the end of Revelation. And so it behooves us to study the Word and understand how it impacts our life today. Second thing you will notice as you read the altar, the instructions surrounding the altar, is that it seems again as if this is a passage of Scripture that we can just put down, walk away from without pulling anything into our lives.

It simply seems to be a practical set of instructions for building an instrument used in the worship of God. And that's exactly what it was for the people of Israel. It was a set of practical instructions for building an instrument to be used in the worship of Almighty God.

In fact, the central element to be used in the worship of Almighty God because it is the very foundation of the sacrificial system. But we need to look at and understand what the tabernacle says to us today.

Because it again is part of Scripture and all of Scripture is profitable. It is necessary, it is needed, so that we are prepared and fully equipped to do the works that have been given to us to do. Now you also may notice that as you compare the instructions given for this particular implement with the instructions that have been previously given to us, they are far less ornate, they are far less detailed, and they contain far less information than most of the other things that we have been shown.

Now this is not to say that they are less important. But we are moving outside of the dwelling place of God into the courtyard. And so as we are further removed from the most immediate presence of God, the less holy things become.

Not to say that the altar is not holy because after it is sanctified, Scripture records for us that it is most holy. This piece, sitting in the courtyard, that commentators have disagreed over the years regarding the exact composition of the metal that is used to surround the wood.

Some translations you may see this metal being described as bronze, others brass, others copper. The disagreement goes back and forth regarding exactly when certain things were invented and founded and they realized that they could mix these two metals together.

Most modern translations have begun to agree that bronze is the right translation that we have here regarding the metal that surrounds the wood. You'll notice the only other place that we have seen bronze or brass mentioned thus far is separated from the presence of God by multiple layers as it is found only in the hooks and lashings or claspings of the tent of the tabernacle.

The altar itself was square. It was about seven and a half feet by seven and a half feet. It stood about four and a half feet tall. It was a large piece of equipment or implement. The outer edges were constructed of or the top edge was constructed of one singular piece.

The horns off of the top were also of that same piece, meaning that the top at least was a solid piece of wood that had been carved into whatever exactly it looked like as it formed the ledge and the horns of the altar.

Now as we have this conversation, we will notice that again it is acacia wood that is being encased in bronze, wood that speaks to us of the humanity of God. This object again, as I mentioned previously, was the first thing that an Israelite would encounter, that it is central to this entire sacrificial system and that it is the place where all of the sacrifices were made and consumed before God.

The next couple of details about this particular altar are interesting details and ones that we don't really fully understand. One of those being because there are so many different points of view is the grating that consists of the top and the grating would be no different than the grill grating that you have on a grill today.

That was the purpose of it was for whatever meat was being sacrificed to be laid on this top and it would have been a network as it describes in verse 4, a grating, a network of bronze so that heat could rise up through it and consume whatever was being sacrificed.

But then verse 5 goes on to talk about a net and there are some that say that the net and the grating are the same. There are some that say that the net and the grating are different and there's a lot of confusion that ranges from everything from the net being what would hold the actual wood and coals that would conduce the burning to being something entirely different such as a set of vents around the edge that allow air to flow through and up and so thereby creating a hotter fire.

We also note here that the utensils that the priest are to use in the performance of the sacrifices are again all made of bronze. It's interesting to note that bronze was and is one of the most durable metals that existed at that time.

It resisted oxidation. It made it perfect for exterior use. It resisted heat which would protect the wood that the altar was built of. But we also see bronze scattered all throughout Scripture and we see it used in many different places although predominantly when it is used one of the things that it is used in connection with is weaponry and armor.

Think to both Goliath and Saul's armor in Samuel. The final piece of the altar that is mentioned here again is the acacia wood poles. Again covered in bronze for durability built for the purpose of transporting the altar from campsite to campsite as the Israelites would move from place to place.

The mention in verse 8 of the hollow planks is another space in which commentators are thrown for a loop. Because of the lack of detail there is a lot of misunderstanding around exactly what this passage means.

Although the majority of the ones that seem to have their head on right agree that this is simply referring to the overall construction of the altar itself that points to the fact that there is nothing.

That it is made literally of the boards surrounding the outside, the top with the grading and possibly the netting, the horns and the poles which would make it light enough to be carried easily from place to place but still take and do the work that it was commanded for.

Now there is one other additional detail regarding this altar that we do not find in this passage. In fact God doesn't reveal it until Numbers chapter 4. But in Numbers chapter 4 what we see is the details given to the Levitical priest and the sons of Korath regarding the taking down and storing of the tabernacle and then the transportation of the tabernacle.

The Levitical priest were responsible for breaking everything down and covering everything in the way that it was and then once they had completed their task the sons of Korath would come in and they would be the ones who would transport things from place to place with the exception of the ark.

And in Numbers chapter 4 verses 13 and 14 they specifically refer to the altar. And this is what it says in Numbers chapter 4,. Then they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they minister in connection with it, the firepans, the flesh hooks and shovels and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles.

Again dealing with the laws of regarding the transportation of this. So this cover much like the covering of the ark, the table of the bread of presence, the lamp stand, the golden altar was only to be used while it was being transported from place to place.

Now what's interesting is that although the details we have regarding this pale in comparison to the remainder of the tabernacle as I stated earlier, the importance of this object should never be equated with the detail that we lack.

There's much to discuss and so that we are as faithful as possible, we're actually going to cover these things in a little bit of a reverse order. And so we will start with the covering. Again as I mentioned previously, a careful study of Numbers 4 will reveal that each of the items that is constructed for use inside the tabernacle and within the courtyard be covered by different coverings of cloth, all of which have been previously discussed regarding the tabernacle, the blue, the purple, and the crimson.

Now that the altar itself as we mentioned in verse 13 and 14 is to be covered with a cloth of purple. You may remember from our previous conversations that the color purple is the color of royalty, representing the royalty of the kingdom of Christ, His reign and rule.

In fact, as the thief hanging on the cross was able to see the purple or the royalty in Christ as he cried out in Luke's gospel, he recalls for us, he says, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.

Interestingly, the other thief was only able to see the visage like the porpoise skins that would cover. The marred, broken, not much to look upon. And you may recall that he joined in with the mockers that day, unable to see the full display of the beauty that was going on before him.

The mercy, the grace that was being poured out before his very eyes. It's interesting that this quick thought about the covering being placed over the altar for transportation also gives us clues as to what the altar itself is, a type and a shadow of what it represents.

But before we get to the altar proper, I want to take a few minutes and deal with an object mentioned in direct connection with the altar that oftentimes gets overlooked. When we read verse 2, it says, You shall make its horns on its four corners.

Its horns shall be made of the same piece, and you shall overlay it with bronze. Now the horns served a very practical purpose. In fact, if you go to Psalms, you will see that in Psalms 118 -27, David, or the psalmist, points to the use of these horns as securing the sacrifice to the great.

A very practical purpose. To keep the meat where it was supposed to be. However, there is a deeper connection with the horns than just a utilitarian use. You may recall earlier in our study, as we have walked through the book of Exodus, that in Exodus chapter 21, we encountered these laws regarding certain situations.

And the certain situation in mind here is the situation regarding the man-slayer or one who accidentally puts someone to death. Exodus 21, 12 -14 reads,. Thus, he who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.

But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor so as to kill him by deceit, you shall take him even from my altar, that he may die.

In Numbers 35 verse 6, it says,. And the cities which you shall give the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man-slayer to flee to, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.

So I want you to notice here, in these two passages, we have, one, a command or an opportunity given to someone who commits accidental homicide to flee to what is later known as the city of refuge. In Exodus, he simply refers to them as a place that he would appoint.

In Numbers, he talks about them being actual six cities of refuge. And at those places, notice in verse 14 of Numbers 12, he says,. If a man acts presumptuously, take him away from my altar. So at some point, there is a connection between the altar and the city of refuge.

Further study helps us to understand this particular point. The city of refuge or places of protections and the horns on the altar serve a very similar purpose. In Psalms 118 .27, the verse I mentioned a few minutes ago, the psalmist points to the utilitarian use of those horns, but in doing so, he also points us toward a picture of these horns as a place where someone could take themselves and make themselves a living sacrifice to God.

Psalms 118 .27 reads this,. Yahweh is God, and He has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. And if you remember when we talked a few weeks ago about the festivals that occurred, each festival with its own sacrifice, each one of those sacrifices atoning for the sins of the people.

So the idea of an individual placing themselves or grasping the horns of the altar carried with it the idea of them sacrificing themselves to God, placing them at the mercy of God. This is further backed up as we read in 1 Kings 1, verses 50 and 51.

It says,. And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Then it was told to Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with a sword.

So his whole idea was to get to the horns of the altar as a place of refuge, as a place of security, as a place of sanctuary, as a place of protection. A little bit later in 1 Kings 2, verse 28, we also read regarding Joab, and it says,.

Now the news came to Joab. For Joab had followed Adonijah, and although he had not followed Absalom, and Joab fled to the tent of Yahweh and took hold of the horns of the altar. Again, seeking the refuge and the protection of the Almighty God.

However, what we also learn from these accounts is that although someone may flee and grasp the horns, it does not always mean that they are absolutely safe. They can remain there until the decision is reached regarding the validity of their claim of accidental death.

They can stay there until a judgment is proclaimed, but if the judgment is found to be murder, the due punishment then becomes death, just as is the case for those who grab the horns of the altar for protection.

In fact, if you go up in 1 Kings, you learn very quickly that Joab himself ends up being put to death. One final thought on these horns before we move to the true subject of our conversation, the altar.

It was clearly possible by deceit of the heart and a desire for self-preservation to grab these horns and obtain the Lord's protection, yet still be found guilty. As we think about that, it should raise for us a concern of those who are with us, but not of us.

Scripture clearly demonstrates that there are those who follow, yet do not believe. They are playing the role of believers. They fiercely work, they fiercely serve, they fiercely speak, they fiercely act like disciples of the living God, but they are not.

As I studied this, I was reminded of our conversation from this past Wednesday night. And if you'll recall, Brother Daniel brought up the closing words of John chapter 6. And if you didn't take an opportunity then to read it or to remind yourself what those words were, let me share them with you this morning, beginning in John chapter 6, the 59th verse, reading through the 66th.

Jesus had been speaking, and the words recall this. These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples when they heard this said,. This is a difficult statement.

Who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray Him.

And He was saying, For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted Him from the Father. And the final heartbreaking verse of this passage is as a result of this.

Many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore. Many of His disciples, many who had been introduced to the gospel, many who had walked alongside Christ yet never had been truly drawn by the Spirit, continued to act according to their sinful desires and fall away.

Some, like Joab, will grab the horns of the altar and claim that they believe but never truly do so and so will suffer the same fate as Joab did in the 30th and 31st verses of 1 Kings 2 where it says,.

So Benaniah came to the tent of Yahweh and said to Him, Him being Solomon,. Thus the king has said, Come out. Him being Joab. But he said, No, for I will die here. And Benaniah brought the king word again, saying,.

Thus spoke Joab. And thus he answered me. And the king said to him, Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father's house the blood which Joab shed without cause.

The uneasy truth of those who would come but not truly believe brings us to the topic of the altar proper. As we have noted in the construction, it is of the same wood which, as again, you should remember by now, represents the human nature of Christ.

And that this wood, representing the human nature of Christ, is covered or plated in bronze. Now as I mentioned a few minutes ago, bronze is used in many different ways in Scripture. For example, in relation to things of evil, such as the armor of Saul and Goliath, the chains of Samson and Judges, Zedekiah's change in 2 Kings.

But bronze is also used to speak of the judgment of God. Passages such as Numbers 21 verse 9, it says,. And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard. And it happened that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

This was not about worshiping a bronze idol. This was about being reminded of the curse and that there was only one place where satisfaction could be found, and that was obedience to the living God. Later in Deuteronomy chapter 28 verses 23, the Word of God says,.

And the heaven which is over you shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. Talk about being trapped between a rock and a hard place. Two crushing objects weighing down the glory of God, becoming the weight.

And in Isaiah where we see judgment giving way to that glory. Isaiah 60 verse 17, instead of bronze, instead of judgment, I will bring gold. I will enter in glory instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron, and I will make peace, your overseers, and righteousness, your taskmasters.

Finally in the book of Revelations in the first chapter in the 15th verse, as John describes the vision that stands before him of Christ preparing to walk through his churches and pass judgment upon these people, describes him like this.

His feet were like burnished bronze when it had been made to glow in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. But we also see in Scripture bronze being used to represent endurance. In Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 25, it says,.

Your locks will be iron and bronze, and according to your days so your fortitude will be. Meaning that you will endure, you will withstand. Jeremiah 1 .18, much clearer,. Now behold, I have given you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests, and to the people of the land.

So as we look at this material that God has chosen to construct, the altar of sacrifice, we should be drawn to the fact that as we again bring wood and metal together, it represents to us the dual nature of Christ.

The reality that he was truly man, represented in the wood, and yet truly God, as only represented by the power of God, as only Christ could have endured the wrath and judgment of God to secure the salvation of his people.

In chapter 53 of Isaiah, a chapter that is entitled, The Suffering Servant, a short chapter in the many of Isaiah, but a chapter that is full of truth. Chapter 53 of Isaiah says,. Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of parched ground. He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, no appearance that we should desire Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore and our sorrows He carried.

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgression. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our peace fell upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before His shearer.

So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He has taken away. And for His generation who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, that for the transgression of My people striking was due to Him.

So His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was a rich man in His death because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. Now this is a description of our Lord and Savior and I haven't finished reading Isaiah 53, but I want to call attention to what God has repeated to you over and over and over already thus far in Isaiah where He has talked to us about how this man is perfect, this man is pure, this man is righteous, this man has no cause for any of these things.

But yet it goes on to say,. But Yahweh was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief. If you would place His soul as a guilt offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied. By His knowledge the righteous one, My servant, will justify the many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide with Him a portion for the many, and He will divide the spoiled with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors. The most hated truth, one of the weightiest subjects in all of Scripture, centers around the reality that God has wrath. The people would rather shy away and no longer consider this a proper topic of conversation for His church, but that it is most necessary to understand if we are going to grasp the significance of Christ and His work on Calvary's cross.

If you have never, I would invite you to look up and read Jonathan Edwards' sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Now there are many in churches today who would absolutely call this sermon ridiculous.

They would say that he was being judgmental, overbearing, mad, untruthful, and a lot of other things. But Jonathan Edwards in this message does nothing but pour out the pure, unadulterated truth of what Scripture teaches regarding the nature of humanity.

This is what he has to say. This is a small snippet of his words regarding sinful humanity. The description of all of humanity. The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a loathsome spider over the fire, abhors you.

I haven't finished yet, but I want to make sure we're all on the same page. What Jonathan Edwards just said and what Scripture affirms is not the message that is unfortunately preached from the majority of pulpits today, and that is that God loves everyone equally, no matter what.

What he says is, is that a sinner, that the very God who holds you over the pit of hell, hates you. Now we have a nice, comforting saying here in the good old South border belt. Well, you know God hates to sin, but He loves the sinner.