Tabernacle Lectures (48) Horns of the Altar

Exodus 27:1-2 “And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same”

Horns are deeply featured in the Bible. If you look in the Old Testament, people who committed sin and became afraid grabbed onto the horns for forgiveness. We can see these stories come up sometimes. When David became old, Adonijah tried to become king. David established Solomon as king. Adonijah was afraid Solomon was going to kill him, so he grabbed the horns of the altar and asked for forgiveness. After Adonijah died, Joab was afraid and grabbed onto the horns of the altar, and also asked for forgiveness.

Why did Adonijah or Joab not grab the borders of the altar or the poles that were put in the side of the altar but the horns of the altar? If you look in Leviticus 4, it says to take the blood of the animal and put it on the horns of the altar of incense when the priest or the entire congregation of Israel sins, and take the blood of the animal and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering when the ruler or common person sins.

Jeremiah 17:1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars.”

When they gave a sin offering and put the blood of the animal on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, their sins were forgiven. Because sins were recorded on the horns of the altar. So that is what they grabbed onto the horns of the altar of burnt offering.