Altar

The altar David builds at Ornan's threshing floor is the central act of repentance that ends the plague — and this specific site will eventually become the location of Solomon's Temple.

The altar of incense appears here as one of the specifically weighted items in God's plans — refined gold, exact measurements — underscoring that even the place of prayer was designed with divine intentionality.

The Altar Saul builds here is notably his first — a detail that quietly underscores how belated and reactive his worship has been throughout a day when God moved without him.

The altar is the site of the specific theft being described — the fat reserved as God's portion was being seized before it could be burned, representing a direct robbery of what belonged to God.

The altar's sacred bread — the bread of the Presence — is the object at the center of this moral tension, as Ahimelech hands over what belongs to God's worship to feed a lying fugitive.

The altar Samuel builds at Ramah is a personal one — distinct from his public role, it signals that his worship isn't just professional duty but a private, ongoing devotion.

The Altar is the focal point of Solomon's opening act of worship — the ancient bronze structure at Gibeon where he offers an extraordinary thousand burnt offerings before God.

Foreign altars are specifically what Asa targets and destroys, representing the physical infrastructure of syncretistic worship that had normalized idolatry across Judah's cities.

Altars are referenced here as the physical infrastructure of false worship that Asa has already been dismantling, establishing his reform credentials before the prophet arrives.

The Altar is the focal point of the chapter's climax — once neglected and unused, it is now overflowing with sacrifices as the people respond with more than anyone anticipated to the Temple's reopening.

The original bronze altar is physically shoved aside here — moved from the center of the Temple to a corner, reduced from the primary site of national worship to a king's personal consulting tool.

Altars appear here in the reflection on inherited patterns — the image of a father who built altars to every god except the true one, and a son who simply continued building at the same shrines.

Altars are among the primary targets of Josiah's reform — the physical infrastructure of false worship that had been built up over generations and now must be destroyed root and branch.

The altar David builds on Araunah's threshing floor is the act that stops the plague — a physical structure representing the restoration of right relationship between the king and God.

The altar appears here as the place where drink offerings were poured out completely — Paul uses this image to convey that his entire life has been an unreserved sacrifice to God.

This altar, inscribed 'To the Unknown God,' becomes Paul's opening argument at the Areopagus — a piece of Athenian religious hedging that he reframes as evidence of a genuine but unidentified longing for the one true God.

The altars at Bethel are targeted here as symbols of Israel's corrupted religion — God promises to demolish them specifically, showing that false worship and social injustice are being judged together.

The altar appears here as the location where God stations himself at the start of the vision — the very place of worship and sacrifice now becomes the launch point for the announcement of inescapable judgment.

The altar metaphor is invoked here to describe the contemptible king's lavish funding of military power — gold, silver, and precious stones poured into the worship of strength rather than God.

The altar is the designated endpoint for all sacred sacrifices — Moses specifies that blood belongs on the Lord's altar at the central sanctuary, anchoring the entire worship system in that one appointed place.

The altar is the sacred space whose integrity God is defending — no Asherah pole or sacred pillar may stand beside it, because proximity to the holy does not sanctify what God detests.

The altar is the final destination of the firstfruits basket — the physical focal point where the offering is presented, marking the transaction between the worshiper and God.

The altar here must be built from uncut, unworked stones — God explicitly rejecting human craftsmanship so the focus remains on Him rather than on the artistry of the offering.

The altar Moses builds here is named 'The Lord Is My Banner,' marking the site not as a monument to military strength but as a declaration of identity — Israel's victories belong to God, not to human arms.

The altar here is God's deliberately humble design specification — earth or uncut stone, no steps, no toolwork — making the point that the meeting between God and worshiper matters infinitely more than the craftsmanship of the structure.

The altar here is built by Moses at the foot of Sinai as the focal point of the ratification ceremony — one side of the blood-sealing ritual, representing God's participation in the covenant bond.

The Altar is introduced as the very first thing anyone approaching the Tabernacle would encounter — the chapter frames it as the unavoidable starting point of any approach to God.