“And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones” (Deuteronomy 27:5-6 ESV).
Moses instructed Israel to build an altar of natural, “uncut stones” after they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. They were to offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD. But why did God insist that the altar be built with uncut stones?
The most obvious reason for leaving the stones uncut was because God commanded it. Moses and the Israelites had spent forty years in the wilderness learning to simply trust and obey the Lord. If God said it, they obeyed it.
Perhaps another reason the stones were to be left natural was to prevent the altar from becoming an idol. The pagan peoples of that land made intricately carved, manmade altars in the high places and the Lord did not want His people to worship the altar. He wanted them to worship Him.
Yet, surely the most meaningful reason is an allegorical one. The stones were to be left natural and uncut because God’s salvation is the work of God alone without any human effort. In this sense, the uncut stones point to Christ. For Jesus is the stone that “was cut out, but not by human hands” (Dan. 2:34). He is the “stone that the builders rejected [that] has become the cornerstone” (Matt. 21:42). As Isaiah prophesied and Peter preached, the Lord has said, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (Isa. 28:16, 1 Pet. 2:6). Christ is that Cornerstone laid by God himself.
Today, rest in the finished work of Christ and worship Him—not the altar, not your efforts, but Him alone. Live in humble obedience, offering your life not as a means to earn grace, but as a grateful response to it.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for Christ, the Cornerstone and foundation of our salvation. We have believed in Jesus and received your great salvation. What wonder and awe we feel as we contemplate the work of salvation you began even before the foundation of the world. There is nothing we can add or subtract to the work of salvation you have provided for us in Christ Jesus. We offer our bodies as living sacrifices in response to your great love and grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.