The Altar

An Altar To "Tears"
In ancient Athens, at the gateway to the famous Parthenon, there stood an altar dedicated to "Tears." No sacrifices were offered there and no offerings were made. It was simply a place where the penitent and grief-stricken could bow to weep out their sorrows.
Although this may have given some psychological relief, it did not touch their basic need. Grief in itself is of little value if it is only the venting of penned-up emotions. Grief must have spiritual overtones and effect permanent changes in the life and personality if it is to please the Lord. Worldly men usually regret the results of their evil deeds because it adversely affects their own futures or social standing.

The "Horns" On The Altar
The old Israelite tabernacle consisted of a covered sanctuary enclosed in a large oblong court. The one and only ingress to the latter was at its eastern end; and the first object inside it was the Altar of Sacrifice.
That altar was made of stout wood overlaid with brass. It was exactly square, each of its four sides measuring five cubits, that is, approximately seven feet six inches.
According to divinely ordained pattern, at each of the four corners there was an ornamental projection called a horn. Ornamental to some degree those four horns of the altar certainly were, but they had a more than merely ornamental purpose. They were "horns of refuge."
When an Israelite was in danger from one who sought his life, he could flee to the tabernacle and lay hold on the horns of the altar, knowing that as long as he stayed there, his pursuer dare not touch him (see 1 Kings 1:50)."And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (vv. 1, 2). There are three parts to this command: whom to sacrifice, when to sacrifice, and where to sacrifice.
The extreme clarity of God's command about whom to sacrifice instructs us that when God tells us to do some unusual deed, He will make it very clear to us what that deed is. God never asks us to take extremely unusual action without giving us much assurance as to what the action is. This truth not only encourages us, but it also warns us that before we make any unusual decision or take any drastic action, we need to be certain that we have clear and strong commands from God for it. Some have run clear off the reservation with hardly a hint that God has so ordered them to take such extreme action. Then when failure results (and it will when we lack God's orders), they blame God. They are all wrong, of course; for if we act as God says, though extreme the action may be, there will be no failure.
From verse 2 and several later verses in Genesis 22, we note here three important descriptions of Isaac, the one to be sacrificed. These three descriptions of Isaac are the lone son, the loved son, and the law-abiding son. These descriptions will help us to better see the nature of the sacrifice Abraham had to make and will show us how wonderfully Isaac foreshadows Christ.