ALTARS AND ASHERAH GROVES
Since altars were the first physical structures that God instructed his followers to build, we will begin by exposing their symbolic meaning. Here are several key scriptures that must be considered:

First, we look at these scriptures where people built an altar. Notice that usually, they were built for the right reasons, with the right materials, but that sometimes they were built out of the wrong materials for wrong reasons. This fact should be a caution for us to always build with the right materials for the right reasons.

Then we must recognize that God gave clear directions about how an altar should be constructed. The symbolism of these instructions is that we, in our natural, human state are altars and tabernacles for worship. That being the case, we have no need to go to a particular building or location to worship God.

We learn from the following scriptures that God is very serious regarding his expectations about how to build an altar and what kind of sacrifices to offer on them:

2-Chronicles 4:1-6:He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high. 2 Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 Under it were figures of gourds, for thirty cubits, compassing the sea round about; the gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 4 It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 5 Its thickness was a handbreadth; and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held over three thousand baths. 6 He also made ten lavers in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.

Deuteronomy 27:5 KJV: And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

Deuteronomy 27:6 KJV: Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God:

Joshua 8:31 KJV: As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.

We also know that the ten northern tribes strayed from God’s commands when they built many altars on high places surrounded by Asherah groves (called poles in the NIV, Ashe’rim in the RSV) where the goddess Ashtoreth was worshiped. We will discuss high places in the following page, but here we will look at scriptures about the altars where Ashtoreth was worshiped:

Exodus 34:13: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

1 Kings 16:33: And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.