We Have An Altar

A Dictionary of Bible Symbols (Owen, Grist & Dowling, Grace Publications, Lodon 1992) (which looks worth a look, especially by those who are not totally committed to under-interpretive minimalism) suggests that the different types of altar in the Bible may be seen as types of aspects of the death of Christ:

The Altar of earth - the humble humanity of Christ (Ex 20:24)

The Altar of stone - unhewn stone for the soveriegn and unique work of God in human salvation with no mixture of human works (Ex 20:25)

The Altar of bronze - the unyielding demands of the justice and judgement of God and the death of Christ as our whole burnt offering (Ex 27:1-2)

The Altar of gold - the precious death of Christ (Ex 30:1-10) - incense for the pleasing-to-God sweet smelling fragrance of life of the death of Christ.

The dictionary also points to the Venerable Bede's On Tropes and Figures found in Holy Scripture, as the first English example of such a book, which sounds interesting.