THE ALTAR OF INCENSE – Part 1 Coming into Gods presence requires holiness on the part of those who would do so (Isaiah 35:8-10; Ps.15:1 & Ps.24:3). On the Table of Shewbread holiness is represented by the PURE frankincense which was placed alongside the bread (Lev.24:7). The Hebrew word for frankincense is I voh nah, which means white in color, ie. pure. This incense was to be used exclusively while ministering before the Lord (Ex.30:37). And the word holy itself means exclusively dedicated to God. The same goes for all believers no matter what position they may hold in the church, or what job God has called them to fulfil in the secular world. All believers are to be exclusively dedicated to God. The use of incense now brings us to the 6th step in the tabernacle, which is also the final article of furniture in the Middle Court; namely, the Altar of Incense. This Altar, like the Table of Shewbread, was made of Acacia wood and also covered in pure gold. It was 1 cubit long, 1 cubit wide and 2 cubits high. Like the Brazen Altar it had 4 horns, one on each corner, but unlike the Brazen Altar, these horns were of gold instead of brass. The Incense Altar also had a rim of gold which surrounded it. The fire which was used to burn the incense was taken from the Brazen Altar in the Outer Court. All this information can be found by referring to Ex.30:1-10&34-38 and 37:25-29 (see drawing 4C). As we saw in the case of the Brazen Altar, the foursquare dimensions of this Altar also speak to us of the universality of the sacrifice which is offered at this station in the tabernacle. However, since the price for sin has already been paid in the outer court, the type and purpose of this sacrifice must be different than that which was offered out there. By examining the differences in the two altars I believe the purpose of the incense altar and its significance for us today will become more apparent. The Brazen Altar was covered in brass, which stood for judgment; whereas, the Altar of Incense was covered in pure gold. This would seem to indicate that the Incense Altar has nothing to do with judgment. There was no crown on the Brazen Altar but we see one on the Altar of Incense. This should point our eyes and ears in the direction of the exalted ministry which Jesus is performing today instead of the one He carried out on the earth almost 2,000 years ago. According to Ro.8:34 and Heb.7:25 the ministry which our Great High Priest Jesus continually performs for us today is that of interceding with the Father on our behalf. The parallel is unmistakable when we realize that Aaron, the High Priest under the order of Levi, and his sons after him, were to continually keep incense burning (Ex.30:7-8), and that incense itself was liken unto prayer (Ps.141:1 & Rev.5:8 & 8:3). Intercessory prayer is the sweet incense which is offered up continually before the Lord. While Jesus is our High Priest who continually intercedes for us, we, as His brothers (Heb.2:11) and seed (Gal.3:16&29 along with Isaiah 53:10) have been given the clear direction to continually pray (I Thes.5:16; Acts 1:14 & Col.4:2) in intercession (Phil.2:4; Job 42:10 & Ez.22:30). We are to do so not only for other believers (Col.4:12; Eph.1:17 & II Cor.13:7) and ministries (I Thes.5:25; II Cor.1:11; Col.4:3-4 & Eph.6:19), but for everyone in general (I Tim.2:1), and our enemies in particular (Matt.5:44). And, just in case you might be deceived into thinking that this is really not an important area for us to consider, I ask you to recall the horns of the Brazen Altar. In that part of this study we saw that the horns indicated the power of the blood of Jesus to fully pay the price for our sin Likewise, the horns on the Altar of Incense proclaim the power of prayer. We are told that prayer is effective (Ja.5:16), and that it has divine power to demolish the strongholds of the enemy (II Cor.10:4). While we are comparing the Brazen Altar with the Altar of Incense, one final point should be brought out. I Tim.2:5 and Heb.12:24 both show us that Jesus is the only mediator we have. In the Tabernacle this relationship is expressed by the fact that the fire on the Altar of Incense was taken from the brazen Altar. We are also reminded in Ex.30:10; Lev.16:18 and Lev.4:7 that on the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sin offering was also sprinkled on the horns of the Altar of Incense, thus signifying to us that like everything else in the tabernacle, prayer is dependent upon the sacrifice of Jesus before it can be effective. You see, only priests could offer incense. And prayer, other than the prayer of salvation, can be offered only by believers. Not only is prayer to originate only from believers (Ps.66:17; Isaiah 59:2 & John 9:31), but the Altar of Incense makes it clear that prayer is to be directed to no one other than God (Ex.30:37), and it is to Him only that we should pray. Before we take a look at the incense itself, I would like to address a second aspect of the Altar of Incense. If you will recall, this altar was 2 cubits high. It was the final station prior to entering into the physical presence of the Father in the Holy of Holies. Ps.100:4 tells us quite clearly that we enter into His presence with praise. Praise and prayer are to be uniquely joined together. Phil.4:6 tells us that ... in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Notice that said in everything. The incense was to be continually burning before the Lord, and all you have to do is to turn to Heb.13:15; Acts 2:46; Phil.4:4 & I Pe.2:9 to see that our praises are to be continually before him. Remember, the Holy of Holies represents the Glory of God. You can experience Gods mercy and grace without physically praising God, but you will never physically know His glory until you do. There was no praise or worship in the Outer Court. That does not mean that those who deny the Pentecostal experience are not saved, nor does it mean that they do not sing unto the Lord. Remember, the Outer Court is the place of spirit salvation which you enter by going through the gate of Jesus. Ps.100:4 says that you enter the gate with thanks giving, and that is what most of the singing is about in congregations which refuse to enter the Middle Court. Notice, I am not saying that that is wrong, but I am saying that such thanksgiving is not the type of praise and worship represented by the Altar of Incense. All too often in such services the singing is listless and the organ is louder than the congregation. by no stretch of the imagination can this be called spirit led praise and worship as described in I Cor.14:14-16; Rev.4:10 & Ps.95:6 (see chapters 2,16&17 of Needful Things). Let us now turn our attention back to the incense which was used on the Altar. In so doing I believe we will see that both the ingredients and method of preparing the incense will serve to better illustrate what I am saying. From Ex.30:34-36 (KJV) we know that the incense is composed of stacte, onycha, galbanum, frankincense and salt. Stacte appears to be the gum of a tree found on Mt. Gilead which flows freely from the trunk. Likewise, once Christ has truly taken charge of our life, we will allow prayer and praise to freely flow from us (II Cor.3:17 & John 7:38). Onycha was a ground shell fish taken from the depths of the Red Sea, and received its fragrance because of its diet. Likewise, we speak from the depths of our heart (Matt.12:34-35), and what comes out should be the Word (Matt.4:4), for it is the Spirit of Jesus, the Word, which is to be imbedded within us (Gal.4:6). Galbanum, a Hebrew word meaning fatty stood for the best part of the sacrifice. It came from breaking a shrub which grew in Syria. This points out two other aspects of our prayer and praise. Like the shrub, we need to be broken (Phil.2:7-9 & Heb.5:7). Ps.51:17 goes so far as to tell us that the sacrifices acceptable to God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Just as importantly though we are being shown that a willingness on our part is needed. Since this shrub grew on the Syrian highlands, the perfumer had to be willing to go up and get it. Likewise, we need to willingly and eagerly go for all that God has for us (Isaiah 57:15; 6:8; I Sam.3:10 & Zech.14:17). As we said before, the next ingredient frankincense, was pure, and speaks to us of the necessity of having a pure heart. What is important for us to consider here is that it was derived by piercing the resin bearing tree in which it was found and then allowing the fluid to flow during the night hours. This tells us that while public prayer and praise are necessary (Heb.10:25), we need to be entering into our own prayer closet (Matt.6:6) and develop a personal prayer life with God. Many times Jesus withdrew to private places in order to pray (Mk.6:46; Lk.5:16; Mk.1:35; Lk.22:39 & Lk.6:12), and as we have so often said before, Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. (I John 2:6). The final ingredient added to the incense was salt. It was both a preservative - as we are also supposed to be (Matt.5:13) -and a spice, which should also describe us (Col.4:6). We are not to be dull or listless in either our prayer life or time of praise. While there is a time for silence before the Lord, many believers act as though they have never heard the verse, rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice (Phil.4:4 KJV). As we have seen before, the number 5 is the number of grace, and it is through these 5 ingredients of praise and prayer that Gods grace will be made manifest in the Church. God inhabits His praise (Ps.114:2 & Ps.22:3), and there is no quicker way to bring Gods presence into a situation than to praise Him. It is Gods desire to answer our prayer (John 15:7&16; 16:23 & Mk.11:24) otherwise He would not have directed us to do it on all occasions (Eph.6:18). Lastly it should be noted that the separate ingredients were finely ground together (Ex.30:36) thereby assuring an even distribution, or balanced blend. So also should we be balanced in each of the areas we have thus far discussed.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 08:28:57 +0000
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