SERIES: “DISCOVER THE LESSONS OF THE TABERNACLE”
TEXT: EXODUS 30:1-10
TITLE: “THE ALTAR OF INCENSE AND PRAYER”
OPEN: A. I want to share a story sent to me by one of my best friends, J. Dyer
--I wish you could see the look on Anna’s face right now. She’s kind of worried. You never know
what story my buddy J. is going to send me.
Bubba goes to Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. He listens intently to the
lesson and toward the close of the meeting, the preacher asks for prayer requests. Bubba stands up
and says, “Preacher, I need you to pray for my hearing.” The preacher calls Bubba up to the front.
When Bubba gets there, the preacher has Bubba kneel on the floor. He puts his right finger in
Bubba’s left ear and his left hand on top of Bubba’s head. The preacher prays for a few minutes.
Then he puts his left finger in Bubba’s right ear and his right hand on top of Bubba’s head and
prays some more.
When the preacher finishes, he asks, “Bubba, how’s your hearing now?” Bubba replies, “I
don’t know preacher. It ain’t ‘til next Wednesday.”
B. Sometime back, we began our study of the tabernacle
--We’ve had a few interruptions. Two weeks ago, we didn’t have services here because of the
complications of the flood waters. Last week was Father’s Day and so, we had a Father’s Day
sermon. We’re back on track but I’d like to remind you of a few essential things:
1. Remember that the tabernacle was a large portable tent structure that served as the center of
worship for the Israelites as they traveled along their journey to the Promised Land
2. It was also the reminder of God’s presence among His people
--There’s a diagram of the tabernacle on an insert in your bulletin
3. The tabernacle was comprised of three areas:
a. The Outer Court
--It was the general meeting area for the tabernacle
1). All Jewish people who had business at the tabernacle were welcome
2). It held the Altar of Sacrifice and the Bronze Washbasin we studied several weeks ago
b. The Holy Place
--The Holy Place was the start of the tabernacle proper and was 30 ft. long x 15 ft. wide
a). This is the area where the priests performed a good number of their daily duties
b). It held the Menorah (Golden Lamp stand), The Table of Presence (Shewbread), and the
Altar of Incense
c. The Holy of Holies
--15 ft. square
a). This is the area where only the high priest could enter and do so only once a year to spread
the blood on the mercy seat of God on the Day of Atonement
b). Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant
--which we’ll look at next week (God willing)
C. Today we’re going to look at the altar of incense and its relationship to prayer
--Ex. 30:1-10 – “Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. It is to be square, a cubit long
and a cubit wide, and two cubits high —its horns of one piece with it. Overlay the top and all the
sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. Make two gold rings for
the altar below the molding—two on opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the
poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that is
before the ark of the Testimony—before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony—where
I will meet with you. Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends
the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn
regularly before the LORD for the generations to come. Do not offer on this altar any other
incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. Once a
year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the
blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”
1. The priest took a censer full of burning coals from the altar of sacrifice in one hand and some
specially prepared sweet incense in the other hand and ignited the incense by sprinkling it over
the burning coals on the altar of incense
--A thick cloud of smoke curled upward filling the tabernacle, symbolic of Israel’s prayers to
God
2. In the Bible, burning incense is often a picture of prayer
a. David prayed in Ps. 141:2a – “May my prayer be set before you like incense…”
b. The apostle John saw the elders in heaven and “…they were holding golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
--Rev. 5:8
c. Whenever the priests burned the incense, it served as a call to prayer for the people of God
--Lk. 1:8-10 – “Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest
before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the
temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came,
all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.”
3. Let’s see how we can improve our prayer life through the comparison of the altar of
incense with what the Bible teaches us concerning Christ and prayer.
I. THE PLAN OF THE ALTAR
--drawing of the altar of incense in your bulletin on back of diagram of the tabernacle
Altar of incense 36” high and 18” square
--much smaller than the altar of sacrifice
Made of acacia wood
Covered with gold
Four horns protruded from the four corners of the altar
There was a gold rim (or “crown”) that encircled the top with gold rings at each corner
--Acacia wood poles covered in gold were inserted through the rings to transport it
The altar of incense was placed directly in front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies
The closest the priests could come to God in daily worship was when they ministered at the altar of incense
The same principle holds true for us. The closest we can come to God is through prayer
--James 4:8a – “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Ex. 30:34-38 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and
pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of
Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. Do not make any incense with this formula
for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. 3 Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off
from his people.”
The incense was made from three specific sweet perfumes:
1. Stacte
--either a sweet gum that came from the storax tree (similar to a poplar) that grew in Israel or a few
drops of myrrh
2. Onycha (Heb. shell)
--comes from shell of a mollusk and when burned, gives off a perfumed fragrance
3. Galbanum
--gum resin that emits a milk sap with a balsamic odor and come from Syrian fennel
These three ingredients were combined with frankincense
--a white gum that comes from the salai tree in Arabia
In order to minister properly, the priests had to follow two instructions very closely:
1. Use the right fire
a. Could only be fire from the altar of sacrifice
b. Using any other fire meant death
--Nadab and Abihu in Lev. 10
2. Use the right ingredients
--Any Israelite who attempted to use this special ingredient for their own use was promised to be cut off
– a term usually referring to death
Another ingredient: The special incense had to be salted
Salt a symbol of purity and a covenant relationship
--Lev. 2:13 – “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.”
The death of Nadab and Abihu may seem harsh but it show that any rebellion against the expressed will of God can bring His judgment – even on believers
It also shows that we shouldn’t worship and serve God according to our terms but according to His revealed will in the Bible.
The priests warned not to use this altar for anything other than burning incense
--Why? Because there is no substitute for prayer
II. A PICTURE OF JESUS
Acacia wood covered in gold was a picture of Christ’ humanity and deity wedded into one person
--Jn. 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The very God of the universe took on flesh and bone and joined sinful humanity so that through His shed blood we might have our sins forgiven and be reconciled to God
-- Heb. 2:14-17 – “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death
he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives
were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
What makes our prayers effective?
1. The Spirit of God intercedes for us
--Rom. 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who
searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance
with God’s will.”
2. Jesus also intercedes for us
--Heb. 7:24-25 – “…because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save
completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
The altar of incense was placed directly in front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies
Because of Jesus, we have no veil separating us from the throne of God as under the Old Testament Law
1. That veil was torn at Christ’s death
2. We now have access to the throne of God through Him
--Heb. 10:19-20 – “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by
the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
III. A PORTRAYAL OF PRAYER
A young boy was observed by a minister in church praying very fervently; but much to the preacher’s surprise, he was also heard to say from time to time: "Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo." So preacher approached the boy after he had apparently finished his prayer and said, "Son, I was very pleased to see you praying so devoutly, but tell me, why did you keep saying ’Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo?" The boy replied, "Well, you see sir, I just finished taking my geography test in school, and I have been praying for the Lord to make Tokyo the Capital of France."
The priests warned not to use this altar for anything other than burning incense
--Why? Because there is no substitute for prayer
I want to share with you this morning that struggle with my own prayer life.
1. Where do I work it in my schedule?
2. Is it really effective to pray?
3. How do I know that my prayers are being heard?
My friend, Darrel Land, wrote: “The problem is we just sometimes are not very good at prayer. Communicating with an unseen God is challenging….I don’t know anybody who considers himself an expert
when it comes to prayer.”
I think there are some strong encouragements for prayer based on this lesson from the tabernacle
Our text this morning tells us that the priests were to ignite the incense twice a day: morning and evening
In Acts, we read of the disciples keeping morning and evening hours of prayer in the Temple and in their homes
Plenty of examples of people who got up early in the morning for prayer:
1. Samuel’s parents
2. Hezekiah
3. Job
4. David
5. Jesus
Also examples of folks who prayed in the evening
1. David
--Ps. 63:6 – “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.”
2. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer
--Lk. 6:12 – “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night
praying to God.”
The incense burned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that the pleasing aroma was before the LORD (in the Holy of Holies)
--We’re instructed to “Pray without ceasing” in 1 Th. 5:17
The altar of incense is not only a portrayal of our prayer life, it is indicative of our lives as lived out among those around us
2 Cor. 2:14-16 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and
through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”
David M. Levy, The Tabernacle: “As we move through society we are like incense that has been crushed and burned, emitting the perfume of the knowledge of Christ to the glory of God. The world responds in various ways to Christians as they emit the fragrance of Christ. To those who are lost and indifferent to the gospel, the incense of Christ is ‘the savor of death unto death’; but to those who respond to our witness, Christ is ‘the savor of life unto life.’”
CLOSE: A. Moses ended his description of the golden altar and its ministry with this statement in Ex. 30:10 –
“It is most holy to the LORD.”
1. Do you cherish this holy privilege? To enter into the throne room of God and talk with Him in
prayer?
--So often, we sadly ignore this precious privilege
2. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus warned his disciples in Mk. 14:38 – “Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
--Without prayer we become spiritually weak and if it progresses, then spiritually powerless
B. The horns of the altar of incense were not just for decoration
--they served a specific purpose in relationship to the blood sacrifice
1. On the day of atonement, the high priest took some of the blood that was used to sprinkle the
mercy seat and put it on the horns of the altar of incense to cleanse it and separate it from the
sins of the people of Israel
2. It also represented the place of intercession before the Lord
a. When the blood from the sin offering was sprinkled on the horns of the altar, it symbolized a
prayer for the pardon of sin
b. It was the blood when applied that gave prayer its value
3. Similarly, it’s Christ’s blood that gives value to our prayers before God
a. And it is the blood of Christ that open the way for us to come before the throne of grace to
find mercy and grace in the time of our need
b. Heb. 4:14-16 – “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have
a high priest whois unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has
been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need.”
