Altar of Incense

 

The altar of incense shows us the Divine Order for worship. (Ex. 30:1-10,34-38; 37:25-29).

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• a)    The altar was made of desert wood, hard and resistant to all deterioration, covered with pure gold, on which incense was placed. Yes, Christ, who was the Son of man, as well as the Son of God, is the basis of all our worship.

• b)    The altar, like the rest of the tabernacle, was sprinkled with blood every year, which indicates that only through blood is the way opened to the presence of God.

• c)    This was the furniture closest to the most holy place, which although it was not there, belonged to it, according to Hebrews 9:4 (censer means “altar”). Which shows Christ as the center of worship: because the altar was located in front of the ark, with the veil in between.

• d)    The pulverised dry incense, when it came into contact with the embers of the fire of the altar, filled the entire house with its cloud, that is, “Those who worship the Father must worship in spirit and in truth,” ( Jn. 4:24), and thus the entire atmosphere will be saturated with this Spirit-kindled worship.

• e)    When Aaron lit the lamps in the evening or snuffed them in the morning, then the incense ascended. Likewise, when we begin to bear witness to Christ or our life goes through trial, we need to spend much of our time in worship. (Acts 12:5).

• f)    No strange fire was to be placed on the altar. No worship of the soul, no top quality opera or jazz, can replace the divine connection that only the worship of God provides us. Nor can any mistaken zeal or strange fire of another spirit participate in this worship, without ministering death to the worshiper. (Lev. 10:1).

• g)    Like the other, this altar had four horns; true worship has power in itself (horns denote power).Let us remember that although the comparison of the tabernacle helps us define and locate the Divine Order, the entire Bible is full of this supreme order, for example, Deuteronomy 16:21 says that Israel should not do as the pagans do who add other things to their cult, such as forests (trees decorated to attract worshipers). The wrath of God fell on the kings of Israel more times for this reason than for any other. There should be no special entertainment or personal advertisements as popular attractions in true worship. Because if so, we will not worship Him with the right reasons.