The Tabernacle: The Altar of Incense in Exodus 30

There is a perfume in your Bible that could get you killed.

God gave Moses the recipe Himself. It had four ingredients in equal weights, blended “after the art of the apothecary.” It smelled better than anything a man could make on his own. And God said that anyone who mixed it up to wear on himself would be cut off from his people.

That perfume was burned on one small piece of furniture standing just outside the veil of the tabernacle.

“And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.” (Exodus 30:1)

That is the altar of incense. Most people read straight past it on their way to something else. But God says that every morning and every evening, a perpetual incense was to rise there before the LORD, right in front of the place where He promised to meet with His people.

This text holds a tension, and it will follow you all the way through. God guards what is His. And yet He has opened a way for you to come in. The question is whether you will come the way He made, or try to walk in on your own terms.

The light that burned beside it

We have been working through the tabernacle one piece at a time. The last piece we looked at was the candlestick, and you need it fresh in your mind, because the altar of incense was tended at the very same hours.

The candlestick was pure gold, all one piece. It had a main stem with six branches, three on each side. Those branches depended on the main stem for their very survival, and that main stem is Christ. With its seven lights, the candlestick pictures Christ and His churches.

It was made of beaten gold, which pictures the suffering of Christ. Since the branches represent His churches, they would suffer too. The oil for the light pictures the Holy Spirit. It was beaten olive oil, which points to the sufferings of the Spirit, the way Scripture speaks of grieving Him:

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

It is the Holy Spirit who is the oil for the light of His churches. That light keeps burning as long as those churches remain faithful, uncompromising, and separated to the doctrine and commandments of the Word of God.

Now step a little further in.

A small altar that pictures a great High Priest

“A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.” (Exodus 30:2-3)

It was not big. It was about one foot nine inches long, one foot nine inches wide, and three feet six inches high. It was foursquare, the same on every side. But it stood in the most important stretch of ground in the whole camp.

This is where the priest offered up the incense. It pictures the prayers of the saints, and especially intercession, the priest praying on behalf of the people.

Throughout the tabernacle, God teaches with materials and colors. Gold pictures deity. Silver pictures redemption, and brass pictures judgment. Purple is royalty, blue is heaven, scarlet is the blood, and white is purity. This altar was shittim wood overlaid with pure gold, just like the ark and the table of showbread. Every time you see that combination, you are looking at a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ holds a threefold office. He is the Prophet of all prophets, the King of kings, and our eternal High Priest. The altar of incense shows you that third office: Christ interceding on your behalf, your High Priest and your Advocate with the Father.

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1)

The Greek word there is parakletos. Normally it is translated “Comforter,” but in this one place it is translated “advocate.” When you sin, Someone stands up and speaks for you.

The way into the holiest was not yet open

Under the old arrangement, you could not just walk in.

“Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:” (Hebrews 9:6-8)

The altar of incense stood right in front of the veil, and behind that veil sat the ark of the covenant. The way into the holiest was not yet made manifest.

So when was it?

It happened when Christ died. He cried, “It is finished,” and gave up the ghost, and in that same moment God tore the curtain Himself:

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” (Matthew 27:51) “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:11-15)

Through the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God the Father, and it was His own blood that He carried in. That is the only reason the door stands open to you today.

Horns, a crown, and three pictures of Christ

The horns on the altar picture power and dignity. There were four of them, and the altar was carried cornerwise.

“And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.” (Exodus 30:4-5)

With the staves at the corners, a horn always pointed north, south, east, and west, out toward all the tribes of Israel. No tribe was outside the reach of that altar.

The crown of gold that ran around the top had a purpose. It kept the coals of fire and the holy perfume from being displaced and scattered. Nothing was burning while the altar was being carried, but in the unlikely event that something shifted, the crown kept it secure.

Here is something worth turning over. Three pieces of furniture in the tabernacle carry a crown: the ark with its mercy seat, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense. Each one shows you a different picture of Christ.

The ark shows His mercy:

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalms 107:1)

The table shows Him in the presence of God for you:

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” (Hebrews 9:24)

He stands there as the mediator:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)

And the altar of incense shows Him praying:

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

His mercy endures forever. He is in the presence of God for you right now. And He ever liveth to make intercession for you. Your High Priest has not stopped praying.

The golden altar before the throne

“And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.” (Exodus 30:6)

The altar stood just in front of the veil, directly in line with the ark. Scripture calls it the altar before the LORD:

“And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” (Leviticus 4:7)

When John is caught up into heaven, he sees the real thing:

“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” (Revelation 8:3)

Because the altar stood at the very front of the ark, it reminds you that you need the intercession of Christ before you can appear at the throne at all. And because you have it, you are told to come:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

That pure water is the water of the Word of God. And the Lord Jesus told you exactly how to use the access He bought for you:

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24)

So let me ask you plainly. Are you asking?

Morning and evening, the house smelled of Him

“And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.” (Exodus 30:7-8)

When Aaron tended the candlestick in the morning, he burned incense. When he lit the lamps in the evening, he burned incense again. He did it twice a day, so that the fullness of that fragrance perfumed the sanctuary all through the ministry.

“Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?” (Song of Solomon 3:6)

That is Christ, our eternal High Priest. The fragrance of His intercession never goes out.

A perfume you were never allowed to wear

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.” (Exodus 30:34-38)

Stacte literally means a drop. It was an odoriferous gum. That is one of those five-hundred-dollar words, and all it means is that it had a strong smell. Onycha comes from a shell with a musk-like smell. Galbanum carries the idea of moving smoothly, the choicest part.

All four, along with the pure frankincense, went in at equal weight. That pictures the fact that there is no unevenness in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, mercy, righteousness, and truth all have their place in Him. Holiness is His foundational attribute, but no attribute ever overpowers another. His righteousness never overpowers His mercy. In Him, holiness and love are not opposed.

And no matter how good it smelled, it was not for you. Nobody was going to walk past and say, “Oh, that’s nice, who’s wearing that?” Anyone who made it for himself was cut off from his people, and that usually meant death.

There is no imitation Christ

“Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.” (Exodus 30:9)

Men attempted to imitate the perfume, and men still attempt to imitate Christ and His gospel. There is only one gospel. There are plenty of others on offer, a social gospel or whatever the case may be. But only one matters, and that is the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5) “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7)

You have churches today that do not preach repentance. God says you repent or you perish:

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

Some of what calls itself a church is really a worship facility, not a church at all. It is a subtle attack on the things that belong to God. Or maybe not so subtle.

What belongs to God is His

God designed that perfume to be far better than anything a man could come up with. He also knew exactly what would happen. You are going to be intrigued, He was saying, and more than intrigued. You are going to covet this. Do not do it.

Man is never content when he suspects God has something he doesn’t. That goes all the way back to the garden. God had told Adam:

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

Adam and Eve’s fellowship with God was precious to Him. Then Satan came selling something else:

“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

The temptation to be as gods overrode their desire to obey. Satan was clever in how he sold it. What can it hurt?

It hurt. All of mankind was put in jeopardy because two people wanted to step into a place God had told them not to go.

The principle carries into a lot of areas of life. Take the tithe:

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” (Malachi 3:8-9)

That is how serious this is. It is not that God needs the money. He is God. But He has set things in place so that you can be blessed of Him, draw closer to Him, and be obedient.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

The church is His body, and it belongs to Him. When you take what belongs to God and make it your own, you have put yourself on the throne. You have made self your god. And you bring a curse on yourself by choosing to live for self.

That is why God kept telling Moses the same thing, over and over:

“And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” (Exodus 25:40)

In other words, do not deviate. Do not decide the rings would look better a little higher up. We get ourselves into trouble when we try to improve on what God has given us. When you think about it, it is almost amusing that a man would try to improve on God’s design.

The real blessing is behind the veil

In those days only the priests could minister before the altars of the tabernacle. Because of Christ, access to the throne of grace is open to every believer. But for the believer who is not part of a church, that access is limited. For the believer who is walking in obedience, it is unlimited.

Picture the layout. The only entrance into the outer court was a gate of scarlet, blue, and purple, a picture of Christ, with the scarlet pointing to the blood. You came into that court through the blood or you did not come in at all. That court pictures the family of God.

Inside the court stood the brazen altar of sacrifice, which pictures Calvary. Then came the laver, which pictures baptism. Only past the laver did you come into the tabernacle proper, and that pictures the church. After salvation, the way in is through the waters of baptism.

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:6)

So those in the family of God have access to blessing, but it is limited. The real blessing lies inside, in His church.

“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21)

That is why it matters to be a member of a true church. And it is not to be taken lightly. As the old saying goes, where there is much privilege, there is great responsibility.

A king who walked in where he did not belong

“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.” (2 Chronicles 26:16-20)

It was a brazen thing to do. Uzziah walked into the holy place and took the priest’s position, figuring that as king he could do it.

He could not.

Look at who stopped him: fourscore priests, eighty of them, and the Bible calls them valiant men. These were not priests who walked around saying “bless you.” These men knew how to fight. They surrounded the king and told him to his face, “It appertaineth not unto thee.”

I believe God gave Uzziah a moment to listen to their warning and respond. He did not. He got mad instead. And while he was angry, leprosy rose up in his forehead, right there beside the incense altar. The king who wanted to stand where only the priests could stand went out of that house a leper, hurrying to get out because the LORD had smitten him.

Come in the way He made

Go back to that perfume. It was so sweet that a man would want it for himself, and so holy that taking it cost him everything.

Uzziah wanted the altar on his own terms. You do not have to do that, and you must not. The veil is already torn. The blood has already been carried in. Your High Priest ever liveth to make intercession for you, and the fragrance of His prayers rises morning and evening before the throne.

So what are you holding back that belongs to Him? Where have you decided you know better than the pattern?

Lay it down. Come in His name.

He is already praying for you.

Adapted from a message preached from Exodus 30:1-10.