Verse of the day: Exodus 30:1, 7-8 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.” “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.”
The Altar of Incense was located in the Holy Place, before the veil of the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant. Incense, in Scripture, is a picture of prayers (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3). Aaron was instructed to keep incense burning continually, day and night. The incense was to be lit using the fire from the Brazen Altar, and under no circumstance was any other incense to be burned, other than the incense which God gave the recipe for. Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest was to place blood on the horns of the altar to cleanse it. The placement of the altar was significant, as it pictured Jesus as our Mediator. 1 John 2:1 tells us, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The fire used to keep the incense burning, taken from the Brazen Altar, is also significant, as it pictures our Mediator as the acceptable Mediator, by which we are forgiven, and through whom our prayers will be acceptable. It also pictures that fact that our prayers, in Christ, are accepted by God’s grace. Our prayers are not to be brought to God in the name of anyone other than Jesus (Matthew 18:19; 21:22; Mark 11:24; John 14:13). Nowhere in Scripture are we told that anyone other than Christ Himself is our Mediator; this includes any priest, Jesus’ mother Mary, or any other “saint”. God’s Word is very clear that there is only One Mediator between God and man. The Apostle Paul made this clear in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus”. God was not interested in any incense that was brought before Him that was anything other than the incense produced from the recipe He gave (v. 34-38). The blood placed on the horn of the altar was significant in that it illustrated God’s desire that our prayers come from a pure heart. So often, we harbor sin in our hearts, and think nothing of coming before the Lord to offer up our prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Yet, if we hold on to unconfessed sin, the offering of our lips is unacceptable. Psalm 66:18 reads, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” In Isaiah 1, God made it clear to Israel that their sacrifices and incense were an abomination to Him because of their sinfulness (Isaiah 1:13). God wants us to come to Him with a clean heart. Our prayers can be holy, and pure, before the Lord, only if our hearts are sprinkled with, and made clean by, the Blood of Christ. Lastly, the incense burning continuously pictures the command to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We have open, twenty-four hour, access to God’s throne, through Jesus. It is because of His righteousness, and purity, that our prayers are acceptable to our God. Let us not neglect the opportunity to come before Him, not just when we are in need, but every moment of every day, as we praise Him for His goodness, and give Him thank in everything, regardless of what circumstances we may be facing, for this is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18). In those moments when we know not how to pray, in Christ, the Holy Spirit intercedes and speaks on our behalf (Romans 8:26-27). God will always hear and answer the prayers that come up before Him, like the sweet smell of the incense that burns continually in our Tabernacle, who is Christ Jesus.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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