The Altar of Incense

(Exo 30:1-10 NIV) "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. 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."

They burned incense on the altar every morning and evening.

(Psa 141:1-2) O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. May my prayer be set before You like incense;

David desired that his prayer would be like the incense offered to God.

(Rev 8:3-4 NIV) Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.

The smoke of the incense and the prayers of the saints went up before God together.

(Rev 5:8 NIV) And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

This passage states that the bowls of incense in heaven’s tabernacle are the prayers of the saints. They either are one and the same, or possibly since they ascended to God together they mixed together and became one.

(Luke 1:10 NIV) And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

The Jewish worshipers would pray outside the Tabernacle when the incense was burned. They saw a connection.

Incense was burned every morning and night. People gathered for prayer in the morning and evening. The morning is a good time to pray for the day which in now beginning. In the evening we can thank God for how He answered our prayers during the day, and for anything else He did during the day.

The altar of incense was placed in the center of the Holy Place. The closest physically the priests could get to God was when they worshiped with incense. Prayer also allows us to get close to God.

(Heb 10:19-22) Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Yeshua, 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.

When Yeshua died the curtain was torn right down the middle opening the way to the Holy of Holies. This symbolized Messiah opened the way for us to come to God.

Now if we could worship God at the altar of incense the veil would no longer be there separating us from God’s presence which was over the ark.

(Exo 30:9 NIV) 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.

(CEV) Burn only the proper incense on the altar and never use it for grain sacrifices or animal sacrifices or drink offerings.

(Exo 30:37 NIV) Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD.

We were only allowed to use a specific kind of incense on the altar. We were also told that we could not use the incense for ourselves; it was holy or dedicated to God. Since the incense symbolizes our prayers we can only pray the way God shows us. What we ask for must conform to His will. The safest way for this is to pray in the ways the Bible teaches us (i.e., Model Prayer in Matt 6) and in alignment with scripture in general.

(John 14:13 NIV) And I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

in my Name. (Ryrie) This is not a formula to be tacked on to the end of prayers but means praying for the same things that Messiah would desire to see accomplished.

(Message) From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it.

There are individuals in the "Name it and claim it" movement who take this to the extreme or beyond what scripture would allow. We cannot go and ask for anything we want. Let’s look at James 4:3 ...

(James 4:3 NIV) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

(CEV) Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.

Ryrie: with wrong motives. Lit., evilly, for selfish purposes.

(Luke 22:42 NIV) "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."

(Message) "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?"

(1 John 5:14 NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.

Ryrie: according to His will. A gracious limitation, because God's will is always best for His children. There is a limitation to what we may ask for or pray about. We must pray for God’s will. The best way to do this is to pray the Word of God.

(CEV) We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases Him.

(Luke 10:38-42 NIV) As Yeshua and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Mary was commended by the Lord for sitting at His feet and listening to Him. Prayer is not just talking to God. It is also listening to God. If we are going to talk to God and tell Him what we need, we need to be quiet after we ask so we can listen for His answer.

One final thought about praying

Blood was sprinkled on the horns of the altar of incense. The blood came from the sacrifices offered at the brazen altar. This was a symbol that because a sacrifice took place, God can answer our prayers. The same is true for us. It the blood of Messiah that puts us in right standing with God so that our prayers can be answered as well.

Next Article in "Tabernacle of the Lord"- coming soon