(30:1-10).
“And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
“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.
“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.
“And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
“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.
“Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
“And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin-offering of atone merits: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.”
We have already remarked upon the omission of the Golden Altar and Brazen Laver in the account from their respective places in the Holy and in the Court (25.; 27.). The sacred historian takes no notice of those two vessels in the general description already given us; they are “vessels of approach,” not “vessels of display”; that is, they refer to our intercourse with God―our presentation to Him where He is. Those already so fully and minutely described, set forth the great and fundamental truth of God’s manifestation of Himself to man (25.-27:19). But God’s revelation of Himself, had in view the direct object of our being brought to God, hence the priesthood, the Golden or Incense Altar, and the Laver were needful if this great purpose was to be attained. While the Brazen Altar was the ground or moral basis of our approach to God, the means were the Golden Altar (in figure) expressive of our worship and communion, the Brazen Laver for practical cleansing and holiness in view of our drawing nigh to God, and a living priesthood to introduce us into the Divine presence and uphold our interests there. Christ does all this for us, and He is all this to us. He is Priest, Golden Altar, and Brazen Laver.
The Incense Altar is named before the other priestly vessel―the Laver — because access to God in the sanctuary derived all its force and value from the Altar in the Court without. It is in the value of the Brazen Altar that we are placed in immediate connection with God where He is. The Laver was for practical cleansing. The two altars―the one without and the other within―exhibit a moral connection. There could be no worship at the Golden Altar had there not been sacrifice on the Brazen Altar. First, sacrifice; then worship. All worship, however elaborate the machinery, is mere ritual and even worse, an abomination to the LORD, where it is not directly based upon, and derives all its value from the one offering of Christ on the Cross to God. In the value of the Brazen Altar we are set beside the Golden Altar as worshippers; such is the worth of the infinite sacrifice of Christ. Sacrifice and worship are inseparable, and of this chaps. 9. and 10. of the Epistle to the Hebrews are the witness.
Dimensions, Shape, Material, and Place of the Altar.
Dimensions. —The Golden Altar was foursquare. The Brazen Altar, too, was foursquare. Both altars faced the world—north, south, east, and west. The Golden Altar of Incense was two cubits in height, and only half that in length and breadth, namely, one cubit. It may be interesting to compare the dimensions of the holy vessels. In reducing the cubits to English measurements, we adopt the computation of Josephus, who regarded the cubit as about 18 inches.
Golden Altar,
Brazen Altar,
Table of Shewbread,
The Ark,
Mercy-Seat,
36 inches.
4 feet, 6 ins.
27 inches.
27 inches.
Not given.
18 inches.
7 feet, 6 inches.
36 inches.
3 feet, 9 ins.
3 feet, 9 ins.
18 inches.
7 feet, 6 ins.
18 inches.
27 inches.
27 inches.
GOLDEN CANDLESTICK—unmeasured.
BRAZEN LAVER—unmeasured.
The height of the Mercy-seat is not given, being included in that of the Ark, of which it formed an integral part; yet they can be separately regarded. The two Altars are each said to be foursquare.
Materials of which the Altar was made were shittim wood and gold, surely pointing to Christ in the combined glory of His Person―INCORRUPTIBLE HUMANITY and ABSOLUTE DEITY. It was all covered over with pure gold―none of the wood could be seen. The same materials―wood and gold―entered into the construction of the Ark and Table of Shewbread. Shittim-wood and brass formed the Brazen Altar; gold alone in the Mercy-seat and Candlestick, and brass alone in the Laver. The union of the shittim-wood and gold point to that distinguished and vital truth of Christianity, God manifest in the flesh―GOD in holy humanity in the manger―GOD in wearied yet perfect human nature at the Well of Sychar―GOD in suffering humanity agonizing in the Garden — and, marvel of all wonders, GOD in a humanity unstained for 33 years bore on the Cross our sins and Divine judgment also.
“Thou shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about” (verse 11). This statement is a finger-post directing us to that sight. “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:99But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)). Jesus in heaven is both our Priest and incense or Golden Altar. We worship there―the heavens are the sphere of worship.
There is a vital connection between the two Altars. Both have horns; both have rings and staves. The horns of the Brazen Altar constitute the strength and protection of any guilty sinner laying hold of them. The horns of the Golden Altar are the strength and refuge of the weakest saint. The journeying character of both Altars is intimated in the staves and rings; for while the Brazen Altar is for the world at large, the Golden Altar is for the Church at large. In the latter the rings were gold and the staves gold covered; in the other the rings were brass and the staves brass covered.
The position of the Altar in the Holy Place is interesting. It was placed right in front of the beautiful Veil. On the south side or left hand stood the seven-branched Golden Candlestick, while on the north side or right hand stood the Table of Shewbread. The general position may be indicated thus:—
The position of the Altar in front of the Veil has surely its significance―the two are morally connected. There could not be worship in heaven till the Veil was rent, and God revealed in the glory of His nature. The connection of the Altar with the Veil, Ark, and Mercy-seat is of deepest spiritual interest (verse 6).
“And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense (or incense of spices) 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.”
Much of the Jewish ritual is inexplicable unless the association of Aaron and his sons are kept in view. Not every ordained priest could do high priestly worg. The office of the high priest and his pre-eminent place in the Jewish economy were unique. Aaron alone could make atonement. He alone of the nation was privileged to enter the holiest of all. Aaron alone dared part the Veil and enter into the awful presence of Jehovah bearing the judgment of Israel on his shoulders and on his heart (Exod. 28:12, 2912And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:12)
29And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. (Exodus 28:29)). Aaron alone could wear the golden plate upon the miter engraved with―
Holiness to the Lord.
Hence for these and other services Aaron was anointed, consecrated, and clothed apart from his sons. The Levites were debarred from the priesthood, but the priests were equally forbidden to usurp the functions and office of the high priest. While all this is true and should be insisted upon, it is equally important to view Aaron in his official appointment and service as identified with his sons. “And thou shalt put them (the priestly garments) upon Aaron and his sons with him: and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office—and they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation or when they come near unto the Altar to minister in the holy place” (Exod. 28:41-4341And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him. (Exodus 28:41‑43)).
The identification of Aaron with his sons prefigures our association with Christ our Great Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. It is there where Be intercedes; it is there where we worship. He sings (Heb. 2:1212Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. (Hebrews 2:12)); we sing (Rev. 5.). He sustains and leads our worship. His powerful and ever prevailing intercession secures us all help by the way, all succor in need. The failure in our priestly service is met by His intercessional grace. He is our incense Altar.
Aaron burned incense on the Altar when he lit the lamps and when he dressed them. Christ in all the value and moral glories of His Person fills heaven with fragrance. He is the perpetual incense ever burning on the Golden Altar. But we too have a place at that Altar. We too burn incense in the presence of our God. We extol the merits of Jesus God’s Beloved Son. His name, His glories, His excellencies; what He was and did, what He is and doing, what He shall be and do; His suffering in the past, His exaltation now, and His yet future triumphs and glories form the material of our worship in heaven itself. But for this the lamps must be lit, and this our heavenly Aaron does for each worshipper. He is light and He was the light of the world. We are light in the Lord, and “Ye are the light of the world”―all believers are such. He has made us this. But He also dresses and trims the lamps and supplies the oil (the Holy Spirit) to keep it burning. The moral connection between the light and worship is thus apparent. It is only those who shine that can worship. A dimmed light gives feeble worship. Shine well and you will worship well.
The Incense: Its Composition.
The incense was compounded of four precious ingredients (30:34-38). It was a pure and holy perfume being prepared after a Divine formula, and not to be compounded for any other purpose under pain of death. It was a special incense. Those sweet spices, Stacte, Onycha, Galbanum―of which almost nothing is known―with “pure frankincense” in equal proportions were carefully tempered together, and this compound formed the delightful perfume which filled the holy place with its exquisite fragrance. Each of the four ingredients had its own peculiar aroma, but when all were blended they formed but one perfume. This then was burned on the Altar morning and night. It was thus a perpetual incense. Is there ever an hour night or day―when the moral perfections and beauties of Christ do not fill heaven with their fragrance? The worthiness of Christ is proclaimed in song and story — by men and angels―now and ever (Rev. 5.). But how was the aroma extracted from these spices? The secret is disclosed in Lev. 16:12, 1312And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: (Leviticus 16:12‑13). The tempered incense was beaten small, and then thrown on the pan or censer of burning coals taken from off the Brazen or Judgment Altar. It was the fire which consumed the sacrifice that brought forth the delightful aroma of the incense. It was Calvary which brought out the perfections of Christ. It was there that those deep and inward glories and excellencies of His nature and Person burst their channels and broke out in that very hour when for sin and in the place of sin He died. How otherwise could His perfections have been exhibited? These glories―profound and moral — fill heaven as “a perpetual incense.” The more searching the judgment, the deeper and richer the fragrance of what He was and what He did. The more certain flowers are crushed and pressed, the richer the aroma.
On this Altar of Gold “no strange incense” was to be laid: see Lev. 10:1, 21And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. 2And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:1‑2). Jehovah’s incense must be prepared according to His command and no “strange fire” must be used — it must be that taken from the Altar in the Court, i.e. the Cross. Nor was sacrifice to be offered thereon, or any drink offering to be poured on it (verse 9). Blood never stained the Incense Altar except on the yearly day of atonement. All the service in worship and in burning incense―unceasing daily service throughout the year―must rest on the ground of atonement made by blood; to this Lev. 16:1818And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. (Leviticus 16:18) refers. The moral efficacy of the Golden Altar rests on the blood of atonement: see Exod 30:10 with Lev. 16:1818And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. (Leviticus 16:18); the latter is the accomplishment of the former.
The evening and morning sacrifice on the Brazen Altar, the evening and morning burning of incense on the Golden Altar, the evening and morning lighting and dressing the lamps of the Golden Candlestick, and the evening and morning time of prayer were coincident actions. The moral connection of those things and their direct relation to Christ, might well form a delightful study and ground of many a profitable hour of thought. Read over carefully the following passages Exod. 17:21; 27:38, 39; 30:7, 8; Ps. 141:1, 2; Luke 1:9, 109According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. (Luke 1:9‑10).
We may remark that the prayers―especially of suffering saints—are as incense to God (Rev. 5:88And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. (Revelation 5:8)). But what makes their prayers, their groans, their worship so precious to Him is not in anything derived from themselves, but solely in the merits of another. The Angel-Priest gives value to our prayers and intercessions by adding His incense to them. His personal efficacy is our worth and value before God (Rev. 8:33And 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)). Christ in heaven is our Golden Altar. The merits of His Person our incense. “By Him we offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.”
The Altar in its wood, gold, crown, rings, staves, and sweet incense of precious ingredients, speaks of Christ in His Being, in the mystery of His Person, of His travels with His people, and of His moral grace and beauties, sustaining and giving character to our worship before God. The connection, too, on which we have already remarked, between the Altar within for worship, and the Altar without expressive of judgment, is seen in the fart so precious and touching to us, that it was fire from the judgment Altar, which brought out the perfume of the incense at the worship Altar. In us trials manifest dross. In Christ the fire manifested His moral beauty and perfectness.
The Altar in preparation for its journeys was first covered over with a cloth of blue. It was essentially a heavenly vessel, and hence heaven’s own color wrapped it up, over that was spread a covering of badger’s skins, thus effectually protecting it from outward defilement or hurt (Num. 4:1111And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: (Numbers 4:11)). What befel the golden Altar when Solomon’s temple was erected we know not. The Temple Altar was made of Cedar and gold (1 Kings 6:2020And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. (1 Kings 6:20)). The Tabernacle Altar was constructed of Shittim wood and gold (Exod. 30:1-31And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. 2A 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. 3And 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 30:1‑3)). It was on the right side of the Golden Altar that Gabriel stood and appeared to Zecharias in announcing the birth of the Baptist (Luke 1). There is no special mention of this Altar in the Temple spoils taken by Titus in the conclusion of the ever memorable siege of Jerusalem. We may remark in closing, that this Altar was exclusively employed for the burning of incense. The annual day of atonement was an exception, then not incense, but blood was seen on the Altar and on its horns―blood on the gold — and why? because the sin of the priest reached unto and defiled the Golden Altar (Lev. 4:77And 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)). One interesting distinction meets us here. The sin of a priest or of the whole congregation, interrupted the communion of the people with Jehovah which was carried on at the Golden Altar, hence blood was put upon its horns only, not upon the Altar itself. But a year’s service at the Altar carried many imperfections with it, hence an annual sprinkling of the blood upon the Altar itself and on its horns as well. Our worship is based on atonement. For us, too, the “ONE OFFERING” has set us down in God’s presence in light and in cloudless peace and acceptance.
“Oh, worship the King, all glorious above;
Oh, gratefully sing His power and His love:
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
O measureless might 1 Ineffable love!
While angels delight to praise Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall sing to Thy praise.”