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God said to Moses, You shall make an altar to burn incense on... And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. Exodus 30:1 and 6 The best way to understand the golden altar of incense is by its placement in the tabernacle of meeting. It was as close to the heart of God as you could get without actually going into the Holy of Holies where the ark of God was. Let me explain that last statement. There was only one piece of "furniture" in the Holy of Holies. It was the ark, but the ark had a covering, or a lid, called the mercy seat on top of it. |
The lid on the ark was made of one piece of hammered gold. The lid was called the mercy seat because it covered, or hid the reminders of Israel's rebellion. It hid the two stone tablets, Aaron's rod, and the pot of manna. (see ark). The lid had a cherub on one end of it, and another cherub on the other end. Both cherubim looked downward towards the mercy seat.
note: "Mercy seat" is better translated "seat of mercy" or "location of mercy."
There was a cloud which hovered just above the mercy seat (see Leviticus 16:2), and God said He would appear in that cloud. The placement of the golden altar of incense just outside the veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies is the most significant thing about the golden altar of incense. Standing there, Moses, or anyone else, was as close to God as he could possibly get without actually entering the holy of holies. The Bible itself makes it clear that was what God intended by putting the golden altar of incense just outside the holy of holies.
And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD. Leviticus 16:18
But the Hebrew expression "paniym Yahweh" does not mean "before the LORD." "Paniym" means "face." Whenever the word "paniym" is used it means being in the immediate presence of God, or face to face with Him.
So I think it is very safe to say that the placement of the golden altar of incense was important. It was as close to the heart of God as anyone could get without going into the Holy of Holies. The golden altar had everything to do with being as near as possible to the heart of God and communing with Him. In fact, here is what the Bible says...
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak (commune), with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. Exodus 25:17-22 (parenthesis mine)
Remember that the golden altar of incense was placed just outside the Holy of Holies. There was no wall, only a veil, separating Moses from the presence of God, just a few feet away. God would speak to Moses in that place.
And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. Exodus 30:6
I believe the golden altar of incense had everything to do with being a friend to God. Moses was God's friend.
So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, Exodus 33:11
We need to learn more about this. How can we become friends of God?
The incense that was burned on the golden altar of incense represented the prayers of the people. Here are some Bible verses:
Let my prayer be set before you as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
And the whole multitude of people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Luke 1:10
He (the angel), was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Revelation 8:4 (parenthesis mine)
Now let's do some spiritual math. What do these things add up to? The golden altar of incense had everything to do with being as close to God's heart as possible. And the incense represented the prayers of the people. Hmmmm... God wants to hear from us. He wants to commune with us! He wants to speak to us! He wants us to hear Him. He wants us to be His friends! He wants the close friendship of a lover. He wants to commune with us on a daily basis. There is one kind of prayer in particular that will accomplish all of this. It's called intercession.
Intercession is that kind of prayer that won't give up. It won't quit. It presses onwards into the heart of God. It wants to know God's heart. It wants to beat with the heartbeat of God. It wants to pray according to the will of God, the heartbeat of God. It wants to hear His voice. It wants to know Him. It wants to commune with Him as with a lover. It wants to be obedient to all His commands. It wants to see the world as God sees it. It wants to have compassion on a lost and dying world. It wants to give its life (soul), so that others may live.
For more understanding of these heavenly things we have to look at Jesus, our High Priest, who has gone into the heavens for us and ever lives to make intercession for us. He is the perfect fulfillment of the golden altar of incense. From Him we learn what intercession really is, and how to intercede.
The Bible says that Jesus entered the Holy of Holies through the veil of His flesh. (see Hebrews 10:20) In other words He had to die in order to get into the Holy of Holies. While He was dying, He prayed for those who were killing Him.
...He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors (willful sinners). Isaiah 53:12 (parenthesis mine)
While He was still living Jesus had said,
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
But wait a minute! The word in Greek isn't "life." It's "psuche" or "soul." In other words, when we intercede, we lay down our souls for our friends. We say, like praying Hyde, "O God, give me souls, or I die!" The golden altar of incense speaks of a sacrificed life.
So we take our stand near the prayer closet of John Hyde, and are permitted to hear the sighing and the groaning, and to see the tears coursing down his face, to see his frame weakened by foodless days and sleepless nights, shaken with sobs as he pleads, "O God, give me souls, or I die." (taken from http://www.omegafaith.org/praying-hyde.htm )
Notice the foodless days and sleepless nights. That was not by design. Praying Hyde was simply consumed with prayer!
There is something intensely personal about all of that. It would go something like this: "O God, do this for me, or I can't live." It is the way Moses interceded for Israel saying, "blot me, I pray, out of your book!" (Exodus 32:32)
That is the love that is closest to the heart of God. That is why the golden altar of incense was placed close to the heart of God, as close as possible to the Holy of Holies. God hears the cry of love and He responds. He is, after all, the God who is enthroned above the mercy seat! He wants to hear those kinds of prayers! If we can reach His heart, we can move His hand. In fact, we gain access to the throne room! We enter beyond the veil just as Jesus did...
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is His flesh, Hebrews 10:20
We should know that the Holy of Holies is God's throne room. (see Revelations 8:4 above) Christians have always wanted to know how to get into the throne room. Jesus made the way. He is the way. We can enter by His grace, and by His blood. When Jesus died, the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn in half from top to bottom. His dying love removed that barrier once and for all. Now we have free access. But few of us go there. We know the way, but we neglect it. Few of us are intercessors. Few of us want to commune with God, and know His heart, press close to His breast and feel His heartbeat. Few of us want to know His will and be obedient to it. Few of us want to live a life laid down for God's glory. Few of us want to live the sacrificed life.
Now to learn something else from Jesus. He said, "Father, not My will, but Thine be done." That's just another way that Jesus died. He had to die to His own will. He is our example. He is our High Priest, and our Intercessor, who ever lives to make intercession for us.
next lesson: The Incense
previous lesson: The Ark
& Mercy Seat
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