Prayer and the Altar of Incense
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 vail 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 atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord. Exodus 30:1-10 (KJV)
This passage from Exodus describes the construction and use of the Altar of Incense that was in the Holy Place in front of the veil that separated it from the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies. The only thing offered on it was incense, which symbolizes prayer. We can find much significance in this altar and the materials used to make it.
It was a golden altar, but made of wood. It was made of wood and overlaid with gold. Wood represents humanity and gold speaks of deity. What a beautiful picture of the deity of God covering humanity as we offer up prayers to Him.
This altar had horns at each of the four corners, like the brazen altar did. On the brazen altar it pointed to the power and protection of the sacrifice, and on this altar it is a picture of the power and protection that comes through prayer.
The Altar of Incense had a crown or a decorative lip around it. God has crowned us with glory and honor.
There were staves with which the altar was to be carried. We are to be carriers of prayer, in prayer continuously. The staves were made of wood overlaid with gold, pointing to the involvement of both God and man in prayer.
The Altar of Incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Once a year when the High Priest went behind the veil to make atonement for the people, he carried burning incense from the Altar of Incense with him. We have direct access to God now, and we approach Him in prayer.
The High Priest burned incense on the Altar of Incense in the morning and in the evening. This speaks of starting and ending our day in prayer. This was to be done day after day throughout every generation. We have communication and fellowship with God through prayer, and every generation is intended to have a relationship with God and pray to Him.
The Altar of Incense was only for the burning of incense, not the offering of animals. The altar was consecrated with blood once a year. Once the blood offering has been made, it allows for prayer to be made. Christ’s blood gave us access to pray to God and His blood keeps our prayer life cleansed. we should not allow sin to keep us from prayer, for prayer will help keep us from sin.
The Altar of Incense is a picture showing that we’re to offer prayer up to God continuously, helping us to commune with Him continually. This is why I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. We are to keep our hearts and minds continually in communion with God.
