◄ Exodus 30:35 ►
and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
Study Bible
And make
The directive "And make" signifies a command from God to Moses, emphasizing the importance of obedience in worship practices. The Hebrew root for "make" is עָשָׂה (asah), which implies crafting or creating with intention and skill. This reflects the careful and deliberate nature of worship, where every action is purposeful and meaningful. In a broader sense, it reminds believers of the importance of intentionality in their spiritual lives, crafting their actions to align with God's will.

a fragrant blend of incense
The phrase "a fragrant blend of incense" highlights the sensory aspect of worship, engaging the sense of smell to create an atmosphere of reverence and holiness. The Hebrew word for "fragrant" is רֵיחַ (reyach), which denotes a pleasing aroma. Incense in the ancient Near East was often associated with divine presence and communication with the divine. This blend symbolizes the prayers of the faithful rising to God, as seen in Psalm 141:2, "May my prayer be set before You like incense."

the work of a perfumer
"The work of a perfumer" indicates the specialized skill required to create the incense. The Hebrew term for "perfumer" is רוֹקֵחַ (roqeach), suggesting expertise and artistry. This underscores the idea that worship should be approached with care and excellence, reflecting the glory and majesty of God. It also points to the role of those specially gifted in the community to contribute to the worship experience, much like the spiritual gifts discussed in the New Testament.

seasoned with salt
The phrase "seasoned with salt" carries significant symbolic meaning. Salt in the ancient world was a symbol of purity, preservation, and covenant. The Hebrew word for "salt" is מֶלַח (melach). In Leviticus 2:13, God commands that all grain offerings be seasoned with salt, symbolizing the enduring nature of the covenant between God and His people. In this context, salt signifies the purity and holiness required in worship, as well as the lasting covenant relationship between God and Israel.

pure and holy
The words "pure and holy" emphasize the sanctity and set-apart nature of the incense. The Hebrew word for "pure" is טָהוֹר (tahor), meaning clean or unblemished, while "holy" is קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh), meaning set apart for sacred use. This dual emphasis on purity and holiness reflects the character of God and the standard to which His people are called. It serves as a reminder that worship is not merely a ritual but a sacred act that requires a heart and life aligned with God's holiness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites who received the instructions for making the incense from God.

2. Tabernacle
The portable dwelling place for the divine presence among the Israelites, where the incense was to be used.

3. Perfumer
The skilled artisan responsible for crafting the incense according to God's specific instructions.

4. Israelites
The people of God who were to follow these instructions as part of their worship practices.

5. Mount Sinai
The place where God gave Moses the instructions for the Tabernacle and its furnishings, including the incense.
Teaching Points
Holiness in Worship
The incense was to be "pure and holy," reminding us that our worship should be set apart and pleasing to God.

Attention to Detail
The specific instructions for the incense underscore the importance of obedience and precision in following God's commands.

Symbolism of Incense
Incense represents prayer and worship, encouraging believers to offer their lives as a fragrant offering to God.

Role of Skilled Artisans
The mention of a perfumer highlights the value of using our God-given talents in service to Him.

Salt as a Preservative
The inclusion of salt in the incense blend symbolizes purity and preservation, reminding us of our call to be the salt of the earth.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the specific instruction for making incense in Exodus 30:35 reflect the nature of God’s holiness?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our worship today is "pure and holy" as described in this passage?

3. How does the role of the perfumer in crafting the incense relate to the use of our own skills and talents in serving God?

4. What is the significance of incense being likened to prayer in other parts of Scripture, and how can this understanding enhance our prayer life?

5. How can the concept of being "seasoned with salt" apply to our daily walk as Christians, and what other Scriptures support this idea?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 16:12-13
This passage describes the use of incense in the Day of Atonement rituals, highlighting its role in worship and atonement.

Revelation 8:3-4
Incense is symbolically linked to the prayers of the saints, showing its continued spiritual significance.

Psalm 141:2
The psalmist likens prayer to incense, emphasizing the pleasing aroma of sincere worship to God.
Sermons
The Golden Altar and the PerfumeJ. Orr Exodus 30:1-11, 34-38
The IncenseE. F. Willis, M. A.Exodus 30:34-38
People
Aaron, Israelites, Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Apothecary, Blend, Blended, Clean, Compound, Compounder, Confection, Hast, Holy, Incense, Mixed, Perfume, Perfume-maker, Perfumer, Pure, Sacred, Salt, Salted, Seasoned, Tempered
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 30:33-35

     4496   perfume

Exodus 30:34-35

     4357   salt

Exodus 30:34-38

     5183   smell
     8270   holiness, set apart

Library
The Altar of Incense
'Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon.' --EXODUS xxx. 1. Ceremonies are embodied thoughts. Religious ceremonies are moulded by, and seek to express, the worshipper's conception of his God, and his own relation to Him; his aspirations and his need. Of late years scholars have been busy studying the religions of the more backward races, and explaining rude and repulsive rites by pointing to the often profound and sometimes beautiful ideas underlying them. When that process is applied to Australian …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ransom for Souls --I.
Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul.' --EXODUS xxx. 12. This remarkable provision had a religious intention. Connect it with the tax-money which Peter found in the fish's mouth. I. Its meaning. Try to realise an Israelite's thoughts at the census. 'I am enrolled among the people and army of God: am I worthy? What am I, to serve so holy a God?' The payment was meant-- (a) To excite the sense of sin. This should be present in all approach to God, in all service; accompanying the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ransom for Souls --ii.
'The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel....'--EXODUS xxx. 15. This tax was exacted on numbering the people. It was a very small amount, about fifteen pence, so it was clearly symbolical in its significance. Notice-- I. The broad principle of equality of all souls in the sight of God. Contrast the reign of caste and class in heathendom with the democracy of Judaism and of Christianity. II. The universal sinfulness. Payment of the tax was a confession that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"Whereby we Cry, Abba, Father. "
Rom. viii. 15.--"Whereby we cry, Abba, Father." As there is a light of grace in bestowing such incomparably high dignities and excellent gifts on poor sinners, such as, to make them the sons of God who were the children of the devil, and heirs of a kingdom who were heirs of wrath; so there is a depth of wisdom in the Lord's allowance and manner of dispensing his love and grace in this life. For though the love be wonderful, that we should be called the sons of God; yet, as that apostle speaks, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Jesus Pays the Tribute Money.
(Capernaum, Autumn, a.d. 29) ^A Matt. XVII. 24-27. ^a 24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the half-shekel? [The law of Moses required from every male of twenty years and upward the payment of a tax of half a shekel for the support of the temple (Ex. xxx. 12-16; II. Chron. xxiv. 5, 6). This tax was collected annually. We are told that a dispute existed between the Pharisees and Sadducees as to whether the payment …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

How a Private Man must Begin the Morning with Piety.
As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning, keep the door of thy heart fast shut, that no earthly thought may enter, before that God come in first; and let him, before all others, have the first place there. So all evil thoughts either will not dare to come in, or shall the easier be kept out; and the heart will more savour of piety and godliness all the day after; but if thy heart be not, at thy first waking, filled with some meditations of God and his word, and dressed, like the lamp in the tabernacle …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Copies of Things in the Heavens
'And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 4. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jesus Attends the First Passover of his Ministry.
(Jerusalem, April 9, a.d. 27.) Subdivision A. Jesus Cleanses the Temple. ^D John II. 13-25. ^d 13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand [We get our information as to the length of our Lord's ministry from John's Gospel. He groups his narrative around six Jewish festivals: 1, He here mentions the first passover; 2, another feast, which we take to have been also a passover (v. 1); 3, another passover (vi. 4); 4, the feast of tabernacles (vii. 2); 5, dedication (x. 22); 6, passover (xi. 55). This …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Annunciation to Zacharias of the Birth of John the Baptist.
(at Jerusalem. Probably b.c. 6.) ^C Luke I. 5-25. ^c 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa [a Jewish proselyte, an Idumæan or Edomite by birth, founder of the Herodian family, king of Judæa from b.c. 40 to a.d. 4, made such by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius Cæsar], a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course [David divided the priests into twenty-four bodies or courses, each course serving in rotation one week in the temple …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Last Events in Galilee - the Tribute-Money, the Dispute by the Way, the Forbidding of Him who could not Follow with the Disciples, and The
Now that the Lord's retreat in the utmost borders of the land, at Cæsarea Philippi, was known to the Scribes, and that He was again surrounded and followed by the multitude, there could be no further object in His retirement. Indeed, the time was coming that He should meet that for which He had been, and was still, preparing the minds of His disciples - His Decease at Jerusalem. Accordingly, we find Him once more with His disciples in Galilee - not to abide there, [3743] nor to traverse it …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Epistle xxviii. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [136] . Gregory to Augustine, &c. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke ii. 14); because a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, that it might not reign in heaven alone; even He by whose death we live, by whose weakness we are made strong, by whose suffering we are rescued from suffering, through whose love we seek in Britain for brethren whom we knew not, by whose gift we find those whom without knowing them we sought. …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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