◄ Exodus 30:1 ►
"You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
Study Bible
You are also to make
This phrase indicates a direct command from God to Moses, emphasizing the importance of obedience in the construction of the Tabernacle. The Hebrew verb used here, "עָשָׂה" (asah), means "to make" or "to do," and it underscores the active role that the Israelites are to take in their worship practices. This command is not merely a suggestion but a divine directive, highlighting the importance of following God's instructions precisely.

an altar
The Hebrew word for altar, "מִזְבֵּחַ" (mizbeach), is derived from the root "זָבַח" (zabach), meaning "to sacrifice." This connection underscores the altar's purpose as a place of offering and worship. In the context of the Tabernacle, the altar for incense is distinct from the altar for burnt offerings, signifying a different aspect of worship—prayer and intercession rather than sacrifice.

of acacia wood
Acacia wood, known in Hebrew as "שִׁטָּה" (shittah), is a durable and resistant material, symbolizing the enduring nature of God's covenant with His people. Acacia trees were common in the Sinai region, making them a practical choice for construction. The use of this wood also points to the beauty and resilience required in the objects used for worship, reflecting the holiness and permanence of God's presence.

for the burning of incense
Incense, or "קְטֹרֶת" (ketoret) in Hebrew, was a fragrant offering that symbolized the prayers of the people ascending to God. The burning of incense on this altar was a daily ritual, signifying the continual intercession and communication between God and His people. Historically, incense was a valuable commodity, often associated with royalty and divinity, further emphasizing the sacredness of this act of worship.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, who received the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, including the altar of incense, directly from God on Mount Sinai.

2. Tabernacle
The portable sanctuary where God dwelled among the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness. The altar of incense was a crucial part of the Tabernacle's furnishings.

3. Altar of Incense
A sacred piece of furniture within the Tabernacle, made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, used for burning incense as a symbol of prayer and worship ascending to God.

4. Acacia Wood
A durable and resistant wood used in the construction of the Tabernacle's furnishings, symbolizing strength and endurance.

5. Incense
A fragrant offering burned on the altar, representing the prayers of the people rising to God, signifying purity and devotion.
Teaching Points
Symbolism of Prayer
The altar of incense serves as a powerful symbol of prayer. Just as incense rises, so do our prayers ascend to God. This reminds us of the importance of maintaining a consistent prayer life.

Holiness and Purity
The use of acacia wood and gold signifies the purity and holiness required in worship. Our approach to God should be with reverence and purity of heart.

God's Presence
The placement of the altar of incense in the Tabernacle signifies the nearness of God to His people. We are reminded that God desires to dwell among us and hear our prayers.

Consistency in Worship
The regular burning of incense symbolizes the need for continual worship and devotion. Our relationship with God should be marked by regular and sincere worship.

Intercession
The incense represents intercession, pointing to the role of Christ as our intercessor. We are called to intercede for others, lifting their needs before God.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the construction and purpose of the altar of incense in Exodus 30:1 enhance our understanding of the importance of prayer in our daily lives?

2. In what ways can the symbolism of incense as prayer influence our personal prayer practices today?

3. How does the use of acacia wood and gold in the altar's construction reflect the nature of our worship and relationship with God?

4. What parallels can we draw between the role of the altar of incense in the Tabernacle and the role of prayer in the life of a believer?

5. How can we apply the concept of intercession, as symbolized by the incense, in our interactions and relationships with others in our community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 141:2
This verse likens prayer to incense, emphasizing the symbolic nature of the altar of incense as a representation of the prayers of the faithful ascending to God.

Revelation 8:3-4
In the New Testament, the imagery of incense is used to describe the prayers of the saints, showing continuity in the symbolism from the Old to the New Testament.

Hebrews 9:4
This passage references the altar of incense in the context of the Tabernacle, highlighting its importance in the worship practices of the Israelites.
Sermons
The Altar of IncenseAlexander MaclarenExodus 30:1
The Altar of IncenseJ. Orr Exodus 30:1-11
The Golden Altar and the PerfumeJ. Orr Exodus 30:1-11, 34-38
People
Aaron, Israelites, Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Acacia, Acacia-wood, Altar, Burn, Burning, Hast, Incense, Making, Moreover, Perfume, Shittim, Wood
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 30:1

     4528   trees
     7386   incense
     7459   tabernacle, in OT

Exodus 30:1-5

     4333   gold
     4552   wood

Exodus 30:1-10

     7302   altar

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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