And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. And AaronThe mention of Aaron, the brother of Moses, highlights his role as the high priest of Israel. Aaron's position is significant as he serves as a mediator between God and the Israelites. His duties are a foreshadowing of the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, who intercedes on behalf of humanity. The Hebrew name "Aaron" (אַהֲרֹן, Aharon) is thought to mean "mountain of strength" or "enlightened," reflecting his leadership and spiritual responsibilities. is to burn
The act of burning incense is a ritualistic practice that symbolizes prayer and worship ascending to God. The Hebrew verb "to burn" (קָטַר, qatar) implies a continuous and deliberate action, indicating the importance of regular and faithful worship. This act of burning incense is a reminder of the need for constant devotion and the sweet aroma of a life dedicated to God. fragrant incense
The incense used in the tabernacle was a specific blend of spices, as detailed in Exodus 30:34-38. The fragrance represents the pleasing nature of sincere worship and prayer to God. The Hebrew word for "fragrant" (סַמִּים, sammim) suggests a delightful and acceptable offering. This imagery is echoed in the New Testament, where believers' prayers are described as a fragrant offering to God (Revelation 5:8). on it
The "it" refers to the altar of incense, which was located in the Holy Place of the tabernacle, just before the veil that separated the Holy of Holies. This placement signifies the closeness of worship to the presence of God. The altar serves as a physical reminder of the spiritual connection between God and His people, emphasizing the importance of approaching God with reverence and purity. every morning
The phrase "every morning" underscores the regularity and discipline required in worship. The Hebrew word for "morning" (בֹּקֶר, boqer) signifies the beginning of a new day, symbolizing renewal and the fresh mercies of God. This daily ritual reflects the need for believers to start each day with a focus on God, seeking His guidance and strength. when he tends the lamps
The tending of the lamps refers to the maintenance of the golden lampstand, or menorah, which provided light in the tabernacle. The Hebrew verb "tends" (הֵיטִיב, heitiv) implies careful attention and care. This action symbolizes the light of God's presence and truth, which should be kept burning brightly in the lives of believers. The connection between the incense and the lamps highlights the relationship between prayer and the illumination of God's Word in guiding the faithful. Persons / Places / Events 1. AaronThe brother of Moses and the first high priest of Israel. He was responsible for performing sacred duties in the Tabernacle, including burning incense. 2. Fragrant IncenseA special blend of spices used in the Tabernacle for worship. It symbolizes the prayers of the people rising to God. 3. The TabernacleThe portable sanctuary where the Israelites worshiped God during their journey through the wilderness. It was the center of Israelite worship and the dwelling place of God's presence. 4. The LampsRefers to the golden lampstand (Menorah) in the Tabernacle, which Aaron was to tend every morning and evening, ensuring it remained lit. 5. Morning RitualThe daily practice of burning incense and tending the lamps, signifying the continual worship and presence of God among His people. Teaching Points The Role of the PriesthoodAaron's duty to burn incense underscores the priestly role as an intercessor between God and His people. In Christ, believers are called to a royal priesthood, interceding for others through prayer. The Symbolism of IncenseIncense represents the prayers of the faithful. Just as Aaron tended to the incense daily, believers are encouraged to maintain a consistent prayer life, offering their prayers as a pleasing aroma to God. The Importance of Daily WorshipThe morning ritual of burning incense and tending the lamps signifies the importance of daily devotion and worship. Believers are called to start each day with a focus on God, ensuring their spiritual "lamps" are lit. God's Presence in WorshipThe Tabernacle was a physical representation of God's presence. Today, believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and God's presence is with them continually, calling for a life of worship and holiness. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Aaron's role as a high priest foreshadow the priesthood of all believers in Christ? 2. In what ways can the practice of burning incense in the Tabernacle inform our understanding of prayer today? 3. How can we incorporate the principle of daily worship and devotion into our modern lives? 4. What does the symbolism of the lamps and incense teach us about maintaining our spiritual life? 5. How can we ensure that our prayers are a "fragrant aroma" to God, and what other scriptures support this idea? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 16:12-13This passage describes the Day of Atonement, where incense plays a crucial role in the high priest's approach to the Holy of Holies, emphasizing the importance of incense in worship. Revelation 8:3-4In the New Testament, incense is associated with the prayers of the saints, drawing a parallel between the Old Testament practice and the spiritual reality of prayer. Psalm 141:2The psalmist likens his prayer to incense, highlighting the symbolic nature of incense as a representation of prayer and worship. People Aaron, Israelites, MosesPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Aaron, Altar, Burn, Burned, Dresses, Dresseth, Fragrant, Incense, Lamps, Lights, Making, Morning, Perfume, Sees, Spices, Sweet, Tends, Thereon, TrimsDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 30:7 4954 morning Exodus 30:1-10 7302 altar Exodus 30:7-8 5073 Aaron, priest
5183 smell
5373 lamp and lampstand
7770 priests, NT tasks Exodus 30:7-9 7386 incense Exodus 30:7-10 7438 sanctuary 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 ScriptureRansom 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 Links Exodus 30:7 NIVExodus 30:7 NLTExodus 30:7 ESVExodus 30:7 NASBExodus 30:7 KJV
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