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Fragrant Incense
Think
for a moment about something that you love to smell. Is it a fresh pound cake
baking in the oven or perhaps bacon frying in a pan?
Maybe
it is the aroma of coffee or spiced tea brewing?
Perhaps
it is the smell of freshly cut grass or a puppy. Each of us can identify smells
that bring us pleasure.
Have
you ever considered that there is an aroma that pleases God?
Let
us look to the Old Testament tabernacle and the furnishings within it to find
the aroma that brings pleasure to our God.
In
Exodus 30 we are told about the golden altar and the incense that was to be
burned upon it.
The
altar of incense stood within the Holy Place, just outside the veil that separated
the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
On
this altar, Aaron, the priest, was to burn fragrant incense every day while he
went about his duties.
The
last part of verse 35 says that the incense was to be “salted, pure, and sacred.”
This
incense was to be considered holy to the Lord and was reserved solely for this
purpose.
The
Hebrew word used for perfume, is "qetoreth" and it means incense or
perfume, but it also means “sweet smoke of sacrifice.”
The
Holy of Holies was the place where God met with the high priest who represented
the Israelites.
So,
if the Holy of Holies is where God lived among the Israelites, then the
veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was, in essence,
God’s front door.
The
altar of incense, then, became God’s doorbell for Moses and Aaron.
The
incense that burned continually on the altar offered up a pleasing aroma to God
and signified that the Israelites were obeying God’s command for the
tabernacle.
What
does all this mean for us today?
Every
part of the Old Testament tabernacle points forward to Christ and His redeeming
work on the cross.
When
Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple that separated the Holy Place
from the Holy of Holies was torn in two - signifying that God’s front door was
now always open to all who would accept Christ as their personal Savior.
In Revelation 5:8 we are told the
significance of the incense, “And when he
had taken it (the scroll) emphasis mine, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a
harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of the saints.”
There
it is. The incense, burned continuously by Aaron in the Old Testament
tabernacle, pointed forward to the prayers that we offer up to God.
Our
prayers, like the incense, should be salted, pure, and holy. They are the sweet
smoke of sacrifice and are a pleasing aroma to God.
Our
prayers should always be offered with a sense of reverence and awe before God.
They should be pure and should come from a heart that longs to please God and
follow His commands.
Often
our prayers will be a sacrifice, especially when they are prayed according to
the will of God rather than our own will.
Oswald Chambers’ words concerning prayer
are especially poignant. He said, “Prayer
does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work."
Jesus
knew this and showed us His absolute dependence upon prayer many times during
His days on the earth.
Luke
5:16 (NIV) tells us that “He Himself often withdrew into the
wilderness and prayed.”
Luke’s
account of Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane imparts to us the
importance of prayer in the life of Jesus.
In
this passage we find Christ not only going to His knees in prayer prior to
being betrayed and crucified, but also telling Peter, James, and John to pray
so that they would not fall into temptation.
Jesus
knew the importance of prayer in the life of a child of God.
Our
prayers serve to bring our will into conformity with the will of the Father.
When
our prayers glorify Christ Jesus and seek the will of the Father, they are
fragrant incense to the Lord.
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Leah Adams
Speaker
and author Leah Adams is the founder of The Point Ministries. Her passion is
for others to understand the grace and second chances offered by Jesus to all
who ask. She is a CLASS certified speaker and the author of From the Trash Pile to the
Treasure Chest: Creating a Godly Legacy Bible study. Leah is a regular
contributor at CBN.com and Internet Café Devotions. She and her husband,
Greg, live in northern Georgia. Visit Leah's website.
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