Altar of Incense Description

Made of acacia wood

A cubit in length and width (square shaped)

Two cubits in height

Four horns all made of one piece

The top, all sides and horns overlaid with pure gold

Gold molding all around

Two gold rings under the molding on two sides to be holders for the poles that would bear it

The poles were to be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold

God told Moses to put the altar of incense before the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat. He told Moses that He would meet with him there. Aaron was to burn sweet incense every morning when tending the lamps. When Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he was to burn incense on it. This was to be a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout the generations. No strange incense was to be burned on it. Nor should a burnt offering, a grain offering be burned on it and a drink offering should not be poured on it. Once a year, upon the horns, Aaron was to make atonement with the blood of the sin offering of atonement throughout the generations. It is most holy to the Lord.

When taking the census of the Israelites, Moses was instructed that every man was to give a ransom for himself to the Lord, that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered. The ransom that should be given was half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). According to Wikipedia, a shekel was originally a unit of weight (11 grams) and then became currency in ancient Israel. According to Dictionary.com, a gerah is an ancient Hebrew coin that is one twentieth of a shekel. It was also an ancient Hebrew unit of weight. The half-shekel was to be an offering to the Lord. Everyone included among those numbered, twenty years old and older, was to give an offering to the Lord. The rich didn’t have to give more and the poor weren’t allowed to give less. They all were to give half a shekel to make atonement for themselves. Moses was to take the atonement money of the Israelites and use it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for them before the Lord.

God told Moses to make a bronze laver with a bronze base for washing. He was to put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar and water should be put in it. This is where Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet. When they went into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they came near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they were to wash with water, lest they die. The washing of their hands and feet shall be a statute forever to them, Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations. God instructed Moses to take for himself quality spices. He was to get five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cinnamon and two hundred fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. He was to make a holy anointing oil from these. The anointing oil was to be an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. He was to anoint the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils and the laver and its base. He was to consecrate them so that they would be most holy. Whatever touched them must be holy also. He was to anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so that they could minister to God as priests. Moses was to tell the Israelites that this should be a holy anointing oil to God throughout their generations. The oil was not to be poured on man’s flesh, nor should any other oil be made like it, according to its composition. It is holy and shall be holy to them. If anyone compounded any like it, or put any of it on an outsider, he should be cut off from his people. In other words, no “knock offs” or imitations of this oil was to be made. For the incense, Moses was to take sweet spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum and pure frankincense with these spices in equal amounts of each. The incense should be compounded according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure and holy. Some of it was to be beaten very fine and some of it put before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, where God was going to meet with Moses. It was to be most holy to him. None of the incense was to be made for themselves, according to its composition. To them, it was to be holy to the Lord. If anyone made any like it, to smell it, he would be cut off from his people. Do you have anything that you use that is only dedicated for your worship of the Lord? Next week, we journey to Exodus 31. To God Be The Glory! Click “Be Encouraged” for Spiritual, Encouraging and Inspirational Uplifting Be Encouraged