Exodus 30
This chapter can be divided in five parts:
1. The making of the altar of incense vs. 1-10
- The census of the people vs. 11-16
- The making of the bronze washbasin vs. 30:17-21
- The preparation of the anointing oil vs. 30:22-33
- The preparation of incense vs. 30:34-38
1. The making of the altar of incense vs. 1-10
The altar of incense was the second altar used in the tabernacle and later in Solomon's temple. Its place was before the veil, and it was exclusively used to burn incense. It was one cubit square and two cubits high. TLB gives the measurements as eighteen inches square and three feet high.
Matthew Henry's Commentary says: "It does not appear that there was any grate to this altar for the ashes to fall into, that they might be taken away; but, when they burnt incense, a golden censer was brought with coals in it, and placed upon the altar, and in that censer the incense was burnt, and with it all the coals were taken away, so that no coals nor ashes fell upon the altar." The fact that no grate was mentioned is no indication that there was none. A censer is used during the ceremony of the Day of Atonement,[ 1 ] but there is no indication that it was placed on this altar for daily use.
In the book of Revelation, John gives us a description of the real golden altar in heaven of which this one was the copy; this helps us to understand its use and significance. We read: "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."[ 2 ]
The altar is the place of worship and intercession before the throne of God. More than any other piece of furniture in the Holy Place, the altar indicates a direct relationship with the throne of God. In verse 6 God says, specifically: "Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony-- before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony-- where I will meet with you." This direct connection is emphasized by the writer to the Hebrews. In the eighth chapter he says: "Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant."[ 3 ] This does not mean that the altar stood behind the veil, but that it belonged there, because it was connected to the ark and the atonement cover.
As most of the other furniture in the Sanctuary, this altar is made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold. Here too, wood represents the human factor and gold the divine glory. The combination of these two elements gives us a beautiful picture of what prayer is.
Human speech is a miraculous phenomenon. The fact that human beings can utter sounds that make sense is one of the great mysteries of creation; the fact that human speech can become prayer is an even greater miracle. In the first instance, God adds meaning to sound so that it becomes speech; in the second case, God adds His glory to speech so it becomes prayer. The angel in the scene of Revelation which was quoted above mixes prayer with incense, and so it rises before the throne of God.
As sinful human beings, who wear masks before each other to cover our vulnerability, we communicate through speech. Sometimes this communication is intense and beautiful; in many cases speech is nothing more than talk, small and vulgar. Even in our present imperfect condition, the veil is lifted in prayer and the baring of our souls before God becomes a deep and meaningful communication which makes us long for the time when we will see Him face to face. All this is included in the cloud of sweet perfume that rises before the Lord from this altar.
But the altar was off bounds for the ordinary person. Only the priest who served in the temple could approach the Lord at the golden altar of incense. In the present dispensation we have a privilege that goes far beyond anything Aaron and his sons could ever do. "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."[ 4 ] The golden altar of incense is a reminder to us that we have at our disposal a "sweet hour of prayer" of which we should avail ourselves at least twice a day. If prayer on earth can turn into sweet hours, what will heaven be like?
The altar of incense was the most movable piece of furniture in the whole tabernacle. It was small and it could be carried with two poles passed through two rings only. This detail seems to suggest that prayer is not bound to one specific place. Jesus emphasizes this in His talk with the Samaritan woman: "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."[ 5 ]
God said to Moses: "Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony-- before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony-- where I will meet with you." Prayer is based on the atonement. As we have seen before, the atonement cover is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word hilasterion, which is translated as "sacrifice of atonement"[ 6 ] by the NIV and as "propitiation" by the KJV is the translation of the Hebrew word hakaporet, which the KJV translates with "mercy seat." Fellowship in prayer with God the Father is only possible through the atonement in Jesus Christ. We pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus.
Adam Clarke gives an interesting comment on the place of the altar "before the mercy seat," which would also explain the puzzling statement in Hebrews 9:3,4. We quote: "Before the mercy seat that is over the testimony. These words in the original are supposed to be a repetition, by mistake, of the preceding clause; the word happarocheth, the 'veil,' being corrupted by interchanging two letters in haccapporeth, the 'mercy seat'; and this, as Dr. Kennicott observes, places the altar of incense before the mercy seat, and consequently in the holy of holies! Now this could not be, as the altar of incense was attended every day, and the holy of holies entered only once in the year. The five words which appear to be a repetition are wanting in twenty-six of Kennicott's and Rossi's MMS., and in the Samaritan. The verse reads better without them and is more consistent with the rest of the account." The Pulpit Commentary adds to this: "It might have been doubtful from what is said here, which side of the veil the altar was to be placed. The doubt is precluded by the narrative of what Moses actually did in ch. xl. 21-29, which makes it clear that the altar was placed with the golden candlestick and the table of shew-bread, outside the veil, in the 'holy place, and not with the 'holy of holies.' "
The composition of the fragrant incense, which Aaron is to burn on this altar is given to us at the end of this chapter in vs. 34-38. Even this altar, where the sacrifices are brought which are a sweet aroma to the Lord, which symbolize intimate and precious fellowship with God, is subject to pollution by human sin. Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the altar had to be cleansed by the blood of the sacrifice of atonement. The blood that was applied to the throne of God also cleansed the place of prayer.
- The census of the people vs. 11-16
It seems strange to find the commandment to take a census of the people among the list of furniture of the tabernacle. We find human souls between the golden altar of incense and the bronze wash basin. The superficial connection between this commandment and the surrounding ones seems to be that money was to be collected for the expenses of the building of the tabernacle and the carrying out of the services. There was, however, the opportunity for a freewill offering, as we read in ch. 25:2-7. The tax levied in these verses could hardly compare to what came in as voluntary gifts. And in ch. 36:3-7 we read that the response of the people to the appeal for a freewill offering was so overwhelming that an order had to be issued to stop, because more came in than was needed.
The issue seems to be more the soul of the individual than the needs of the tabernacle. It is true that the money is to be used for the service of the tabernacle, as vs. 16 indicates, but that part of the matters seems to be incidental; it is not the main and only purpose of the commandment. The payment is called a ransom and the price to be paid is, obviously, a symbolic one: half a shekel. TLB renders this with "half a dollar." It is impossible to determine in our time, how much that would be. Evidently, it was not much, since even a poor man could afford to pay it. Jesus rhetorical question: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"[ 7 ] implies that one soul is worth more than all the riches of the whole world and that ransom payment is out of the question.
The census was limited to males of twenty years old and above. So the purpose of the census was not to determine the size of the nation as a whole; women and children were excluded. When this census was carried out, as described in Numbers, we understand that the object of the count was enlistment in the army. We read: "All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families."[ 8 ] So there is a connection between census and service. A man was counted before the Lord when he served Him. God loves every one of His creatures, but we only count before Him, when we serve Him, and there is a connection between our service and our ransom. God wants it to be clear that we cannot pay him back for our redemption by serving him.
To pay half a shekel, or say "half a dollar" for a soul that is worth more than all the riches of the world, would amount to mockery. Yet there is no better impetus for service than the realization of our salvation. It is this realization that made the apostle Paul cry out: "When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"[ 9 ] This gives depth to this commandment of the census. It is not our efforts and service before the Lord that pay the price for our redemption, but the price of our redemption that was paid, challenges us to live for Him and to die for Him; and, strangely enough, what we do for Him is taken into account. This is, probably, what is meant by the words, "it will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD."
Another striking truth that is brought out in the law concerning the census is the equalizing effect it has upon people. "The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less." The distinction that is made on earth between rich and poor is not valid before the Lord. We are all poor in His sight. Or, rather, all the rich are poor before Him and all the poor are rich. The book of Proverbs tells us: "Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all."[ 10 ]
There still remains the question as to why this law about the census is inserted here, between the commandment about the golden altar for burning incense and the description of the bronze washbasin. When we turn again to Numbers, we find that the Levites were not to be included in the census. We read: "The LORD had said to Moses: 'You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony-- over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who goes near it shall be put to death. The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each man in his own camp under his own standard. The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the Testimony."[ 11 ] The reference to the census at this point in the story emphasizes the role and importance of the Levites.
The ransom to be paid in the census is an image of the real ransom paid by our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."[ 12 ] And Jesus was born during the great census ordered by Caesar Augustus. Luke says: "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire [Roman] world."[ 13 ] Augustus, obviously, had no idea as to who really paid for this census.
The verses 17-21 deal with the bronze washbasin. No measurements are given for this piece of furniture. An interesting piece of information is given in ch. 38, where we read: "They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."[ 14 ] It isn't until the building of the temple under Solomon when most of the furniture was made new, that we are given measurements of the basin, which, at that point is called "the Sea." We read: "He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. Below the rim, gourds encircled it-- ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths."[ 15 ] TLB gives us the measurements in modern terms as 7 ½ feet high and 15 feet from brim to brim; 45 feet in circumference ... and it had a twelve thousand gallon capacity." But it is doubtful that the basin that was made in the desert would be of the same size and have the same capacity. Water was a luxury item in the desert.
The water was to be used by the priests to wash their hands and feet when they entered the tabernacle for service. It was a ritual washing which symbolized moral purity. The atonement for their sin had been made by the blood of the sacrificial animal. The water cleansed them from the pollution which is part of living in a fallen world. That this purification was considered important is clear from the fact that God uses twice the phrase, "so that they will not die." The connection between the sacrifice of atonement and the purification by water is confirmed by Jesus in the brief dialogue in John 13. We read that Jesus said to Peter: "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." When Peter reacted to this by wanting a complete bath, Jesus answered: "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean."[ 16 ] This rite of purification is an important part in our fellowship with God. Without it, we would have "no part" with Him.
In the verbal exchange between Jesus and Peter in John, Jesus explains His washing of the disciples' feet as the setting of an example: "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."[ 17 ] But we should not loose sight of the fact that Jesus was the original foot-washer. He is the One whose blood is shed on the altar, He is also the source of our purification for service. And, although the death factor does not come out as clearly in the image of the basin as in the altar, His getting up from the meal, taking off his outer clothing, and wrapping a towel around his waist, his pouring water into a basin and the washing of his disciples' feet, and then drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him, was an act of dying to self. Jesus demonstrated how service should be performed. The willingness to serve involves the willingness to die. It is all included in what the author of the Hebrew epistle says: "Here I am, I have come to do your will .... And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Our purification is brought about by the word of Christ to us. "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."[ 18 ] The washing which the priests did when they entered the Holy Place was a symbol of the perfect work of Christ on our behalf, making us fit for service by His blood and His Word. And, as we have seen from His words to the disciples, we are to be imitators of Christ. That is what the washbasin stands for.
4. The preparation of the anointing oil vs. 22-32
TLB gives the following paraphrase of the quantities used for the preparation of the anointing oil: "Then the Lord told Moses to collect the choicest of spices-- eighteen pounds of pure myrrh; half as much of cinnamon and of sweet cane; the same amount of cassia as of myrrh; and 1 ½ gallons of olive oil." It is hard to confirm the accuracy of this paraphrase as far as the equivalent of 500 shekels to eighteen pounds is concerned, but it does give us an idea as to what quantity is intended.
Most of the ingredients were not locally available. Apart from the myrrh, everything was imported from a far distant source. The cinnamon may have come from India, or even from the Far East. This presupposes that a vast trade among countries and, maybe even continents, existed already at that time. God does not use only local ingredients since His field is the world from which He harvests His perfumes. We could say that there is a missionary flavor conveyed by the anointing oil.
The preparation of these ingredients was delegated to the experts. So the perfume that was made, more than fifteen liters, (the fluid alone was already approximately 6 liters, plus more than 50 pounds of dry material) was a product of the highest quality and should be considered as extremely costly. If, in modern times, one pays a high price for a small bottle of good perfume, imagine what a quantity of six or seven gallons would be worth. We cannot, however, compare this anointing oil with anything that is on the market in our era. As we shall see, it was not to be used as regular perfume; its use was exclusively for the service in the tabernacle.
First of all, the tabernacle itself with all its furniture and utensils were to be anointed with this perfume. This unction transformed them from material things made by human hands into symbols of the divine Presence, so that they would become holy and everybody and everything that touched any part of the tabernacle would become holy.
We do not define holiness in these material terms in our present day; for us, holiness is a moral quality. The original meaning of the word holy, however, is "set apart" or "consecrated." The presence of the Lord makes holy, not only people and their character, but also innate things. When God appeared to Moses for the first time, we read that God said to Moses: "Do not come any closer. .... Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."[ 19 ] When inanimate objects are touched by God's holiness they become like life-wire; they kill anyone who is not properly insulated. Aaron's sons died this way and so did Uzzah.[ 20 ]
The whole concept of holiness comes to us in picture form. The manifestation of holiness was by means of unction and the presence of the Lord was visible in fire and smoke. Protection against the danger of touching holy things consisted in observing the proper ritual of sacrifice and the use of blood and water. This does not mean that holiness had no moral connotations, but it indicates that the moral implications of holiness are the result of belonging to God. The emphasis here is that the real meaning of the word holy is to be set apart. What God sets apart for His use He also cleanses. And that is where our concept of moral purity comes in. What the Lord says at a later date about the Sabbath can be applied to the ritual that is prescribed here also: "So you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy."[ 21 ]
The Israelites were specifically forbidden to make any perfume with the same recipe and this anointing oil was not to be used for any other purpose than for use in the consecration of the tabernacle and the priests. The KJV is more suggestive of any spiritual connotation in its archaic use of words. We read: "Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you."[ 22 ]
The oil symbolized the Holy Spirit and the human body represented the natural man in his unregenerate condition. The word "flesh," as Paul uses it in the New Testament, gives us a clearer picture of the spiritual dimensions of this commandment. The apostle says in Romans: "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."[ 23 ] That which the NIV calls "the sinful nature" is rendered by the KJV as "the flesh."
The Greek word is sarx, which Strongs Definitions defines as: "the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): KJV—carnal, or carnally minded."
From Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary we quote: "In an even stronger sense, flesh is the earthly part of man, representing lusts and desires <Eph. 2:3>. The flesh is contrary to the Spirit <Gal. 5:17>. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God <Rom. 8:8>. <Galatians 5:19-23> contrasts works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit." The point of all this is that our flesh or our sinful nature is unacceptable to God. He does not give His Spirit to that which is not consecrated to Him. The human tendency is to compromise and to try to make God compromise. We would like to hang on to our sinful condition and, at the same time, receive the benefits of the Holy Spirit. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but not everybody wants to repent of his sins and ask for forgiveness and be regenerated by the Holy Spirit in order to get there. We don't mind the anointing oil, but we want to pour it on ourselves as we are.
The anointing of the priests is an image of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them as a preparation for service. This is not just meant to be a ritual without life changing consequences. We do not read that Aaron or his sons experienced a change of heart as a result of this unction. When Samuel anoints Saul to be the first king of Israel he foretells him: "The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person."[ 24 ] We do not see such a change in these priests. As a matter of fact, shortly afterwards two of these men who were anointed will die because of the sacrilege they committed.[ 25 ] Yet the writer of Psalm 133 interprets Aaron's unction as a symbol of the fruit of the Spirit, such as those the Apostle Paul would list them in his Epistle to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, etc.[ 26 ] He says: "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes."[ 27 ] The anointing of the priest should have brought about love, joy and peace, but, evidently, it did not.
5. The preparation of incense vs. 34-38
The four components used in the preparation of this incense were stacte, onycha, galbanum and frank-incense. It is not clear in every instance what the substance is. According to Strongs Definitions, the Hebrew word for gum resin is nataph which, literally means "a drop" and which the KJV renders as "stacte." Unger's Bible Dictionary considers stacte to be myrrh. Onycha is the rendering of the Hebrew word shecheleth, which may be a substance that would be obtained from the crushing of the shell of an aromatic mussel. Galbanum is the transliteration of the Hebrew chelbenah which Strongs Definitions defines as "an odorous gum." Pure frankincense is the rendering of the Hebrew lebownah. The preparation of this incense was also referred to the experts, so it would be a product of the highest quality. The NIV says that the incense had to be salted. This is the translation of the Hebrew word malach, which literally means to pulverize or to rub (with salt).
As with the anointing oil, the incense also contained substances that would not have been locally available; they were probably imported by traders. This gives the incense the same international flavor as the oil. Whether the incense was burned upon the altar or just put before the veil in front of the ark, is not clear. I suppose we are dealing with the material that was burned on the altar.
[ 1 ]
See Lev. 16:12
[ 2 ]
Rev. 8:3-5
[ 3 ]
Heb. 9:3,4
[ 4 ]
Heb. 10:19-22
[ 5 ]
John 4:23,24
[ 6 ]
Rom. 3:25
[ 7 ]
Mark 8:36, 37
[ 8 ]
Num. 1:20
[ 9 ]
I Cor. 9:16
[ 10 ]
Prov. 22:2
[ 11 ]
Num. 1:48-53
[ 12 ]
Matt. 20:28
[ 13 ]
Luke 2:1
[ 14 ]
Ex. 38:8
[ 15 ]
I Kings 7:23-26
[ 16 ]
John 13:8-10
[ 17 ]
John 13:15
[ 18 ]
John 15:3 (KJV)
[ 19 ]
Ex. 3:5
[ 20 ]
See Lev. 10:1,2; II Sam. 6:6,7
[ 21 ]
Ex. 31:13
[ 22 ]
Ex. 30:32 (KJV)
[ 23 ]
Rom. 8:5-8
[ 24 ]
I Sam. 10:6
[ 25 ]
See Lev. 10:1
[ 26 ]
See Gal. 5:25
[ 27 ]
Ps. 133:1,2
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