And you shall make an altar to burn incense on: of shittim wood shall you make it.
Exodus 30:32 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.
Exodus 30:26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
Exodus 30:7,8,10 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it…
to burn incense.
Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
for the burning of incense.
Incense in the ancient Near East was often associated with worship and the divine presence. The burning of incense on this altar represents the prayers of the people ascending to God, as seen in Psalm 141:2 and Revelation 8:3-4. The fragrant smoke symbolizes the pleasing aroma of faithful worship and intercession. In the context of the Tabernacle, the incense altar was placed before the veil, separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, indicating the role of prayer in bridging the gap between humanity and the divine. This altar prefigures Christ's intercessory work, as He is the mediator between God and humanity, offering Himself as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).
- God speaks directly to Moses, extending the earlier sequence of tabernacle instructions (Exodus 25–29).
- The word “also” links this command with the ark, table, and lampstand already described (Exodus 25:10-40), showing that every article—large or small—matters in His worship plan.
- The imperative “to make” highlights literal craftsmanship under divine mandate, just as Bezalel and Oholiab would later be filled with the Spirit for this work (Exodus 31:2-6).
- Hebrews 8:5 reminds us that these earthly items copy a heavenly reality, underscoring that this altar is part of a greater, divinely revealed pattern.
- This is a second altar in the tabernacle: the bronze altar outside for sacrifices (Exodus 27:1-8) and this smaller “golden altar” inside for incense (Exodus 30:1-10; 37:25-29).
- Positioned before the veil (Exodus 30:6), it stood nearest the Most Holy Place, symbolizing nearness to God’s presence.
- In Revelation 8:3-4 the heavenly counterpart receives the prayers of the saints, confirming the altar’s ongoing spiritual significance.
- Luke 1:9-11 pictures Zechariah offering incense at this very altar centuries later, tying the Old Testament ritual to New Testament history.
- Acacia, a hard, pest-resistant desert timber (Exodus 25:10, 23), provided strength and durability—fitting materials for sacred use.
- Overlaid with pure gold (Exodus 30:3), the wood-and-gold combination echoes the ark and table, blending earthly substance with heavenly glory.
- The durability of acacia reminds us that God’s worship requires lasting dedication, not disposable commitment (Psalm 90:17).
- Incense was offered each morning and evening as Aaron tended the lamps (Exodus 30:7-8), ensuring a continual sweet aroma before the Lord.
- On the Day of Atonement, coals and incense from this altar filled the Holy of Holies with a cloud of fragrance, shielding the high priest as he sprinkled blood (Leviticus 16:12-13).
- Scripture equates incense with prayer: “May my prayer be set before You like incense” (Psalm 141:2; cf. Revelation 5:8). Thus the altar teaches that God delights in the ongoing, fragrant intercession of His people.
- Its exclusive purpose—“no other incense…no burnt offering…grain offering…drink offering” (Exodus 30:9)—underscores the purity God demands in worship.
Exodus 30:1 directs Moses to craft a small, gold-covered acacia altar dedicated solely to burning incense. Nestled near the veil, it served as the daily meeting point between priestly intercession and God’s presence. Its sturdy acacia core, golden overlay, and fragrant purpose all point to the enduring, precious, and pleasing nature of true prayer, inviting every believer to draw near to the Lord with reverent, continual devotion.
XXX.THE ALTAR OF INCENSE.
(1) Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon.--Why the directions concerning the altar of incense were delayed until this place, instead of being given when the rest of the furniture of the holy place was described (Exodus 25), it is impossible to say. But there is certainly no reason to suspect a dislocation of the text. The mode in which Aaron is spoken of in Exodus 30:7-10 implies a previous mention of his consecration to the high priesthood.
That incense would be among the offerings which God would require to be offered to Him had appeared already in Exodus 25:6. Its preciousness, its fragrance, and its seeming to mount in cloud after cloud to heaven, gave it a natural place in the symbolism of worship, and led to its employment in the religious rites of a variety of nations. Egyptian priests continually appear on the monuments with censers in their hands, in which presumably incense is being offered, and the inscriptions mention that it was imported from Arabia, and used largely in the festivals of Ammon (Records of the Past, vol. x., pp. 14-19). Herodotus tells us that the Babylonians consumed annually a thousand talents' weight of it at the feast of Belus (i. 183). The employment of it by the Greeks and Romans in their sacrifices is well known. Here again, as so often in the Mosaical dispensation. God sanctioned in His worship an innocent rite, which natural reason had pointed out to man as fitting and appropriate, not regarding its employment in false religions as debarring it from adoption into the true.
Of shittim wood shalt thou make it.--Of the same main material as "the brazen altar" (Exodus 27:1), but covered differently.
Verses 1-10. - THE ALTAR OF INCENSE. This chapter has the appearance of being one in which accidental omissions are supplied. The natural place for a description of the altar of incense - part of the furniture of the holy place (ver. 6) - would seem to have been Exodus 25:10-40, where we have the descriptions of the ark, the mercy-seat, the table of shew-bread, and the candlestick; the natural place for "the ransom of souls," the earlier part of the same chapter (ver. 3), where the silver is required which was to be collected in this way; the natural place for an account of the bronze laver, ch. 27, where the bronze altar, near which it stood, is described; the natural place for the composition of the holy oil, ch. 29, where its use is commanded (vers. 7, 21); and the natural place for a description of the perfume the same as for the altar on which it was to be offered. Whether Moses made the omissions in writing his record, and afterwards supplied them in the present chapter, or whether Divine wisdom saw fit to give the directions in the order in which we now have them, cannot be determined. Hitherto certainly no sufficient reason has been shown for the existing order, which hence appears accidental. The altar of incense was to be in many respects similar to the altar of burnt-offering, but of smaller size and richer material. Both were to be "four-square," and both of shittim wood cased with metal; but the former was to be taller, the latter shorter, than it was broad; and while the latter was to be cased with bronze, the former was to have a covering of gold. The place for the altar of incense was the main chamber of the tabernacle, a little in front of the veil; and its purpose was, as the name implied, the offering of incense to almighty God. This was to be done by the officiating priest, twice a day, morning and evening, and in practice was performed before the morning, and after the evening sacrifice. Verse 1 - An altar to burn incense upon. The offering of incense was an element in the religious worship of most ancient nations. In Egypt frankincense was especially used in the festivals of the god Ammon (Records of the Past, vol. 10. pp. 18, 19);. and on one occasion an Egyptian sovereign sent a naval expedition to Arabia for the express purpose of bringing frankincense and frankincense trees to Egypt, in connection with the Ammon feasts (Brugsch, History of Egypt, vol. 1. pp. 305-311). The Babylonians burnt a thousand talents' weight of frankincense every year at the great festival of Bal (Herod. 1:183). The Greeks and Romans offered frankincense, as a rule, with every offering; and in the early ages of Christianity it was made the test of a Christian whether he would do this or no. What exactly the religious notion was which underlay these acts, or whether it was the same everywhere, may be questioned. In the Mosaic religion, however, there can be little doubt that, in the main, incense symbolised prayer. (See Psalm 141:2; Luke 1:10.) Of shittim wood. Compare above, Exodus 27:1.