The Sweet Smell of Prayer | Exodus 30:1–10 | Message 6
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“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you. Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Exodus 30:1-10
Bible Text: Exodus 30:1–10
The Old Testament tabernacle was filled with powerful symbols that pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Every piece of furniture in the tabernacle reveals something about the person and work of our Savior.
One of the most beautiful pictures is the Altar of Incense.
Standing inside the Holy Place, just before the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, this golden altar continually released a fragrant cloud of incense before God. That rising fragrance symbolized something precious in the sight of the Lord—the prayers of His people.
Scripture confirms this connection.
Psalm 141:2
“Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
And in heaven, the same picture appears again.
Revelation 8:3–4
“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.”
Prayer is the sweet aroma that rises from the hearts of God’s people to the throne of heaven.
The altar of incense reveals profound truths about Christ and the ministry of prayer.
The Significant Details of the Altar of Incense
God gave Moses very specific instructions for this altar.
Exodus 30:2
“A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.”
The altar measured one cubit by one cubit at the base, about 1.5 feet square, and stood two cubits high, about three feet tall.
Interestingly, this made it the tallest piece of furniture inside the Holy Place.
The altar also had horns on its four corners, made of wood and overlaid with gold. Once each year on the Day of Atonement, these horns were sprinkled with the blood of the sin offering.
This symbolized the connection between atonement and prayer. Prayer only has value before God because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
As one commentator noted:
“The golden altar represented the place of intercession before the Lord… the blood applied to the altar gave the incense of prayer its value. So it is with Christ’s blood which gives value to our prayers before God.”
The Position of the Altar
The altar of incense stood directly in front of the veil, separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
Exodus 30:6
“And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.”
This placement was significant.
Though technically in the Holy Place, it stood closest to the presence of God.
One writer observed that the altar of incense had a more intimate connection with the Holy of Holies than any other object in the Holy Place.
This teaches us something profound about prayer.
Prayer brings us as near to God as it is possible to come.
Through Christ, believers are invited to approach God’s throne.
The Relationship to the Brazen Altar
The altar of incense was closely connected to the brazen altar, which stood outside in the courtyard.
The brazen altar was where sacrifices were offered for sin. It symbolized what Christ accomplished on earth through His death.
Romans 6:10
“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
But the altar of incense represents Christ’s present ministry in heaven.
Romans 8:34
“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Jesus died for us on earth, but today He lives in heaven interceding for His people.
The Special Incense
God commanded that a very specific incense mixture be burned on this altar.
Exodus 30:34–35
“Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.”
This sacred incense contained four ingredients:
• Stacte – a sticky, gum-like resin from tree bark
• Onycha – a substance derived from a shellfish in the Red Sea
• Galbanum – a fragrant sap from a Syrian plant
• Frankincense – a clear, aromatic resin from eastern trees
God also gave a strict warning:
Exodus 30:9
“You shall not offer strange incense on it.”
And again:
Exodus 30:37–38
“You shall not make any for yourselves… whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”
The incense was holy and unique, reserved only for worship.
This reminds us that true prayer must come according to God’s design, not our own invention.
Five Precious Portraits of Christ in the Altar of Incense
The altar reveals several beautiful portraits of Jesus Christ.
1. Christ Is Our Only Way of Access to the Father
The altar stood before the presence of God, but no one could approach it apart from the sacrificial system.
In the same way, no one can approach God apart from Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Acts 4:12
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Christ alone provides access to the Father.
2. Christ Is Seen in the Blood Sprinkled on the Altar
Once each year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkled blood on the horns of the incense altar.
This symbolized that prayer is accepted only because of atonement for sin.
Hebrews 9:14
“How much more shall the blood of Christ… cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The blood of Jesus makes our prayers acceptable before God.
3. Christ Is Seen in the Perfect Fragrance of the Incense
The fragrance rising from the altar symbolized the pleasing aroma of Christ.
Paul describes this truth beautifully.
2 Corinthians 2:14
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph… and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”
The life and sacrifice of Jesus are a sweet aroma before God.
And through Him, believers spread that fragrance in the world.
4. Christ Is Our Intercessor and Advocate
One of the most powerful truths of the altar of incense is the ministry of intercession.
Jesus Christ continually intercedes for His people.
Hebrews 7:25
“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
1 John 2:1
“If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“When we pray, He pleads for us; and when we are not praying, He is advocating our cause.”
Even when we are weak in prayer, Christ is praying for us.
5. Christ Is Seen as Our Great High Priest
The altar of incense also reminds us of Christ’s priestly ministry.
Hebrews 2:17
“That He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God.”
Hebrews 4:14
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
Hebrews 7:26
“For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.”
Jesus Christ stands before God on behalf of His people.
Lessons We Learn from the Altar of Incense
The altar teaches us powerful lessons about prayer.
We Are Called to Intercede for Others
Just as Christ intercedes for us, we are called to pray for others.
Jesus demonstrated this when He told Peter:
Luke 22:31–32
“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you… But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.”
And later He prayed for all believers:
John 17:20
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”
Intercessory prayer is one of the greatest ministries God gives His people.
Prayer Is a Sweet Aroma to God
Prayer is precious in God’s sight.
As one writer said, prayer is “the right kind of fragrance.”
When believers spend time with God in prayer, that spiritual fragrance becomes evident in their lives.
The Power of Prayer
History reminds us that powerful prayer does not require long speeches.
When the Gettysburg battlefield became a national cemetery, Edward Everett spoke for nearly two hours. Then Abraham Lincoln rose and delivered the Gettysburg Address in only a few minutes.
Someone asked afterward, “Is that all?”
The response came: “Yes—that’s all.”
Never underestimate two minutes with God in prayer.
Prayer is not measured by length but depth.
The Sweet Hour of Prayer
The beloved hymn expresses the heart of the altar of incense:
“Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.”
Prayer draws us away from the noise of the world and into the presence of God.
A Final Call to Prayer
General Robert E. Lee once urged Christians everywhere:
“Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight—throughout the day.”
Prayer should be our passion and practice.
Because prayer is not merely words spoken into the air.
It is a sweet fragrance rising to the throne of God.
And through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, every prayer offered in faith reaches heaven itself.
