Exodus 30:1-38
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the topa thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two cornersb thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incensec every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
8 And when Aaron lightethd the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number,e then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.
15 The rich shall not give more,f and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary:g it shall be an holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
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.
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, temperedh together, pure and holy:
36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Exodus 30:6. Before the veil. This altar, formed like the ark, of the incorruptible wood covered over with pure gold, represented the Son of God in human nature; and the incense typified his intercession. The former was placed within the sanctuary, the latter in the court without; for his sacrifice was offered on earth, his intercession is in heaven. But it was not fixed within the most holy place; because the continual intercession of Christ was to be represented by the daily burning of incense, morning and evening, by the other priests, as well as the highpriest. Such situation would therefore have interfered with the solemn institution of the annual entrance of the highpriest alone within the veil, on the day of atonement, which had a very important signification.
Exodus 30:8. Perpetual incense. Christ's one offering has its efficacy every day, from the beginning to the end of the world: his intercession is unremitting and perpetual, which is thus represented. Their dressing and lighting the lamps prefigured the preaching of the word, which could only be rendered effectual by the intercession of Christ, conferring the blessing in answer to prayer.
Exodus 30:9. Make an atonement upon it. The application of the blood of atonement to the altar of incense, designated that the intercession of Christ derives all its efficacy from his sufferings; and therefore they must confine that altar to its prescribed use; for we need no sacrifice but Christ alone.
Exodus 30:13. A shekel is twenty gerahs. Rabbi Ramban, who died about the year 1260, procured a silver shekel at Ancona, of the time of the kings of Judah, weight about half an ounce, having a branch of the almond tree on one side, and an urn on the obverse. The letters were written in the Samaritan character, Shekels of Shekels, on the side of the urn, and Holy Jerusalem on the other. Some shekels have been found, having around the almond branch, Shekel of Israel. Their value is about half a crown of English money. Half a shekel is the offering of the Lord. The LXX read το ημισυ του διδραχμου, half of the half shekel. This sum, paid yearly, was employed in forming the silver sockets for the sanctuary, Exodus 38:25; but more frequently, it is believed, in purchasing sacrifices and other requisites for public worship. This seems to have been the tribute that was demanded of Christ. Matthew 17:24. Other contributions were voluntary, according to the ability or liberality of the offerer; but this was the ransom of their souls, and was to be the same sum for all above twenty years of age, whether rich or poor. Those who refused to pay it could have no interest in the sacrifice, and might expect to be visited with the plague, Exodus 30:12. The souls of all are of equal value, equally forfeited by sin, and equally need a ransom. Christ is equally the near kinsman, the Goel or Redeemer of men; and the sprinkling of his atoning blood is freely dispersed on all the people.
Exodus 30:18. Laver for Aaron and his sons. The laver of brass was a large cistern, in which was continually kept a quantity of water; and perhaps the foot was a bason which received the water out of the cistern by a cock, or some other contrivance, for their immediate use. For the priests, though washed at their consecration, were to wash their hands and feet every time they officiated, on pain of death; intimating the continual guilt they contracted in their daily employments, and converse with the world. John 13:11.
Exodus 30:23. Holy anointing oil, compounded of the most valuable ingredients, with which the priests, the altar, and almost every thing in the sanctuary were to be anointed. It was likewise poured upon kings, judges, and prophets, on their being appointed to office. This unction was emblematical of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, without which we cannot profitably attend on any divine ordinance, or officiate with acceptance in any sacred service. It is Christ who anoints and seals his ministers and people, to whom is given an unction from the Holy One, the odour of which is grateful to men, and wellpleasing to God. The anointing oil which Moses was commanded to make, according to a given prescription, was not to be used for common purposes, nor was any one allowed to imitate it; still greater is the sin of hypocrisy, and the guilt of despising the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit, which these anointings prefigured.
Exodus 30:34. Take sweet spices. This was the incense burnt upon the golden altar: they who take occasion from the doctrine of Christ's intercession and grace to indulge in sin, and they who make intercessors of saints and angels, alike violate the spirit of the restriction here annexed.