Exodus 30:1-38

The Altar of Incense. The Ransom Money. The Laver. The Anointing Oil. The Incense

1-10. The Altar of Incense. The use of incense in worship was probably due to the worshipper's desire to honour God by offering to Him what he enjoys himself. 'Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart' (Proverbs 27:9). It served also to counteract the strong smell of burning flesh, and was therefore usually presented as an accompaniment of sacrifice, and offered either in censers (Leviticus 10:1; Leviticus 16:12; Numbers 16:17), or on an altar erected for the purpose, as here. In Scripture incense is an emblem of prayer, probably because its smoke ascends to the clouds, where God is supposed to dwell: see e.g. Psalms 141:2; Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3. The existence of this altar of incense at the time of Moses has been disputed. In about one hundred places mention is made of 'the altar' as if there was only one, that of burnt offering; no mention is made of an altar of incense in Leviticus 16, where it might have been expected; it is not alluded to among the furniture of Solomon's temple; and the directions given here for its construetion would have stood more naturally in Exodus 25 or 26, where the omission is somewhat strange. It is accordingly supposed that this passage, and others where an altar of incense is spoken of, are of later date: see on Exodus 30:6. Indeed, the whole of Exodus 30:31 is believed by some to be a later addition. Observe the solemn conclusion at the end of Exodus 29.