CHAPTER 30

(1491 B.C.)

ALTAR OF INCENSE

¹And you shall make an Altar to burn Incense upon (this was the Altar of Incense, which portrays Christ making Intercession for us constantly [Heb. 7:25-26]): of Shittim Wood shall you make it (indestructible wood, portraying the perfect manhood of Christ [I Cor. 15:45-47]).

²A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth (width) thereof (1 and 1/2 feet); foursquare shall it be: and two cubits (3 feet) shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same (as the four horns of the Brazen Altar signified that the power of Redemption was for all, likewise, the four horns of the Altar of Incense stipulate the fact that the Believer can have total and complete victory in Christ, with sin having no dominion over us [Rom. 6:14]; however, it can only be done by the Believer placing his faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit latitude to perform the work within our lives [Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11]).

³And you shall overlay it with Pure Gold (while the wood typified the Humanity of Christ, the Gold typified His Deity), the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and you shall make unto it a Crown of Gold round about (signifying the Kingly character of Christ [Jn. 19:19]).

⁴And two golden rings shall you make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shall you make it (two is the number of witness, and speaks of the Holy Spirit, Who is here to testify of Christ [Jn. 15:26]); and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal (the staves of wood overlaid with gold intimate that it is the God-Man Whom the Spirit is here to glorify; at times it had to be moved, so it was to be a day and night companion of a pilgrim people [Mat. 28:20]).

⁵And you shall make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶And you shall put it before the Veil that is by the Ark of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant), before the Mercy Seat that is over the Testimony (the Ten Commandments inside the Ark of the Covenant), where I will meet with you. (The Altar of Incense was to sit immediately in front of the Veil, which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. So, in point of fact, it was situated immediately in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Even though the Veil separated these two Sacred Vessels, the very fact that they were this close tells us that the separation was only temporary. When Christ came, the Veil would be removed [Mat. 27:51; Rev. 22:17].)

⁷And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet Incense every morning: when he dresses the lamps (the Golden Lampstand), he shall burn Incense upon it.

⁸And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn Incense upon it, a perpetual Incense before the LORD throughout your generations. (One or more coals of fire were to be taken from the Brazen Altar, which typified the Cross, and placed on the Altar of Incense, with Incense poured over the coals, which filled the Holy Place with a sweet fragrance, all typifying the Intercession of Christ on our behalf; however, it must be understood that the Intercession of Christ does not really pertain to Him doing anything in Heaven on our behalf, but that the fact of His Presence at the Throne of God guarantees that Intercession [Heb. 7:25-26]. If something other than His mere Presence was required, that would mean that the work which He did at the Cross was not a Finished Work. But it was a Finished Work, and requires nothing else added [Jn. 19:30; Heb. 10:12-14].)

⁹You shall offer no strange incense there on (the Incense poured on the burning coals had to be that which the Lord had designed, and no other kind; anything else would be called strange incense, and would be unacceptable! As we will later study, the Incense was made of ingredients which pictured and portrayed Christ in His Atoning Work; that and that alone is what God will recognize), nor burnt sacrifice (the Lord will recognize no Sacrifice but that of the Cross, of which the Brazen Altar was a Type; the Altar of Incense was for worship and intercession only, all made possible by the Cross; works religion typifies a sacrifice offered on the Altar of Incense, which God can never accept), nor Meat Offering (concerning this, Pink says: This, in figure, tells us that our Great High Priest expects no blessings which His Blood has not purchased, and expects pardon from Divine Justice for no sins for which Faith has not been evidenced. And incidentally, the measure of the Blessings which are given is Gods estimate of the life which He gave); neither shall you pour Drink Offering thereon. (Anytime the Believer places his faith and trust in anything other than the Cross, he violates the Cross of Christ, and wrongly uses the Altar of Incense, which, if continued, will bring on great chastisement from the Lord [Heb. 12:5-11].)

¹⁰And 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. (This speaks of the Great Day of Atonement, which took place once a year. The Blood applied to the horns typifies the fact that the Believer can have total dominion over sin, but can only do so by Faith and Trust in Christ and the shedding of His Blood on the Cross of Calvary. Victory comes by that route alone! [Rom. 6:3-5].)

ATONEMENT MONEY

¹¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹²When you take the sum (census) of the Children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them. (Verses 11 through 16 portray the ransom or Redemption money. The money was a special tax of registration in Israel, as a memorial or reminder of Gods provision of Redemption, and of their obligation under the terms of the Mosaic Covenant. Christ died on the Cross; He gave Himself a ransom for all [I Tim. 2:6].)

¹³This they shall give, everyone who passes 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 (equal to about $40 in 2004 money).

¹⁴Every one who passes among them who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an Offering unto the LORD.

¹⁵The rich shall not give more, 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. (All gave the same whether rich or poor, placing every man on an equal footing in relation to God and obligation to the Law. It should be noted that the money did not actually redeem the soul. Not even the blood of bulls and other animals did this [Heb. 10:4; I Pet. 1:18-23], but rather Faith in the Blood of the coming Redeemer, of which the blood of sacrifices was a Type. It was strictly for a memorial, even as the next Verse proclaims. Incidentally, this shekel was of silver, hence, silver is a type of Redemption.)

¹⁶And you shall take the Atonement money of the Children of Israel, and shall 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. (A census taken of the Children of Israel was important, because they belonged to God, and they belonged to Him by virtue of the slain lamb, and their Faith in that Sacrifice [Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3].)

THE BRAZEN LAVER

¹⁷And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁸You shall also make a Laver of brass (copper), and his foot also of brass (a pedestal on which it sat), to wash withal: and you shall put it between the Tabernacle of the congregation and the Altar (Brazen Altar), and you shall put Water therein. (The Water was a Type of the Word of God. One might say that the Brazen Altar was for the sinner; the Brazen Laver for the Saint. The former testified of the Blood of Christ; the latter, of the Word of God; the former cleansed the conscience; the latter, the conduct [Eph. 5:26].)

¹⁹For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

²⁰When 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 Offerings made by fire unto the LORD:

²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a Statute forever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. (The hands spoke of their doing, while the feet spoke of their walk, referring to lifestyle. Before attending to the duties of the Lord, they needed cleansing from constant defilement, hence the command for the hands and feet continually to be washed. The Word of God, of which the Brazen Laver was a Type, works on the same principle for us presently. The Word of God directs us to the Cross, which alone makes right our conduct. As they needed constant washing, we, as well, need constant washing.)

HOLY ANOINTING OIL

²²Moreover the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²³Take thou also unto you principal spices, of pure Myrrh (a gum which exudes from a particular tree through incisions made for the purpose; this typifies Christ Who was pierced for us, and from Whose wounds there flowed a sweet smelling savour to God [Isa. 53:5]) five hundred shekels (the shekel at that time was actually a weight instead of a coin; it was about one third of a modern ounce; representing silver, the five hundred shekels were worth, in 2004 money, about $500), and of sweet Cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels (Cinnamon was very rare at that time; it came from the inner bark or rind of a tree allied to the laurel), and of sweet Calamus two hundred and fifty shekels (came from aromatic reeds),

²⁴And of Cassia five hundred shekels (came from the inner bark distinct from the Cinnamon tree), after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of Oil olive an hin (about a gallon; all of these spices were extracted by either cutting or crushing or both; such proclaimed the fact that the great Work carried out by Christ on the Cross of Calvary presents, in a sense, a cutting and a crushing [Isa. 53:5]):

²⁵And you shall make it an Oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary (maker of perfumes): it shall be an holy anointing Oil. (The Oil was a Type of the Holy Spirit, with the perfumes being a Type of Christ. The minutest emotions of Christs Nature as a Man were perfect; and all were of like weight in His sinless Nature.)

²⁶And you shall anoint the Tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the Ark of the Testimony (signifying that it was all dedicated to the Lord),

²⁷And the Table (Table of Shewbread) and all his vessels, and the Candlestick (Lampstand) and his vessels, and the Altar of Incense,

²⁸And the Altar of Burnt Offering with all his vessels (the Brazen Altar), and the laver and his foot (Brazen Laver).

²⁹And you shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever touches them shall be holy (because it symbolized Christ).

³⁰And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto Me in the Priests office (they were Types of Christ, as well).

³¹And you shall speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing Oil unto Me throughout your generations (or at least until the Cross was a fact, and the Holy Spirit could then come in a new dimension; then, these things would no longer be needed).

³²Upon mans flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall you make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. (This ointment was not to be imitated, nor poured upon mans flesh. Spiritual graces cannot be imitated, nor can they be given to men in the flesh.)

³³Whosoever compounds any like it, or whosoever puts any of it upon a stranger (Gentile), shall even be cut off from his people (meaning that this particular Israelite would lose his soul; the Holy Spirit, Who glorifies Christ, must not be trifled with [Mat. 12:31-32).

THE INCENSE

³⁴And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, Stacte, and Onycha, and Galbanum: these sweet spices with pure Frankincense (these four typified the Intercessory Work of Christ, all on our behalf): of each shall there be a like weight (as stated, Christ was Perfect in every respect):

³⁵And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy (prepared by one who was skilled in this art):

³⁶And you shall beat some of it very small (refers to the fact that Intercession by Christ on our behalf is needed in all things, even in the very small things), and put of it before the Testimony in the Tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy. (These spices mentioned are those which made up the Incense that was poured upon the coals of fire, which were brought from the Brazen Altar, and placed on the Altar of Incense.)

³⁷And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto you holy for the LORD (to be used only as directed by the Word of God; Gods Government is exact in His Word; it must not be changed, diluted, added to, or taken from).

³⁸Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people (will lose his soul; all of this, in one way or the other, points to Christ and the Cross; if the Cross is rejected, then Salvation is rejected, as well!).