Exodus 30:1-10 The Altar of Incense

"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 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 is before the ark of the Testimony

-- before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony --

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  (NIV)

Some observations from the NIV Study Bible notes:

• The fragrant incense's smoke symbolizes the prayers of God's people. (Psalm 141:2; Luke 1:10, Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4)
• The Study Bible also noted that the furnishings of the Tabernacle which were nearest to God's dwelling were made of, or overlaid with, gold.  Those which were further away were made of, or overlaid with, bronze.  The bases which supported the frames of the tabernacle and the four posts holding the dividing curtain were made of silver.
• The gold rings below the molding were for holding the poles used to carry the altar of incense.
• God would meet with them before the atonement cover which was over the Testimony.  Only the priest could go into the Holy of Holies, once a year to make the annual atonement for the sins of the nation.  (Leviticus 16:34)

Exodus 29:35-46

"Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you,

taking seven days to ordain them.

Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement.

Purify the altar by making atonement for it,

and anoint it to consecrate it.

For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it.

Then the altar will be most holy,

and whatever touches it will be holy.

This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day:

two lambs a year old.

Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight.

With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour

mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives,

and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering

and its drink offering as in the morning --

a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.

For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly 

at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD.

There I will meet you and speak to you;

there also I will meet with the Israelites,

and the place will be consecrated by my glory.

So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar

and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.

Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.

They will know that I am the LORD their God,

who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.

I am the LORD their God."

Exodus 29:35-46 (NIV)

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Some observations:

                   

•      This is the start of the daily offerings.  The NIV Study Bible notes that these daily offerings were sometimes observed even during times of apostasy. (2 Kings 16:15)  King Ahaz ordered these offerings to be made upon a different altar, a new one styled after a pagan altar he had seen in Damascus.  (2 Kings 16:10)  It seems he had continued with this ritual of the daily offerings, yet added in other offerings and pagan practices. Of course this was just one example of his apostasy.
•      In the beginning verses, it seems to be a recap of the consecration process for the altar.  The priests were to consecrate the altar for a 7-day period, sacrificing a bull each day for purposes of making atonement and consecrating the altar by anointing it.  This process was repeated for seven days!  Yes, I know that I have already written that, but I repeated it for emphasis. [Which may have been why God chose to have the Israelites repeat the process for 7 days:  It could not be emphasized enough that God is holy and that they shouldn't approach Him carelessly.]
•      For the generations to come, the burnt offerings were to continue to be made regularly.  Two lambs were to be offered -- one in the morning and the other at twilight. 
•      God's ultimate purpose for this consecration of the altar and of Aaron and his sons were so that God would dwell among them and be their God.  Note the many ways this is expressed:

  "I will meet you and speak to you,"

" I will meet with the Israelites," 

"I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God," 

"...that I might dwell among them."

   

Exodus 29:29-34 Sacred Garments and Sacred Offerings

"Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants

so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.

The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting

to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place.

At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread

that is in the basket.  They are to eat these offerings by which atonement

was made for their ordination and consecration.

But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.

And if any of the meat of the ordination ram

 or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up.

It must not be eaten, because it is sacred."

Exodus 29:29-34 (NIV)

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As I typed the above verses, I thought that it was interesting that Aaron's sacred garments were to be preserved for the next priest to use.  Somehow this underlined for me the fact that the priesthood would continue on even after Aaron's death, and that the focus was on the worship of the LORD, and not on his servant.

Also, the NIV Study Bible noted that the "sacred place" in v. 31 above, where the meat was to be cooked, was most likely the tabernacle courtyard.

Exodus 29:22-28 Offerings to the LORD and portions for the priests

"Take from this ram the fat,

 the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts,

the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat around them,

and the right thigh.  (This is the ram for the ordination.)

From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the LORD,

take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer.

Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons

and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.

Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar

along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD,

an offering made to the LORD by fire.

After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination,

wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your share.

Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons:

the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.

This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons.

It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the LORD

from their fellowship offerings." 

Exodus 29:22-28  (NIV)

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Chapter 29 of Exodus details the process of consecrating Aaron and his descendants as priests.

In this section (vs. 22-28), parts of the ram for the ordination are offered to the LORD as wave offerings and burnt offerings.  Certain portions of the offerings were designated as the share belonging to the priests for food.  Leviticus chapter 7 gives more details about this process.

Burnt offerings, wave offerings and fellowship offerings are mentioned in this passage.  I think it would be best to wait until we get into the book of Leviticus to discuss those offerings in more detail.  It is about ten chapters away from where we are now, which seems like a lot of material, but the Exodus account will soon shift back into a more narrative style, which will move along more swiftly.  I plan to be more disciplined about writing regularly.  Also, this will give me some time to study ahead into the book of Leviticus so that I have a better idea of how to explain these matters when we get there.  I will definitely be asking the LORD for understanding in these matters!  

Exodus 29:19-21 The Ram of Ordination: Lives set apart for God's service

"Take the other ram,

and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

Slaughter it, take some of its blood
 and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons,
on the thumbs of their right hands,
 and on the big toes of their right feet.
Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.
And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil
and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments.
Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated."

Exodus 29:19-21 (NIV)
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The anointing with the blood of the ram of ordination consecrated Aaron and his sons to a life set apart for God's service.

     

The NIV Study Bible notes that the anointing of the men's ears symbolized sensitivity to God and his word, while the anointing of the men's right hands and feet symbolized a life of service to others on God's behalf.  

The ESV Study Bible notes that the sprinkling of both the altar and the men and their garments links all three, and that the blood can be seen as purifying them from sin.

Exodus 29:15-18 Burnt offering ram

"Take one of the rams,

and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

Slaughter it and take the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides.

Cut the ram into pieces and wash the inner parts and the legs,

putting them with the head and the other pieces.

Then burn the entire ram on the altar.

It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma,

an offering made to the LORD by fire."

Exodus 29:15-18 (NIV)

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These verses describe part of the process of consecrating the priests of the LORD (which is described in Exodus chapter 29).  Already in this process, Aaron and his sons have been washed and dressed in their priestly garments, and a bull has been offered as a sin offering.

Now one of the two prescribed rams has been selected as a burnt offering to the LORD.  This offering, according to the ESV Study Bible, is later described in Leviticus as one which is offered as atonement for the sins of the one offering it. (Leviticus 1:3-4)

The entire ram is burned on the altar, after all the pieces have been washed and arranged.  This seems to symbolize total dedication to the LORD.

The other ram's purpose, which involves consecration for ordination, will be discussed in the next post.

Exodus 29:10-14 The Bull: the sin offering

"Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting,

and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

Slaughter it in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Take some of the bull's blood

and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger,

and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.

Then take all the fat on the inner parts,
the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them
and burn them on the altar.

But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp.j
It is a sin offering."

Exodus 29:10-14 (NIV)
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The bull mentioned in these verses was the one specified in the early verses of this chapter. (v.1,3)

Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head, indicating that this animal will be the substitute for themselves and that their sins will be transferred to it.  This is a concept called substitutionary atonement.  We will certainly deal more deeply with this as we get into the book of Leviticus, but for the moment, here are some verses where such a concept is displayed:

  

Exodus 29:10  "Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head."

Exodus 29:14  "But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp.  It is a sin offering."

Leviticus 1:3-4  "If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect.  He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD.  He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him."

Leviticus 3:8  "He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting.  Then Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides."

[I know this may sound gross to some of you, but let me note two things:  1)When it says 'slaughter,' it is not in a cruel, hacking-with-knives frenzy which that term may bring to mind due to your association with certain horror movies, and 2) the sprinkling of the blood against all the sides of the altar, (and it is 'sprinkling,' not flinging gallons of blood about the place) -- though messy, reflects the concept of the blood being a covering for sin.  Hebrews 9:22 says, "In fact the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

Leviticus 4:3-4  "If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.  He is to present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting  before the LORD.  He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the LORD."

 

So the process of consecrating the priests of the LORD which is described in our passage (Exodus 29:10-14) also incorporates this idea of having a sacrifice to deal with the sins of the priest and his sons in order that they may be fit to later offer sacrifices for the people.

The process seems pretty straightforward -- after Aaron and his sons lay hands on the bull, it is to be slaughtered in the LORD's presence at the Tent of Meeting, and some of the bull's blood is put on the horns of the altar.  The fat on the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with their fat are to be burned on the altar, while the bull's flesh and hide and offal are burned outside the camp.

There are no doubt many other aspects which I have not mentioned, but we will cover more of that at a later time when we get to Leviticus and discuss these things in greater detail.