“Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the LORD’s most holy altar.” [Exodus 30.10]
The altar mentioned here is the altar of incense. It was located in the Holy Place in front of the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle. It would have stood in the center of the Holy Place between the table for the Bread of the Presence on one side and the gold lampstand on the other. Since the Tabernacle faced east, the table for the Bread of the Presence (placed on the north side) would have been to the right when entering the Holy Place and the gold lampstand to the left.
Let's first find Jesus in the Holy Place, shall we?
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. [John 6.35]
The table of the Bread of the Presence clearly represents God's Son, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Now let's explore this further. King David recognized Jesus the Messiah's position in his Psalm:
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.” [Psalm 110.1]
This is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew's Gospel:
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” [Matthew 22.43-45]
BUT WAIT! If God is in the Most Holy Place facing the Holy Place (to the east), that would put Jesus at God's LEFT HAND! This is only a problem if we assume God is facing east in the Most Holy Place... But God's character and will suggest something different!
THINK! When Jesus returns to earth, we are told to look for Him coming from the east. That would necessarily mean He is looking west! And, if He is arriving from God's throne where He now sits at God's right hand, that would necessarily mean God is facing west as well. Why? Because God is always beholding and loving His Son AND the world He created (John 3.16)! With this established, it could be concluded that God would be facing west in the Most Holy Place with Jesus out in the Holy Place behind Him at His right hand!
There in the Tabernacle then, Jesus is indeed found at God's right hand - albeit separated by the curtain - the veil separating the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. For the record, a perfect representation of God's triune existence is depicted in the Tabernacle as the gold lampstand depicting God's Holy Spirit stood across from the table of the Bread of the Presence representing Jesus.
And then, right between the "Son" and the "Spirit," behind the "Father," is that altar of incense... What is up with the incense? Is it just for sensory effect? No!
And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. [Revelation 5.8]
Incense represents prayer before God. Our prayer puts us in the Tabernacle right between the Son and the Spirit ...if indeed we are genuinely born-again people of prayer! The altar upon which that prayer is found is called "most holy" in the subject passage above by no mistake - it matters greatly to God!
There is the problem however of that curtain separating the Son-and-Spirit-covered prayers of God's people from the Father God! Well, that was a problem!
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. [Matthew 27.50-52]
When Jesus offered Himself for us, the veil in the Temple (permanent version of the mobile Tabernacle) was removed. What instantaneously transpired when that took place is that the prayers of His people flanked by His beloved Son and His powerful Holy Spirit fell right into step with God in His Kingdom and His work.
Oh how eternally important then ("most holy") it is to come boldly to God's throne with the Holy Spirit empowering us from the left hand and the blood of Jesus covering us from the right!
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. [Ephesians 3.12]
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. [Hebrews 4.16]
So, first, we need to be praying to God covered by the blood of Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit! But let's just get real for a second... The cadence we fall into step with (in Christ empowered by the Spirit) is very specific as depicted by the specific formula of the incense:
Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the LORD, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.” [Exodus 30.37-38]
Just as the incense was a reserved formulation, so our prayers should follow suit! The prayers we present to God should be only for others and likewise only for "ourselves" in that they meet our need to serve the will of God in deference to others! Besides, Jesus PROMISED that our needs are met in serving the Kingdom.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22.37-40]
Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive. [Titus 3.14]
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33]
As the veil was removed by Jesus on the Cross, He and the Holy Spirit fell right back into step with God in His westward pursuit of the world, AND our "westward" other-centric prayers land us right there by faith in the midst of the Holy Trinity! Our prayers join us to God's love and pursuit of the world and that is why the "formula" of our prayers (in that place covered by the blood of Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit) must be consistent with God's recipe (for the salvation of the world -John 3.16) and not for our personal use.
Whew, that's a lot said! It just confirms however that God is still working to save the world, that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are still working to save the world, and that we are called to the work of saving the world! To become preoccupied with any other thing is to miss the first and greatest commandment and the second equally important commandment Jesus declared. The details of the Tabernacle reveal this all!
Father, open my eyes to see more and more of Your plan for me even in Exodus! Thank You for speaking to me today. Thank You for reminding me that, in Christ, my job is no different than the job You are working at right this moment - to love and save the world. Thank You for revealing the critical role of prayer! So be it.
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