Prayer as Incense (Exodus #41) - Bible Baptist Church

Text: Exodus 30:1-10, 34-38

Let’s get the directions for the furniture and the recipe first. Then we’ll make some applications to this particular alter.

First, it’s Biblically a picture of prayer

Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense…
Revelation 8:3 as well.
As best can be described in our terms, the divine sense that is most connected to your prayers is God’s sense of smell.

Second, it’s offered daily

Find a routine that works.
Watch and pray that you don’t fall into temptation. Things start to stink when there is no perfume.

Third, it smells good to God b/c the ingredients

In prayer, you bring the fragrance of Jesus Christ before the Father
Remember the last time you smelled BBQ? Creating a good aroma is big business. Between candles, and perfumes, good smells have been aerosolized in sprays, plugged into wall sockets; and the God of all the universe has surrounded Himself in His throne room with sweet perfumes. Kind of like you and I do.
Revelation 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
What’s being offered has been prescribed by God. The recipe calls for:
- A mixture of sweet and bitter (vs 34)
- It is to be tempered with heat (vs 35) – Tempered together so the mixture creates a uniform odor. Tempered means one part qualifies the other; to bring to a moderate state; lemonade is good because it’s bitter and sweet.
- (vs 36) Thou shalt beat some of it very small… Ever think about what it takes to get something good out of something else. Shuck it, shell it, crush it, squeeze it, mash it, open it. Or ever think about what it takes to make the pieces manageable. Cut it, bite it, chew it, etc.