We have considered the golden lampstand and the golden table with bread within the Holy Place of the Mosaic tabernacle as representing Jesus as the Light of the world and Jesus as the Bread of life, respectively.  The third furnishing in the Holy Place is the golden altar for burning incense, which was placed before the veil leading to the Holy of Holies and which was similar to but smaller than the bronze-covered altar in the outer court.

“Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.  Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be of one piece with it.  And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.  … And you shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you.”  Exodus 30:1-3,6  NASB

The placement of the golden altar for incense before the veil to the Holy of Holies suggests preparation for passage into the Holy of Holies, just as the bronze laver containing water was for preparation of priests passing through the veil into the tent of meeting.

The golden altar had a dual role of daily burning incense and of annually offering the blood of the sacrificial animal on the Day of Atonement.

“And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps.  And when Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense.  There shall be perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.  You shall not offer strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a libation on it.  And Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations.  It is most holy to the LORD.”  Exodus 30:7-10  NASB

The once a year offering of blood on the altar as the atonement for sin is a suggestion of the once-for-all shedding of the blood of Jesus as the atonement for all the sins of humanity.  So, there is a clear connection of the altar of incense with the redemptive work associated with the death of Jesus.  We will discuss the annual ceremony of atonement in detail in Chapter 7.  Here, we are concerned with the daily burning of incense.

The incense the priests burned on the altar each morning and each evening was made of four ingredients, three spices and pure frankincense.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.  And with it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.  And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I shall meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.  And the incense which you shall make, you shall not make it the same proportions for yourselves, it shall be holy to you for the LORD.  Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from the people.”  Exodus 30:34-38  NASB

Four, the number of spice ingredients, is symbolic of the earth.  So we get the suggestion that what is pleasing to God Almighty is burning the earthly aspects of humanity, destroying our fleshly nature, burning our tie to the world.  Furthermore, there is a connection of the four ingredients to the description of the beginnings of humanity in the garden of Eden.  Recall that the garden was watered by one river, which split into four rivers (Gen 2:10).  We discussed the idea that God Almighty was the source (one river) that supplied life to the earth (the four rivers).  Now, as we discuss Jesus’ earthly life, we have a reversal when four ingredients combine into one cloud of sweet aroma rising to God Almighty.  Thus we have the cycle of one coming from God Almighty and splitting into four followed by four combining into one and returning to God Almighty.

Salt, an ingredient added to all offerings, was included as part of the incense as a reminder of the covenant that allowed humanity to approach God Almighty.

“Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”  Leviticus 2:13  NASB

We get the symbolic meaning of the burning of incense from the Revelation to John.

And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.  Revelation 8:3-4  NASB

This setting in Revelation, a golden altar for incense which sits before the throne of God Almighty, is similar to that of the Mosaic tabernacle with the golden altar for incense which sits in front of the veil before the ark of covenant, which represents God Almighty’s presence upon earth.

And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  Revelation 5:8  NASB

So, prayers are represented symbolically as incense, either before or after burning.

And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.  Luke 1:10  NASB

Aaron and the priests are to provide perpetual incense before God Almighty.

“And when Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense.  There shall be perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.”  Exodus 30:8  NASB

Perpetual incense suggests a constant prayer life, and the apostle Paul confirms this.

pray without ceasing;  1Thesselonians 5:17  NASB

Throughout His ministry, Jesus engaged in much prayer.

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.  Luke 5:16  NASB

And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.  Luke 6:12  NASB

And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”  Luke 11:1  NASB

Thus, with respect to Jesus, the golden altar in the Holy Place symbolically represents perpetual prayers.

May my prayer be counted as incense before Thee; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.  Psalms 141:2  NASB

The proximity of the golden altar to the veil leading to the Holy of Holies, associated with Jesus’ death, is reflected in biblical events, for Jesus, immediately after His last supper and just before His arrest, was in intense prayer.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.  Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”  And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”  …  He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done.”  …  And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.  Matthew 26:36-39,42,44  NASB

Given our pervious discussions of the symbolic meaning of the number three, it should not be a surprise that there are three prayer sessions.

Incense rising from the golden altar suggests Jesus’ time of intense prayer prior to His arrest and death on the cross.  Luke added details of Jesus’ prayer sessions.

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.  Luke 22:44  NASB

Jesus’ agony is described in terms of sweat and blood, both of which contain salt, and thus we have a connection to the salt added to the perfumes of the incense burned on the golden altar (Ex 30:35).

The content of Jesus’ prayer is significant.  Though Jesus expressed concern for what He faced, His prayer was that He would implement God Almighty’s will rather than vary from it.

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.”  Luke 22:41-42  NASB

Jesus’ complete surrender of self and will in order to endure a willing, substitutionary death is reaffirmation of surrendering His will at the temptations by Satan after His baptisms.  At that time, Jesus rejected Satan’s temptations by denying His self and His will, and Jesus repeatedly spoke throughout His ministry of this continuing denial in order to follow the will of the Father.

“I can do nothing on My own initiative.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”  John 5:30  NASB

Jesus’ surrender of self and will through prayer (incense) was a fragrant aroma to God Almighty.

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.  Ephesians 5:1-2  NASB

There is significant similarity between the man Adam and Jesus, because both men were in a garden when led away to death.  The man Adam sinned while in the garden of Eden and was removed from the garden to suffer death.

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” – therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.  Genesis 3:22-23  NASB

Jesus was seized in and led away from the garden of Gethsemane to the proceedings which resulted in His crucifixion.

So the Roman cohort and the commander, and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.  John 18:12-13  NASB

Here then is an indication that Jesus left the spiritual realm of the garden when He was lead away to death.

Recall that, because the man Adam failed to keep/protect the garden (Section 2.7), cherubim were given the responsibility to guard the way to the tree of life with a sword (Gen 3:24).  Similarly, Peter at the time of Jesus’ arrest was guarding the way to the Tree of Life (Jesus) with a sword.

Simon Peter therefore having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.  Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”  John 18:10-11  NASB

Divinely, Jesus commanded Peter to put away his sword, thereby allowing access for humanity to the Tree of Life.  So, Satan was allowed to “bruise him [Jesus] on the heel,” i.e., to enact His death.