EXODUS

LESSON  SEVEN

In the study of the Tabernacle we find that The Altar of Incense and the Laver of Brass was left out of Exodus 25. That is quite a mystery. 
Why did God through Moses wait until the 30th chapter of Exodus to describe these two pieces of furniture?
The answer lies in what they represent.  That which is Eternal stands out from that which is only temporary.

“Now between this candlestick and the table,  which,  as we said,  were within the sanctuary,  was the altar of incense,  made of wood indeed,  but of the same wood of which the foregoing vessels were made,  such as was not liable to corruption;  it was entirely crusted over with a golden plate,  its breadth on each side was a cubit,  but the altitude double.  Upon it was a grate of gold,  that was extant above the altar,  which had a golden crown encompassing it round about,  whereto belonged rings and bars,  by which the priests carried it when they journeyed.
(Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews Book III Page 73)

It was  called:

PURPOSE

Once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements.

LOCATION

It stood directly in front of the vail.    Exodus 40:5-9

DESCRIPTION

SIZE

Exodus 30:4  ANCIENT SOURCES

The Hebrew Cannon
“And two rings of gold shalt thou make for it beneath its crown, on its two corners shalt thou make them, upon both its sides; and they shall be as receptacles for the staves to bear it by means of them.”
(Masoretic Text,  Translated by Isaac Leeser in 1915)

The New Hebrew Cannon
“And two golden rings shalt thou make for it under the crown thereof, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make them; and they shall be for places for staves wherewith to bear it.”
(Masoretic Text,  Jewish Publication Society of America, 1965)

The Septuagint  (LXX)  by Bagster
“And thou shalt gild its grate with pure gold, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make for it a wreathen border of gold round about. And thou shalt make under its wreathen border two rings of pure gold; thou shalt make it to the two corners on the two sides, and they shall be bearings for the staves, so as to bear it with them.”
(Translated by Samuel Bagster & Sons,  1794)

The Septuagint  (LXX)  by Thompson
“And thou shalt make two rings of pure gold under its wreathed border for the two corners. Thou shalt make them on the two sides and there shall be clasps for the staves with which it is to be carried.”
(Translated by Charles Thomson,  1774-1789)

The Targum of Onkelos
“And thou shalt make an altar upon which to burn fragrant incense, of woods of sittin shalt thou make it. A cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, four-square shall it be, and two cubits its height. The horns of it shall be of the same. And thou shalt cover it with fine gold, its top and its sides round about, and its horns. And thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about, and two rings of gold shalt thou make to it under its crown, upon its top corners, at its two sides; and it shall be for the places of the staves by which to carry it. And thou shalt make the staves of sittin woods, and cover them with gold.”   (Section Tetsavveh)

General Information

It was constructed of acacia wood which is a tree of the genus Acacia;  either the Acacia gummifera or the
A. Seyal;  both of which have abounded in the valley of the Arabian wilderness.  It is sometimes called shittim wood.

The ordinary Cubit is equivalent to about 17 ½ or 18 inches today;  it is once referred to as  “the cubit of a man”  the distance which might be measured by a man’s forearm  (Deuteronomy 3:11);  “the common cubit,” (RSV). Ezekiel mentions a “long cubit” which he equates with a cubit and a handbreadth  (Ezekiel 40:5; 43:13 RSV), roughly equivalent to 20 ½ inches.
(The Zondervan Bible Dictionary)

Small limestone altars with four horns at the upper edges are thought to have been used for incense.  One of these, two feet three inches high,  from the time of David has been discovered at Megiddo.
(The Biblical World by Baker)

The Incense, Ketoreth, was compounded of four ingredients:

Other ingredients were subsequently added in the temple practice.
Maimonides enumerates myrrh,  cassia,  spikenard,  saffron,  costus,  cinnamon,  sweet bark,  salt,  amber, and a combustible root or herb he calls maalath asam,  “the smoke-raiser.” (Keley ha Mikdash, II Sect. 3).
Such multiplication’s were unwarrantable: but the Rabbins defend them by a tradition that they were ordained to Moses on Mount Sinai.
(The Targums by Etheridge)

Incense was offered,  at daybreak (yoma III., 1,5)  and after the evening sacrifice.
It was the emblem of acceptable  WORSHIP,  AND  ESPECIALLY  OF  PRAYER  WHICH  PRESSES  HEAVENWARD.

In burning incense the priest used a censer,  machtah,  (from chathah,  which means in the Hebrew  “ to take fire or coals”  from hearth or altar.)  
The Chaldee word is Machtitha,  the LXX.,  “a burner,”,  “thurible for incense;”  a vessel of metal;  form not certainly known.
In the daily service it was carried by the priest into the holy place and set upon the golden altar,  and was probably shaped like a chalice,  with a base for standing upon the altar.  But the censer which the high priest held in his hand on the day of atonement must have been furnished with a chain or handle.  The censer used in the daily service was of brass;  that carried by the high priest within the veil was of gold. 
(The Targums by Etheridge)

Incense had a symbolic significance,  as is evident from Psalms 141:2

Ps 141:2
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
(KJV)

It became a metaphor for fervent and contrite Prayer .The Rabbis explained that the four letters of the
Hebrew word for incense, stood for:

TYPES

Properly speaking,  then,

Prayer and Praise is Eternal

Incense  Exodus 30:34-38

Myrrh   STACTE  -  Meekness
Many times the Bible speaks of pure myrrh.
This was the kind of myrrh that was secured from a deep incision into the heart of the tree,  so that the life would flow out.  Stacte was called the tears of the Myrrh tree.  For this sap came from a voluntary giving of the tree itself.   The little drops of life just came out and stood as tears upon the trunk of the tree.

Compare the nine plants that the Bridegroom found in the garden of His bride in  Song of Solomon 4:13-14,  with the nine fruits of the Spirit in  Galatians 5:22-23;  Philippians 2:5-8. 

ONYCHA  from Spikenard - Peace
Onycha was a small  ‘purple crab’  whose shell was dried,  powdered and when burned with fire gave forth a most fragrant perfume.  The Onycha derived its perfume or odor from feeding on the spikenard.  Spikenard was the 3rd plant,  indicating Peace.  Ephesians 2:13,14;  Romans 5:1; John 14:27.

GALBANUM - Sacrifice
The chief ministry of the Galbanum was to increase the perfume of the incense and support it,  and cause it to remain much longer.   I Corinthians 3:11;   Hebrews 1:10-12.
The ingredient of the Galbanum was only obtained from Deep incision into the heart of the tree.

FRANKINCENSE - Faith
The seventh plant,  frankincense,  with faith.  Frankincense becomes a picture or a type of faith or understanding.

Five sense’s of the Spirit are:

Tempered  (Rubbed with Salt  or Mearah (mixed)  with salt as Onkelos reads). Lev. 2:13.
Salt of the covenant spoke of purity of friendship,  freedom from corruption.  Num. 18:18-19. Ex. 29:26-27.
Breast speaks of Love and Affection,
Right Shoulder speaks of Strength.
The wave offering was horizontally;  the heave offering vertically,  The Sign of the cross.

It was called

PURPOSE

LOCATION

Thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the Altar       Exodus 30:18.

DESCRIPTION

Laver,  Hebrew Kiyyor
Pot,  basin,  Greek Loutron
A vessel containing water.
Setting on a foot.
(The Zondervan Dictionary by Tenney)

“Within these gates was the brazen laver for purification,  having a basin beneath of the like matter,  whence the priests might wash their hands and sprinkle their feet;”
(Antiquities of the Jews Book III Page 72 Josephus)

SIZE

The laver was the only piece of furniture in the tabernacle,  the dimensions of which were not given.
The reason is suggestive. 

TYPES

Throughout their generations
This rule has been observed by the pious in all ages,  who wash their hands before beginning any of the statutory services,  which the Rabbis declare to be the present-day equivalents of the sacrifices.
(Rabbi Hertz)

Exod 35:30-35
(30)  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of
Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
(31)  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all
manner of workmanship;
(32)  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning
work.
(34)  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe
of Dan.
(35)  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the
cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of
the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
(KJV)

“Now their names are set down in writing in the sacred books;  and they were these:  Besaleel the son of Uri,  of the tribe of Judah,  the grandson of Miriam,  the sister of their conductor: and Aholiab,  the son of Ahisamach,  of the tribe of Dan.”
(Josephus,  Antiquities of the Jews Chapter 6 Pg. 71)

BEZALEEL
Meaning:  The shadow of the Almighty

AHOLIAB
Assisted Bezaleel in the work on the Tabernacle.

“Now all was finished.  Besaleel and Aholiab appeared to be the most skillful of the workmen,  for they invented finer works than what others had done before them,  and were of great abilities to gain notions of what they were formerly ignorant of;  and of these,  Besaleel was judged to be the best.  Now the whole time they were about this work,  was the interval of seven months;  and after this it was that was ended the first year since their departure out of Egypt.  But at the beginning of the second year,  on the month Xanthicus,  as the Macedonians call it,  but on the month Nisan,  as the Hebrews call it,  on the new moon,  they consecrated the tabernacle,  and all its vessels,  which I have already described.”
(Josephus,  Antiquities of the Jews Page 76)

Now we come to the end of this study,  but not necessarily the end of the Book of Exodus.  We will go back to Exodus when we go into the Book of Leviticus.  I want to leave you with something.

Attacks on the Decalogue are singularly inopportune at the present day. For our age and generation stand in especial need of a Divine Confirmation of the Moral Law.  The nineteenth century loved to speak of itself as the Age of Science.  Now  ‘Science equips men, but does not guide him.  It illumines the world for him to the region of the most distant stars;  but it leaves night in his heart.  It is invincible;  but indifferent,  neutral,  UN-moral’ (Darmesteter).

That century widely heralded the discovery that man came from the beast;  and very soon after that discovery,  many of the literary and artistic leaders took it upon themselves to convince their contemporaries that it was only natural for man to return to the beast.

A powerful paganism began its assault against the ancient organized Morality.  It dethroned God in the sphere of human conduct,  derided all moral inhibitions,  and declared instinct and inclination to be the true guides to human happiness.

The twentieth century was bettering the instruction begun in the nineteenth.  The so-called new Psychology preaches repression of instincts to be a danger to personality;  and it regards as natural the unbridled gratification of impulses which civilized mankind has always been taught should be controlled or disciplined.
A new ethic has arisen,  as subversive as it is godless,  which bids each man,  woman or child do that which seems right in his or her own eyes.  It teaches that all moral laws are man-made;  and that all can,  therefore,  be unmade by man.

‘Never will there be found a precept comparable or preferable to these commands, for they are so sublime that no man could attain to them by his own power’
(Martin Luther)

Exod 20:1-17 (The 10 Commandments in the Hebrew)

Question:   What happened to the Ark and Tabernacle equipment?

May the Lord richly bless you as you study His wondrous word.