In Hebrews 9 the writer brings before us the various articles of furniture that were in the tabernacle, which Moses erected at the commandment of Jehovah. Within the holy place there were the candlestick, the table with its showbread, and the golden altar: within the second veil, in the holiest of all, there were the golden censer and the ark of the covenant, overlaid with gold. It is about this golden censer that we wish to speak particularly.
The various offerings of Leviticus, fulfilled in the work of Christ, are brought before us in Hebrews 10; so that if in chapter 9 we have the furniture of the tabernacle speaking of the Person and life of Christ, in chapter 10 we have what specially brings before us His great work on the cross, the offering up of Himself in its varied aspects.
Looking into the Book of Exodus, we find instructions for the dimensions and materials of the different pieces of furniture, but there is no mention of the size or metal of the censer; but in Hebrews 9 we learn that it was made of gold, in keeping with the golden covering of the ark. The censer was normally used on the day of atonement, as recorded in Leviticus 16, so that the High Priest might be hidden within the cloud of incense; but it was once used abnormally, when, in Numbers 16, Aaron at the command of Moses brought the censer, "and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people, and he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed."
On the day of atonement, the blood of the bullock and the blood of the goat was sprinkled on the mercy seat, which enabled God to go on with His people for another year; but Aaron could not do this priestly work without the censer and its fragrant incense, which burned on the fire from off the altar. While in the presence of God, Aaron's life was in jeopardy; only as covered by the cloud of incense, which was fragrant to God, could he be there. And is not our acceptance before God in Christ? Yea, "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6).
This fragrant incense, which speaks of Christ in all His perfections, had four ingredients in like proportions, stacte, onycha, galbanum and pure frankincense.
Exodus 30 is the only Scripture which mentions Stacte, and the meaning of the word is "a drop." Does not this bring before us that Jesus came from heaven, the One who was rich, but for our sakes became poor. He had ever commanded; His voice in creation calling all into being, and upholding all things with the word of His power. Yet, while a Man on earth, as the truly dependent One, He waited for God's word in lowly obedience, and walked in constant dependence. What a stoop! When Satan said, "If thou be the Son of God command;" His answer was, "It is written." He would only eat in dependence on God's command.
How rich He was in glory; but how great were the depths of His poverty here below! There was room in the inn at Bethlehem for others, but for Him, only the manger. But God's pleasure was found in Him, and His angels proclaimed at His birth, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." At the beginning of His public ministry the Father opened the heavens and declared, "Thou art my beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased"; and from the mountain top said, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." Shortly before the cross, when Jesus said, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?" He would not say, "Father save me from this hour," but rather, "Father, glorify Thy Name": then came the answer from the Father, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
There is no mention of Onycha in any other Scripture. It has been suggested that it is the operculum — the covering of the mouth; and directs our attention again to Christ. the only One who never had to recall any spoken word. His every word was perfect, fitting to the ear, disclosing to men the great secrets of the heart of God, and bringing comfort and blessing. Men marvelled at the words of grace that proceeded out of His mouth; and those who were sent to apprehend Him returned to the chief priest and Pharisees saying, "Never man spake like this man."
Galbanum, like the other two fragrant drugs already considered, is only mentioned in this passage of Scripture. Little is definitely known of these spices, but galbanum is supposed to be yellow in colour, and the meaning of its name is "fat." Would not this bring before us the Lord Jesus whose every motive was the glory and pleasure of His God and Father? How great the contrast with every other man! Paul, in his day, had to say, even of Christians, "All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's."
Frankincense was a well-known perfume, bitter to the taste, exceedingly fragrant, and which burned well and very quickly. Added to the other three spices, which it helped to burn, there was a delightful fragrance in abundance when this holy incense was put on the fire from off the altar of burnt-offering. All the frankincense of the Meat Offering went up to Jehovah on the altar; it was for Him alone, for it spoke of the perfect life of obedience of Jesus, in which every step was taken in dependence on His God and Father. The devotion of the Bridegroom and the Bride are signified in the frankincense of Song of Songs 3:6 and 4:6.
How delightful a picture is this that brings before us the intense devotedness that characterized the Lord Jesus, whose will was only to do the will of God; finding His joy and pleasure in it. This devotedness surely brings out into display the other features seen in the first three spices. If obedience to God was a bitter thing to others, it was sweet to the Son of God, and its display was fragrant to the Father. The prefix "frank" denotes its free-flowing quality, for the gum was obtained from the incision made in the bark of the tree.
As we contemplate the blending of all these beautiful features set forth in the spices, each found in perfection in Jesus, and all together found in harmony and in perfect expression in Him, our hearts are surely stirred within us; for if He satisfies the heart of God, should He not satisfy ours as well?
A solemn warning was given that this perfume was only for God, for God alone could rightly appreciate the perfections of His Son. Nor could any other incense do for God; only the fragrant incense commanded, upon the fire from off the altar, would God accept. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, presenting strange fire, came under the immediate judgment of God.
Before it was put on the fire, the incense had to be beaten small. The more searching the testings of the Lord Jesus in His earthly pathway, the richer the fragrance was for God. And the more we enter into the precious details of that perfect life, the richer will be our worship in the presence of God.
Returning to Hebrews 9 we see that the golden censer was in the holiest. Was this a mistake? Normally the censer was in the holy place; but the holiest was its true place. It was kept in the holy place so that the high priest could take it before entering into the holiest. Now that Christ is entered into the presence of God, our Great High Priest, the censer is there with Him; and this is the reason for it being found in its true place in Hebrews 9. Aaron stood in the holiest, and had to come out again; Christ has forever sat down, having offered "one sacrifice for sins."
May our hearts be attracted more to Christ, to realise the preciousness of His Person more, and to value more the work that He has wrought for God's glory and our blessing.
Worship in the Presence of God.
In our last paper we considered the golden censer in the holiest of all, within the veil, and the sweet fragrance of the incense burning on the fire from off the altar before Jehovah. How precious is the realisation of our acceptance before God in all the virtue of the precious blood of Jesus, and in all the fragrance of His Person. Only Aaron, of the priestly family, could enter the holiest of old, and that on the Day of Atonement, but now, all believers have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19).
And how wonderful it is we can come before God to worship, not with the gifts that Israel brought, not with material sacrifices, but with spiritual sacrifices. The offerings with which God is well pleased are shown to us in Hebrews 13:15-16. There are sacrifices Godward, "The sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name"; and the sacrifices manward, "To do good and to communicate (of your substance) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." These are the sacrifices that we should ever bring before God for His pleasure
If we consider the exhortation of chapter 10 of Hebrews, we learn that God would have us approach His presence with boldness. We are not to come before God as if He did not wish us to be there, but as having learned something of the infinite value of the sacrifice of Jesus, and our acceptance in that work. Every barrier that would hinder our entering God's presence has been removed at the cross, and we know that God desires us to be before Him in the company of Jesus, our Great High Priest, to be occupied with all that speaks of His glory.
With these thoughts in our minds, we can look at the early verses of Hebrews 10, and consider how the writer leads us step by step towards entering the holiest. There are four main steps which we might contemplate; first, the law as a shadow of the good things to come; secondly, the new covenant with its promised blessings; thirdly, the tabernacle and the priesthood as foretelling the present ministry of Christ; fourthly, the sacrifices of old which pointed forward to the one great sacrifice by which God's glory and the blessing of His people are secured.
The legal system was not conducive to praise, for the law brought sins to remembrance, and the blood of the sacrifices of that system could not give the worshipper a purged conscience. The need of a purged conscience cannot be overstressed, for only thus can we truly worship God; and only as we have apprehended that the blood of Jesus is of infinite value in God's sight to take our guilt away can we have "no more conscience of sins." If the sacrifices of old could not purge the conscience of the worshipper, God has found the answer to this in Him who said, "Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not … Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God."
In these verses we have the four principal kinds of offerings referred to, burnt offerings, meat offerings, peace offerings and sin offerings. The consecration of the priests in Leviticus 8 instructs us as to how God prepares those who draw near to Him, giving them the suitability for His presence. On being presented before God, the priests are washed with water, then clothed in priestly garments. The bullock of the sin offering was slain, and the ram for the burnt sacrifice offered, then the blood of the ram of consecration was put on the right ear, the right thumb and the right great toe of each of Aaron's sons.
The blood of the sin offering takes all our guilt away; we are accepted in all the efficacy and acceptance of the true burnt offering; we have the blood upon us, claiming us for God; and like the priests of old, we have been sprinkled with the anointing oil and the blood of the ram of consecration, the One who gave Himself for us.
Into the hands of the priests was placed all that spoke of the inward excellency of the victim, the fat, the fat tail, all of the fat of the inwards, the net above the liver, the two kidneys and their fat. Besides, there was the right shoulder, that which speaks of the strength of Him who was able to glorify God even unto death, and to secure His loved ones for God by the sacrifice of Himself. Upon these were placed one unleavened cake, a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, which bring to remembrance the perfect Manhood and life of the Lord Jesus on earth as the One conceived and anointed by the Holy Spirit, who was in all things well pleasing to God.
These were all waved by the priests before Jehovah before being burnt on the altar. And is it not our privilege as priests to come before God and wave before Him that which speaks of His own dear Son? We are able to speak in praise to God of Him who was once down here to accomplish His will, and was obedient even to death, and that the death of the cross.
The first system of sacrifices, under the old economy, has now been taken away, and the will of God has been established in connection with Him who gave Himself, a willing victim, for the securing of His pleasure; and "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once." Through Christ's death we are set apart in priestly service for God's pleasure.
There was no place in the tabernacle for Aaron to sit down, for the priest's work was never finished under the Old Covenant; but the work of the Lord Jesus is a finished work, even as it is written in verse 12, "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God." How great is the contrast with the priest of old who never sat down!
If we have been sanctified, set apart for the pleasure and service of God, as typified in the consecration of the priests in Leviticus 8, we have also been made perfect as to the conscience through the death of Jesus, "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (verse 14). This great Sin Offering is of infinite value in the sight of God, and when we realise this we have the assurance in our souls that our guilt has all been removed through the work of Jesus.
Well it is then for us to heed the word, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus … let us draw near." The precious blood of Jesus has met every claim of God's throne, and enables us to stand before God. We are accepted in all the virtue and efficacy of the true Burnt Offering, and, as priests, our hands are filled with what is pleasing to God, all that speaks of the beauty and perfections of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we in some little measure have been enabled to appreciate them. God alone knows the full value of Him whom we present, but He delights to find our hearts occupied with Him who fills and satisfies His own heart.
Let us seek therefore God's own thoughts of Christ, His well-beloved Son, so that as we come together into His presence, we may have something of Christ to present to God, something fresh of the preciousness of Christ that we have learned.
H. Taberner.