A Sacred Aroma

What this episode covers

Old Testament Reading The Old Testament reading is from chapter 30, and the passages are two passages. First, verses one through 10, and then verses 34 through 38. So we’ll read first verses one through 10, and then 34 and 38. And this is God’s inspired and infallible and inerrant word. So let’s hear the word of God. Exodus 30 verses 1 through 10. You shall make an altar on which to burn incense. You shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it, you shall make them. And they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it every morning. When he dresses the lamps, he shall burn it. And when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it. A regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement, he shall make atonement for it once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord. And then verse 34, to the end of the chapter, the Lord said to Moses, take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense. Of each shall there be an equal part and make an incense blended as by the perfumer seasoned with salt, pure and holy. You shall beat some of it very small and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you. And the incense that you shall make according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people. New Testament Reading And now let’s turn to the New Testament for our New Testament reading. It’s Revelation, chapter 8, verses 1 through 5. And this is part of what the Apostle John witnessed in his vision of the worship that was taking place in heaven. So Revelation, chapter 8, verses 1 through 5. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. You may turn back to Exodus chapter 30 for our sermon text this morning. Introduction to the Altar of Incense When I was in grade school, the house that we lived in, in the backyard, it had a couple of mint bushes. And from time to time when I was a kid, I would pluck off a leaf from the mint bush and I would hold it to my nose and I would breathe in the minty aroma. And to this day, anytime I smell fresh mint, it reminds me of that house in the backyard. And so it’s one of my favorite smells. One of the pleasures that God has given us to enjoy in this world is the fragrance of pleasing aro

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