Today is a brand new day!
Greetings!
Good morning, rise and shine!
I pray we had a good weekend and that we are ready to a new beginning of the week. Last year, during this time of Lent my reading were from the New Testament. This year, my readings come from the Old Testament. I feel strongly convicted of understanding God's salvation plan for us from the beginning. In so many passages of the Bible, verses from the OT appear in the NT and if I don't know what it meant literally or symbolically, I will not understand clearly or to the full extend of the text what I am learning. That is why I am reading with a magnifier through Exodus, with visual illustration and with additional cultural and historical information. This is what I found on incense:
The golden altar of incense, which is not to be confused with the brazen altar, sat in front of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This altar was smaller than the brazen altar. It was a square with each side measuring 1.5 feet and was 3 feet high. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. Four horns protruded from the four corners of the altar. God commanded the priests to burn incense on the golden altar every morning and evening, the same time that the daily burnt offerings were made. The incense was to be left burning continually throughout the day and night as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It was made of an equal part of four precious spices (stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense) and was considered holy. God commanded the Israelites not to use the same formula outside the tabernacle to make perfume for their own consumption; otherwise, they were to be cut off from their people (Exodus 30:34-38). The incense was a symbol of the prayers and intercession of the people going up to God as a sweet fragrance. God wanted His dwelling to be a place where people could approach Him and pray to Him. "...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 56:7)
Julieta Reyes
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