Jesus In Exodus

Chapter 30

The Golden Altar

We have not yet talked about the golden altar and the reason we passed it earlier was that we had not discussed the priests and therefore there was no one to officiate at the golden altar.

There were two altars connected with the Tabernacle. Both were made of wood, but covered with different material: one with brass and so named the Brazen Altar; the other was covered with gold and so called the Golden Altar. The one was placed outside a two-room building in the court, just before the entrance to the Holy Place; the other was inside the Holy Place and stood before the veil. Each altar served a different purpose. The Brazen Altar was the place of sacrifice, for burnt offerings; the Golden Altar was called the Altar of Incense, and was the place of worship.

As we have said, the Golden Altar was not mentioned until there was a priest to burn incense on it. Just as the Golden Altar was the last object to be reached in the journey from the gate to the veil which hid the mercy seat from view, just so is worship the highest state to be reached on earth and the object for which all other things are preparation.

· Exodus 30:1-10, "Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high--its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding--two on opposite sides--to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony--before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony--where I will meet with you. "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the LORD for the generations to come. 9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD."

Before anything is said in this passage about the materials of the golden altar, or its size, or it’s placing, we are first told of the purpose to which it would be put. Therein lies the key to its spiritual interpretation. The altar speaks of Jesus Himself, and the incense was a figure both of His intercession and the praises which He presents to God.

The fact that the Golden Altar comes to our attention immediately after the investiture and consecration of the priest, tells us that what is portrayed here is the ministry of Jesus in heaven. He is constantly engaged before God on behalf of the redeemed. The position of the Golden Altar hints strongly at this since it was situated in the Holy Place, which tells of Jesus having gone in to appear before God on behalf of His people. 

We have said earlier that the Brazen Altar is a type of Jesus as the sin offering, enduring the judgment of God. But in the case of the Golden Altar, the type is of the risen Jesus before the throne of God.

· Psalm 141:2, May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

This gives us a picture of the meaning of “incense”. The incense burned on the Golden Altar, then, foreshadowed Jesus in heaven, praying for His people. Add to this understanding:

· Hebrews 7:25, Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

So the “incense” of Jesus’ priestly intercession maintains us through our wilderness journey.

Like many of the other pieces, the Golden Altar was made of acacia wood, covered with pure gold. As the sons of Aaron approached this altar---figures of worshipping believers now drawing near to God---they see nothing but gold. The horns on the altar, which speak of power, show us the power of Jesus as intercessor with God. Now you will notice that we are not told that there were four horns on the golden altar. The reason is that “four” is the number of earth, and the golden altar foreshadows Jesus’ priestly ministry in heaven.

The golden altar is equipped with rings and poles like the other pieces of furniture. It was used for only one thing. We get some useful information from Leviticus and Numbers:

· Leviticus 16:11-13, "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die.

· Numbers 16:46-47, Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started."

Notice that there was a close relationship between the Brazen Altar where sacrifice was offered and the Golden Altar where incense was burned. (Follow this type by thinking of Jesus on the cross [the Brazen Altar], and His intercession for us in heaven [the Golden Altar]. The activity at the Golden Altar was based on the activity at the Brazen Altar. That is, the incense at the Golden Altar was kindled by coals from the Brazen Altar, thus identifying the priest’s service with both altars. We cannot separate the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross from His intercessory role in heaven. Now think about the type: our Great High Priest pleads for no blessing which His blood did not purchase, and He asks pardon from God’s justice for no sins which He has not atoned for.

There is a very relevant passage that we should note.

· Isaiah 6:1-8, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

The coal of Divine holiness had already consumed the sacrifice and was also consuming the incense.

A dramatic contrast to this vision of Isaiah was the scene in Leviticus.

· Leviticus 10:1-3, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

These sons of Aaron were consumed by Divine judgment because they “offered strange fire before the Lord”, that is, the incense in their censors was not burned on fire taken from the Bronze Altar, but was of their own kindling. They had departed from the plain word of God who had already instructed them as to the manner of their worship. Nadab and Abihu were signifying that worship may be offered to God on another basis than that of the crucified Jesus, (that is, God’s plan).

Of the incense, three things need to be said:

· it was “sweet”.

· it was “pure”.

· it was “most holy”.

The Golden Altar is a pledge of our eternal security, as we saw in Hebrews 7:25. The congregation of Israel could approach God only at the Brazen Altar; but Aaron and his sons (figures of Jesus and His chosen people) came to the Golden Altar in the Holy Place. How this tells us that a position has been secured for us in heaven by virtue of the sin offering of Jesus.

The Golden Altar was to be covered with a cloth of blue, speaking of the heavenly ministry of Jesus.

Atonement Money

· Exodus 30:11-16, Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives."

When the casual reader of the Bible comes to this passage there are likely to be many questions raised in the mind. This simply does not sound like the God we think we know. To think that God required the Israelites to pay a ransom is beyond anything we could imagine. And monetary ransom at that. This is totally foreign to the general tone of the Scripture and at the least is puzzling. And there is another problem. The position that this passage occupies is quite strange. The Israelites were already a redeemed people!!! Why, then was a ransom price necessary now? And why introduce this strange requirement between descriptions of the Golden Altar and the Laver? What possible connection could there be between these three things?

Well, there is a way out of this seeming problem. The first thing we must do is to consider the passage in a wider context, that is, look at the particular book in which we find it. Each book of the Bible has a prominent and dominant theme which is peculiar to itself. As we said at the beginning of this study, the book of Exodus is about redemption.

First, we were shown that the Israelites were in need of redemption---they were a people in captivity. Second, we see the might of the Redeemer as He displayed His power in the plagues on Egypt. Then we saw the character of His redemption--- purchased by blood. Then we saw the duty of the redeemed---obedience to the Redeemer. Finally, we have before us the privileges of the redeemed---worshipping God in His Holy Place. Bearing this in mind, we can now address the passage on atonement money.

The first thing to notice in the passage is that the ransom money was connected with “numbering” of the Israelites. We could go into great detail, but suffice it to say that in Scriptures, when numbering is mentioned it usually has to do with “ownership”. For example, if we were to list, or number, our assets, that clearly indicates ownership. But we would have little or no interest in listing your assets because they don’t belong to us.

The Bible tells us that God created the heavenly bodies and calls them by name, indicating His ownership. So it would come as no news to any of you that Christians are bought by the blood of Jesus and therefore are His. Therefore we are numbered among His children. In the numbering of Israel it was God dealing with His people whom He had redeemed for Himself, taking what was His own and assigning each one his place.

The question before us is, who orders the numbering? If a king orders it then he is out of line. But if God orders the numbering He can rightfully claim that the people are His. That which is central in this ordinance of atonement money is, that God appropriates His elect unto Himself only as a ransomed people. An evidence of this is, as you will recall, He ransomed the first born in Egypt and were secured by the blood on the doorposts.

Here in Exodus the children of Israel are ransomed by silver. Now notice that several times the passage refers to the ransom as an offering. So the precious atonement money is a precursor of the precious blood of Jesus that was in the future. The atonement money no more signified that salvation could be secured by the sinners own efforts, than did the furnishing of a bull or a lamb imply that the offerer was able to purchase God’s favor.

Instead it was the Lord teaching His people, in type, of Him who alone could make atonement for sin, namely Jesus. So the slaying of the offerer’s sacrifice tells of the shedding of blood and the bringing of silver speaks of the preciousness of that blood.

The ransom was half a shekel. Half a shekel was ten Gerahs. Remember that the number ten is a symbol of human responsibility. The “sanctuary shekel” is the required measure, the required weight. And so it was with Jesus who met the required sacrifice with His life. Note that the ground for atonement is the same for all, rich and poor.

There is a practical application of this type even today, or especially today. We are under deep obligation to own up to the redemption-rights of Jesus. We should go beyond the matter of what Jesus ransomed us from and consider what He ransomed us for. He has acquired rights over us and He is entitled to our recognition of this in a practical way. Our lives should evidence the fact that we are not our own.

The Laver

We now come to consider the seventh of the Tabernacle’s holy vessels. The laver was the second which met the priest on his way into the sacred rooms. It stood in the outer court, between the Brazen Altar and the curtained wall which marked the entrance to the Holy Place.

The laver was closely related to the Brazen Altar but everything connected with it was in stark contrast to the Brazen Altar. The one was square, the other round. The one made of wood and bronze, the other of bronze only. The altar was for fire, the laver for water. The Brazen Altar received sacrifices from all who came, while the laver was only for the priests. The laver’s water was for cleansing.

Water is one of the most important elements in the universe. The largest part of the earth’s surface is water. The greatest portion of our bodies is water. Without it life could not last more than a month.

Water in the New Testament has unique connotations and the typical teaching of the laver is rarely grasped by the average person.

· Exodus 30:17-21, Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 "Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come."

The laver tells of the need of cleansing if communion with God is to be maintained. Cleansing, not from the guilt of sin, but from the defilement of everyday life. You see, the question of sin had already been dealt with at the Brazen Altar. But there, having killed the sacrifice and poured out its blood at the foot of the altar, the priest was now able to advance, but before they were able to burn incense (worship) at the Golden Altar, they must wash in the laver. The hands and feet would need washing before they could enter the Holy Place.

In our own case, as we walk through the wilderness of this world we are dirtied by the wickedness of the world, and therefore need washing. Now think: our exposure and being influenced by the evil of this world does not affect our standing before God as one of His children, but we need to be cleansed from time to time. And these errors along the way affect our ability to worship and commune with God. The laver like everything else in the Tabernacle pointed to Jesus and tells of His sufficiency to meet our every need. We go to Him for our daily cleansing.

Here in Exodus it is designed for purification of the priest. At the Brazen Altar sins were dealt with and put away. At the Golden Altar worship was presented to God. Midway between the two stood the laver where the priest was to wash his hands and feet before he was to have communion with God. Remember that the priest’s hands would be bloody after having officiated at the Brazen Altar and needed washing.

Water and not blood was the element used for the purification of the priest. The water in the laver was a type of the written Word of God. Notice that there is a distinction between what is required for salvation (blood) and that which is required for worship (water).

You see, the priest’s work at the Brazen Altar was completed before he passed the laver. This tells us that the question of our acceptance before God is not raised at the laver. That which the priest needed to remove, the dust and dirt of the desert, was not blood but water. So when a believer contracts defilement in his walk in the world, it is not a fresh application of blood that he needs, but the water of the Word.

Every time the Israelite sinned against God, a fresh sin offering was required. Why? Because the blood of the bulls and goats could not take away sins. But in contrast to those sacrifices, Jesus has offered the perfect sacrifice for His people once and for all. The believer as he is made aware of his shortcomings before God in His service is to avail himself of the laver and its water, God’s Word. What is needed is a practical application of that Word to the details of our lives. The priests were not to enter into the worship of God’s presence until they had washed themselves. Likewise, we need to be washed in His Word in order to truly worship Him. Strictly speaking, it was not the laver itself in view here but the water in the laver. The Word which the water typifies should be used to prevent us from falling into sin.

There are some peculiarities seen in this passage, not what is in it but what is omitted. Notice that there were no dimensions given for the laver, nor do we know the quantity of water in it. These omissions are significant. The absence of any measurements and the amount of water denotes that an unlimited provision has been made by God for our cleansing. Second, there is no mention of a covering for the laver. Does this not tell us that the purifying Word is always available to us in our wilderness journey?

One other omission should be mentioned. The laver is mentioned only one other time in the Old Testament. Does this omission silently testify to Israel’s departure from the Word throughout their history?

But in heaven (Revelation15:2-3) that which corresponds to the laver is seen. Here the saints no longer need to wash, but they are eternally reminded of the source of their purity. They are standing in a “sea” (laver) of glass singing to the Lamb.

Samuel Ridout has summarized the Tabernacle as follows:

"Here we are permitted to look into the glory. There, in the heavenly sanctuary, is the throne of God and of the Lamb, as the ark was in the tabernacle. The hidden manna is there, answering to the table of shewbread. The seven Spirits of God are before the throne, answering to the candlestick; and the sea of glass, answering to that in Solomon’s temple. Notice it is not now the laver filled with water—no need to remove defilement there; it is a sea of transparent glass, reminding us of the laver which has accomplished its work here. When all the redeemed of God are gathered there, the day of cleansing from defilement is over, no more need to wash one another’s feet; no more need for the Lord’s washing our feet, but there we stand with harps of God in our hands, nothing to hinder praise and worship. But the sea of glass, the witness and perpetual reminder of our cleansing, will flash forth there a continual remembrance of our Lord’s gracious and humble service throughout our journey here".

The Anointing Oil

· Exodus 30:22-33, Then the LORD said to Moses, 23 "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24500 shekels of cassia--all according to the sanctuary shekel--and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. 30 "Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.'"

This oil was composed of olive oil and four spices. God gave some very specific instructions and limitations regarding this oil. Myrrh was the first of four spices. Myrrh is a gum from a small tree in Arabia. It has a fragrant smell but a very bitter taste. The second spice was cinnamon, a spice from Ceylon. It also has a sweet smell and a pleasant taste. It comes from the bark of a tree. Sweet cane, also called calamus, was like a reed and came from Lebanon. Finally there was Cassia, a spice derived from a root.

In summary, the typical significance of these spices is as follows:

· the myrrh pointed to the outpouring of Jesus’ love in a bitter but fragrant death

· the cinnamon pointed to His holy jealously for the honor and glory of God

· the sweet cane to His uprightness and righteousness in a world of sin and wickedness

· the cassia to His submission to and worship of God.

There is a great deal more to be said about these spices and why they are as typical as they are of Jesus, but we will leave it there for now.

You can conclude from the description of this mixture of the oil and spices made a very pleasant scent. And God forbade the formulation of it for any purpose other than those which He had directed them to be used for. It was used to consecrate all of the items we have discussed in the Tabernacle, as well as to consecrate Aaron and his sons.