The Fragrance Of Prayer 20th May

Heb 8:3-6 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

The instructions given to Moses by God were explicit, detailed and complete. The law the precepts and the details for the Tabernacle and all that was to go in it, the clothing of the priests, the order in which they were to serve, their ages, the placement of the various altars and tables and implements – what they were to made of and how they were to be used – the details of the sacrifices, when, what and how often.

In fact the details were so explicit that not one possible thing was left for “man” to put in place. The Tabernacle and all it’s splendour and all it’s ceremony were God’s absolute instructions for the way His chosen people were to worship Him. No outsiders were allowed to enter the Tabernacle of worship – it was reserved only for those who were the called of God Himself – and it’s service could only be carried out by specially elected and trained priests.

It was the Divine Order – real, intense and specific to Moses and Israel – but also a symbol and type for the church age to follow – in fact a copy and shadow of heavenly things! Of things to come, of the glory of God and Holiness unto the Lord! It would have been magnificent to be a part of that ceremony – and the glory of God so physical and present, that sometimes the priests could not stand to minister. (Glory= kabod = weight)

For all our rejection of such things under the Church covenant – this age of the Holy Spirit – God delighted in this service of the Tabernacle and that first one was magnificent. The things in the tabernacle were all made exactly according to the plans given to Moses by God – there was the golden lamp stand, the table of showbread overlaid with pure gold, the altar of burnt offerings, huge and overlaid with bronze – all the implements of gold, silver and bronze

And of course the Ark of the testimony – overlaid with pure gold and on top the mercy seat : --

Ex 25:17-22 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

Cubit = 20inches = mercy seat 50 inches wide x 30 inches deep – made of pure gold – two images of angelic beings made of pure gold. This was the invisible Throne of God set between two symbols of holy glory in the Holy of Holies – the place where God would speak from. I don’t think we can imagine what this was like because although we might see pictures and plans we cannot see the Presence of God –the Awe and Holiness and the Fear and Glory – (Majestic)

The whole service of the Tabernacle was glorious and all the priests had their specific and assigned duties – some only performed once in a lifetime! Everything was set in order including the offerings, when, what and how often – the priests and their garments and every detail and then last of all we read this : ---

Ex 30:1-10 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

A little altar overlaid with pure gold 20 in sq (50cm)x 1 m high. Placed right in the middle of the veil immediately before the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. The altar of incense – no other priest except the High Priest burnt the incense on this it’s own special altar – every morning and every night – a perpetual incense – and once a year maybe on the day of atonement a special offering of incense was made – It is Most Holy to the Lord.

The incense was made once a year enough to burn a pound everyday and 3 pounds on the day of atonement. Made of spices and frankincense it filled the tabernacle with a unique scent only for God - no counterfeit could be offered. This incense was made according to the exact Divine recipe it was made for God’s pleasure – it was never made to please, comfort or in any way affect man. This was uniquely, specifically for God and His pleasure. Picture this :-

The high priest enters the dimly lit tabernacle with trepidation this is the most Holy place. In one hand is a censer, hot with glowing coals from the altar (holy coals). In the other are two handfuls of incense probably carried in a golden bowl. As he moves behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies, he puts the incense on the coals, producing a fragrant cloud over the ark of the covenant, the footstool of Yahweh.

The place of the Presence of the Most High God is shrouded in thick aromatic smoke, and the priest is unable to see clearly the forbidden throne of God. When God came to sit on the Mercy Seat He was immersed in this deep cloud of intense fragrance and smoke – smoke that never dissipated it burned all day and night. God was in the cloud.

Is 6:1-4 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

In the Tabernacle there was the great altar of sacrifice and burnt offerings – covered in blood but God was always behind the altar of incense – in the cloud and sweet smelling smoke.

Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Once the sacrifice is made, the offering accepted, the price paid for sin, there is the forgiveness of God – God comes into a pure, holy, sanctified place – the Holy of Holies all around Him is Holiness, Awe and Glory – this is the place of God’s delight – God will only come down in His Pleasure – in His glory and so this fragrant cloud of incense speaks of the pleasure and delight of God – and that is His, every day, accepted due!

Morning and night and 3 times on the day of atonement – God’s Mercy Seat must always be covered in this incense – an incense that can only be offered by His Chosen people in His Sanctuary, His House, and can only be burned by His Most High Priest. The worship and adoration of God is incomplete without the incense and He will not enter into the Tabernacle without it – it speaks of absolute holiness – it turns away wrath and judgement!!

Nu 16:46-48 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.

This is the most wonderful picture, a shadow and type of who we are now, and how we are to respond to God – This is a truly beautiful picture, if we can grasp hold if it – because we are now the Tabernacle and we are the chosen people and we are, – each of us, as the Most High Priest able to go in behind the veil and burn incense on that golden altar – right there before the Mercy Seat that is Christ Jesus our Lord!!

1 Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Pe 2:4-5 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Heb 10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

So we are the chosen to worship God, we are in fact the temple of God, a spiritual house a chosen generation and we are a royal priesthood and we can boldly enter into that most Holy Place – Jesus has made a way for us to approach that very golden altar of incense and there in the place of His mercy and forgiveness and glory we can burn the incense of prayer – an incense that can turn the heart of God and stop His wrath – and only we can do that, like Aaron

Prayer is not just about asking for things, or intercession, or even requesting things that God might want to give us for the lost, the world or even the church – prayer is the very cloud that encompasses God in His glory – it is a sweet fragrance to Him – it is a pleasure to Him and in it He delights – O this is the wonder of prayer, that it is like incense to God it is a pleasure to Him – you know He waits in that secret place – longing for us to come and pray.

God loves it when we pray because it says we believe, it says we know Christ the Son of His own glory. It says we can’t do anything by ourselves -- it declares we are dependant upon Him

It allows Him to come and inhabit this temple and it is in prayer we attain mercy and forgiveness, not because we ask – it is already done in Christ – but because in coming we declare our trust and acceptance of what Jesus has done – our prayer is a delight to God and the more we cover Him in this incense the more He draws us into Himself.

Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Lk 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

Re 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

We have believed and practiced prayer as a means to an end, of getting what we want or need – and of course there is this aspect of it – we are told to ask, seek and pray without ceasing – but there is a far more glorious aspect to prayer – when we come in an attitude of worship and adoration and our prayer is not a request – except to know Christ Jesus and be holy – but when our prayer is simply the acknowledging of God and His mercy and grace –

Entering His courts with thanksgiving in our hearts because He is God and Saviour – loving Him by choice and action – not feeling – then it is like sweet smelling incense and it is even more precious than the type given in the tabernacle – because this is offered by choice and it can only be offered by those who have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour – those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.!!

It is treasure in heaven – like making a deposit in the bank you never intend to draw upon – not for saving, not for your future, but just for Him to surround Himself in!! He stores it up, it is a most precious commodity – more beautiful to Him than all burnt offerings and sacrifices – than all gold and jewels – the prayers of the saints!!

Re 8:3-5 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

I think maybe it is this prayer that might most bring revival – the prayer of adoration and worship.