The altar of incense
Next, you arrive at “the altar of incense”; at this
point, the Word becomes your prayer, and intercession unconsciously begins. The
Word of God takes hold of you and that Word that takes hold of you becomes
prayer.
The writer to the Hebrews declares in chapter 9,
verse 3 of Hebrews that the altar of incense stood within the Holy of Holies, yet
the Old Testament doesn't tell us that.
Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.
This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and
the stone tablets of the covenant.
Heb 9:3-5 NIV
In the Old Testament it is clear that the altar of
incense is in the Holy Place, yet the book of Hebrews tell us that the altar of
incense stood inside the Holy of Holies, so, which is it?
Here is what really could have happened; that
Scripture in the book of Hebrews speak of what happened after the veil was
split in two—prior to this, the altar of incense stood outside the Holy of
Holies.
Now, that the veil is split into two parts because
of the death of Christ—most possibly, by divine occurrence, the incense which
was in a golden plate was carried within
the veil.
The altar of incense is for the soul; the altar of
sacrifice is for the body.
The four kinds of incense represent the life, death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The incense also speaks of our intimacy with Jesus. It’s
so easy to surrender when Jesus is there; it’s so easy to yield, when the Lord
is real. It's so difficult to yield when you do not have that reality.
At “the altar of incense,” where intercession has
begun, your body, your will, your mind, your intellect, your emotions, and your
soul are no longer your own.