By Mike Caton

Exodus 30:7-10, “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 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. 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. 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.”

Not only is Aaron, or whoever is serving as priest, to burn incense on this altar every day, he is to do it twice a day. In this way the incense is to be kept burning regularly before the Lord. Twice a day the priest is to go into the Holy Place and tend the lamps that are there. Maybe the wicks need to be trimmed and they need to be refilled with oil, maybe there are other things you have to do to those types of lamps. And while he was in there, he was to offer the fragrant incense to the Lord. As we said before, the smoke would rise and remind the people of their prayers ascending to God. The incense was also a reminder of them being set apart and cleansed by God.

Thinking about this, our prayers need to continually rise before the Lord as well. Too often our prayer time is; less than what it ought to be. I’m sure we can all understand this. Too often prayer is seen as a spare tire, something we get out when there is a problem. Or maybe it is seen as the last resort in dealing with some crisis. But many times our prayers seem to become little more than a ritual that we go through; God bless … Or maybe our prayers are negotiations with God; if you will do this, I promise to do that. We need to see our prayers as more of a conversation with our loving Father. We need to see prayer as an opportunity to share our thoughts with God, no matter how deep they are or how small they might seem.

And we need to be reminded daily of our cleansing to the Lord, and how we need to be set apart for his service. And this is not just the preacher who is set apart, it is each and every single one of us who calls on his name. We are called to live lives that honor him, that are inviting others to him, that are showing his goodness, mercy, and love to a lost and dying world.

And we need to be reminded of this daily, actually multiple times a day.

Notice also in those verses, no other sacrifice is to be made on this altar. There were to be no other incense offered, no burnt offerings here, no grain offerings, and no drink offerings. There can be absolutely no substitutes for this offering of incense God has commanded. And in the Christian life, there is no substitute for living that life that honors God. You cannot simply do good works, give money, attend church, be a good person, or anything else to make up for the lack of true commitment to the Lord. Those things, and many others, are good things to do. But if they are not done out of true devotion to the Lord, they are just empty motions.

Father, help my life be a sweet incense to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works as a full time AEMT with Hyde County EMS. Follow Mount Olive Church of Christ on Facebook for daily devotions.

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