You
shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of
acacia wood. It shall be one cubit long, and one cubit wide; it
shall be square, and shall be two cubits high; its horns shall be of
one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and
its sides all round and its horns; and you shall make for it a
molding of gold all round.1
And you shall make two golden rings for it; under its molding on two
opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall hold the
poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia
wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall place it in front of the
curtain that is above the ark of the covenant, in front of the
mercy-seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet you. Aaron
shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the
lamps he shall offer it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the
evening he shall offer it, a regular incense-offering before the Lord
throughout your
generations.2
You shall not offer unholy incense on it, or a burnt-offering, or a
grain-offering; and you shall not pour a drink-offering on it. Once
a year Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement on its horns.3
Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it
once a year with the blood of the atoning sin-offering. It is most
holy to the Lord.4
1
The expensive and ornate nature of the alter is emphasized.
2
Another reminder that these actions are to be performed in
perpetuity.
3
Unclear what this would be from the context, but my study Bible
points me to Leviticus 16, where it speaks of the sprinkling of the
blood of the atonement sacrifice on the horns of the alter.
4
The alter or the action? Are certain places or objects holier to
God than others, and for what reason?
Take-home: The narrative returns to the objects within the tabernacle, this time the incense alter. Once again the ornateness of the construction, the holiness of the place to God, and the need to continue these ceremonies through all following generations are emphasized.
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