Sweet-Smelling Incense

Each day the priest offered incense before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice. Can we learn from this and use it to draw closer to God each day?

With the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread coming shortly, I am reading the Gospel of Luke in order to refresh my mind with the life of Christ and His great sacrifice for mankind. Additionally, I am using the Daily Study Bible Series by William Barclay to enhance my study.

“Sacrifices wrapped in sweet-smelling incense”

William Barclay, in a note on Luke 1:5-25, writes concerning the burning of incense and the offering of sacrifices: “Before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice incense was burned on the altar of incense so that, as it were, the sacrifices might go up to God wrapped in an envelope of sweet-smelling incense” (The Gospel of Luke, p. 10, emphasis added throughout).

Incense/prayers

Mr. Barclay’s statement caught my attention. As I paused to think about it, scriptures came to mind that explain what the incense pictured.

• “Let my prayer be set before You as incense” (Psalm 141:2).
• “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. … And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God” (Revelation 8:3-4).
• “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” (Revelation 5:8).

As I thought about incense picturing prayers, my thoughts moved to consider what the sacrifices pictured.

I knew that the animal sacrifices offered in the temple pictured what Jesus Christ would do/has done for us. Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, we can look to God for forgiveness of our sins because Jesus’ blood was shed to cover them. Animal sacrifices could not perfect the sinner, but they picture Christ’s redeeming blood to cover the sins of all mankind (Hebrews 10:1-4).

Animal sacrifices were offered at the earthly temple (Hebrews 9:11-14) and can no longer be offered because the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. However, we are instructed to offer sacrifices today. Consider the following verses.

Our bodies a living sacrifice

• “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
• “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
• “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

A picture emerges

Instead of viewing prayer as something I need to do before my day begins and at the end of my day—somewhat separate from the work of my day—I now see a pattern that encompasses a day lived in the presence of God.

• Morning prayer/incense: It is a great privilege to communicate with our Father in heaven before the work of our day begins. We can come into God’s holy presence because of the sacrifice of Jesus’ lifeblood covering us. We can talk to our Heavenly Father. We can praise Him as the source of all that is righteous. We can pray for His Kingdom to come. We can share our sorrows and our joys with Him. We can ask for His help to walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). We can pray for God’s people and for the work of the Church.
• Living sacrifice: Then we enter into the “work” of our day more aware of what we do and what we speak because we are to be a living sacrifice in action. Our words and our actions need to reflect an unleavened life of sincerity and truth.
• Evening prayer/incense: We end our day before God’s throne in prayer. We thank Him and praise Him for His love and His help during the day. If we have fallen short and sinned during the day, we can ask and receive forgiveness for our actions because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

We have been given such a gift to worship the true God! Let us strive to draw closer to Him each day so that our “sacrifices might go up to God wrapped in an envelope of sweet-smelling incense.”

Andrea West lives in Lewisville, Texas, with her husband, Roger. They attend the Fort Worth, Texas, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.