Exodus 37:25 And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.
26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.
27 And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.
28 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.
29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.
We have read earlier of the instructions for the incense altar. Now Bezaleel was actually building it. Earlier it had been a command of God, but Moses did not see it. Now Bezaleel would make this altar from the written and oral instructions given to him. He did not have a pattern to follow. It was verbal instructions. Bezaleel had a sharp mind. As we have noted before, he was equipped by God for the task that God called him to.
This altar was made of shittim wood. That was a common wood in the wilderness. The measurements for this altar are given. It was foursquare. This altar was also overlaid with pure gold. Prayer is a privilege that God gives to His children. True prayer comes from the heart. It is not something memorized or read from a book. There are many Scriptures that can be used as prayers. However, in doing so, it needs to be something that you are convicted of and that you truly believe. Prayer is something that God wants to hear from the heart. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will help us to pray when we do not know what to say. All of this is for born again Christians. Lost people can pray and ask God to save them. Lost people cannot enjoy fellowship with God.
We notice again that this altar also had a crown round about it. It also had the golden rings and the staves with which to carry it.
This altar was to demonstrate the prayers of the priest and of the people. God prescribed a special incense of sweet spices for use at this altar. God teaches us how to pray. When a true child of God comes to Him in prayer, that is a sweet sound to Him. He loves to hear the prayers of His people. God is all powerful. He wants to bless man. Man needs to come to Him for His blessing. Man needs to humble himself in order to desire to come to God and seek His blessing.
God loves to hear the thanksgiving that comes from the humble child of God.
I Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
One of the sins of the lost is their lack of thankfulness. The simple matter of stopping to thank God for our daily bread is very important. We need to acknowledge His provision for us.
He also loves the exaltation of His name. It is important for us to recognize His greatness, His holiness. We have so much to praise Him for.
When we look around us we see so many people who are stressed out. They have no joy and no hope. Some trust in material things, but over time they realize those things do not really satisfy. There has to be more to life than that.
The reality is that there is more to life than that. Life without Christ is empty. God alone can bless us and give us His joy. He wants all to know that, but only those who know Him can truly know His blessings.
When a true child of God faces trials, he or she can always bring their trials to God. He knows all about them and He knows the way through them. Our flesh may not like what we are facing, but we can learn so much as we trust in God and draw nigh to Him in our trials. Life is a learning experience. It is only after death that the true saint’s walk of faith will be fully realized. Here, we need that avenue of communication with God that prayer provides. Be sure you know the true God and that you are learning how to communicate with Him in prayer.
Pastor Bartel