Exodus 30:34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35  And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36  And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37  And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
38  Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

God shows us that He is not just a distant spirit. He is capable of smelling and certainly of speaking. He is a God Who acts and has all power. He commanded Moses regarding the offerings that needed to be brought before Him. He would smell the smoke coming off the incense altar as well.
In our text, He instructed Moses regarding a perfume that the priests needed to use on the incense altar, in their service of the LORD.
In verse 34 the ingredients of this perfume are listed. We notice again that not only are the ingredients listed but the weight of each part is also important. We see that the specific weight is not given here. This was something that the priests would know, but it was not something that the people needed to know.
This perfume was to be mixed according to the instructions given by God. There was a special art to mixing this perfume. The perfume was to be pure and holy. It was pure and holy because it was made according to God’s instructions. It was not the priest that would make it holy. It would be holy because this was God’s recipe and when it was put together according to His command, it would be pure and holy.
This perfume was made by taking the ingredients and beating some of it very small. This perfume was what was to be used on the incense altar. The incense altar was a picture of the prayers of the people going up to God. The only way those prayers could be heard was through the Lord Jesus Christ. The priests were to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ would be beaten prior to His crucifixion. He is holy. That is why we must come to God in Jesus’ name. He came to provide forgiveness of sins through His shed blood. He would be treated very cruelly by His own people, including the chief priest.
Moses was to take this beaten perfume and put it before the testimony of the tabernacle of the congregation. There God would meet with him. This act was to be seen as most holy to Moses and those observing it. Moses would be teaching the priests and the people of the significance of this event.
In verse 37 God again reminded Moses that this perfume was not something to be taken home for personal use. It was not something that could be sold either. This perfume had no significance outside of the tabernacle. It was to be used at the altar of incense. This perfume was not to impress the priests. The smell was to be presented before the LORD. It was to be holy for the LORD.
We need to understand that our prayers today need to be pleasing to the LORD. We are not praying to try to impress other people. There have been prayer books developed to ‘assist’ people in praying to their imaginary god. True prayer must come from the heart of the person who is praying. We can take a verse(s) from the Word of God and use them as prayers. However, if we are going to do that, we need to have our hearts in a right attitude toward God.
For years schools would have the students and staff recite was is called the Lord’s Prayer. If you look at the context of that prayer, it is the disciples’ prayer. Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. He did not tell them to memorize a prayer. He did not give it as some special formula for success. The model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples and all saints since that time, is to help the saints to come before God in the proper manner. Repetitious prayer that is memorized and recited is not pleasing to God. Prayer is to come from the heart of man, expressing his need or expressing praise and worship to the true God.
That prayer is not for the lost. It has no meaning for the lost. The saved need to be reminded that in prayer we are coming before a holy God. We need to be reminded that this holy God is in authority over all of creation. He limits the evil that is in the heart of man. He limits the evil that the devil has planned. He provides for the blessings that man receives. He provides our daily bread. It is important for us to remember as well that we need daily forgiveness of sins we commit. It is not that we need to continue to pray about the same sins all the time. The fact is that born again Christians sin far more often than we sometimes want to admit to.
True saints need to pray that we would have right relationships with others. We cannot expect God to bless us if we want to treat others with distain. We need to be willing to forgive others and help others to see the blessing of knowing God’s peace. Those who are saved need to walk humbly with the Lord and leave the vengeance to Him. He will take care of the corruption.
Jesus Christ prayed that His Father would forgive those who mocked Him and nailed Him to the cross. He Is the Judge. Those who continued to mock Him are in eternal torment right now. There is no relief for them. The few who saw their wickedness and repented and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, are forgiven and can know God’s peace in their hearts.
Saul was one such man. He hated God and His people. He tried to stop the Christians from serving God. Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and stopped him there. Saul saw that he was wrong and he repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. He was forgiven. He thought he was doing God a service, but he was fighting against God. He became a great servant of God.
In verse 38 God again warned Moses that any one who would take this perfume and try to make it for their own use, should be cut off from the people. It was no small thing to abuse this holy perfume which would be used to represent the prayers of the priests on behalf of the people.
God commanded the priests to prepare this perfume and to place it before Him daily. He requires that His children pray to Him. He is not at all pleased nor impressed with idle chatter, that is supposed to be prayer. Godly prayer needs to be holy prayer, just as this perfume needed to be holy perfume. The only way it could be holy is if it was made God’s way. The only way our prayers can be holy prayers is if they are made God’s way. It is not the flattery of man that impresses God. It is not big words that impress God. It is the effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man that God hears and answers. It is the prayer of a broken and contrite heart that God hears.
Pastor Bartel