Ever since creation the name of the Lord has been praised by angels and men. In Job 38:7 we read “When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” at creation. It would have sounded like the angels did at the birth of Jesus “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Cain and Abel had knowledge of worshipping the name of the Lord. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted but Cain’s was rejected because he did not have the right ingredients. Noah sacrificed to the Lord when the ark finally settled on Mt. Ararat after the flood. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son when the Lord tested his faith. The children of Israel left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry land and traveled to Mt. Sinai where they received the law which showed them how they might glorify the name of the Lord. It took them three months to make the trip and when Moses ascended the Mount for the first time, the Lord sent him to the foot of the mountain with a warning not only to the people but to the priests to keep their distance from the mount.
The Jews had a Form of Worship in Egypt
The mention of priests would seem to indicate that the Israelites had a form of worship which they practiced in Egypt. To add to this warning in Exodus 19:21 and 22; when Moses came down from the mountain and found the children of Israel worshiping a molten calf, he chastised them and then he moved the tabernacle of the congregation far outside the camp. Ex. 33:7. These events happened before Moses received the plans for the tabernacle that they were to use to offer their sacrifices and praise to God. When Moses came down from the mount for the last time, he carried with him the plans to build a new tabernacle in which the Lord would be pleased to dwell with Israel, also the plans for the furniture that was to be set up in the tabernacle.
The area of the tabernacle grounds were to be 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide. If we were to use 18 inches as the length of a cubit, then the area would be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide.
Inside the enclosure the tabernacle was to be placed. This was a building 10 cubits wide and 30 cubits long. It was to consist of two rooms, one of which was 10 cubits long and 10 cubits wide. This was called the Holy of Holies and it contained the ark, the cherubims facing each other with their wings touching. This was called the Mercy Seat. The second room was 10 cubits wide and 20 cubits long and was called the Holy Place. In the doorway separating the two rooms was a vail, the seven branch candlesticks and the altar of incense.
Each Piece of Furniture was Symbolic
There was something symbolic about each piece of furniture. The Mercy Seat would be representative of Christ. The vail between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies represented the flesh. The seven branch candlestick represents the Word. The table of Show Bread represented the twelve tribes. The altar of incense represented prayer.
The altar of incense was placed near the door between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies where the vail separated the two rooms. It was the duty of the High Priest to burn incense twice a day, morning and evening, just after replenishing the oil in the seven branch candlestick.
In the first chapter of Luke, we read about Zacharias the priest being visited by the angel Gabriel. Zacharias was burning incense while the people outside the temple were praying. Gabriel informed Zacharias his prayer had been answered and he was to have a son in his old age, that son was John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ.
In the 141st Psalm written by David in the 2nd verse, it reads “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.”
In the 8th chapter of Revelations, we read “And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God.”
There were rules concerning the burning of incense on the altar. The coals had to be supplied from the altar of burnt offerings located in the court yard.
Perhaps you will recall what happened to Nadab and Abihu when they burnt incense in their censors. They were struck dead for using strange fire.
In Exodus 30:34-35, we have the composition of the incense. It was to be used for tabernacle use only, and if used for other purposes, the person who did so became an outcast from the presence of the Lord. The composition consisted of equal weight of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.
When Christ died on the cross, he fulfilled the Mosaic law and it was done away with. Jesus became our Mercy Seat and our mediator. Our prayers to the Lord must contain certain ingredients if we expect to be heard by God.
Our Prayers Should be filled with Praise, Thanksgiving and be Sincere and Humble
We would suggest that the ingredients of our prayers should be composed of praise, thanksgiving, sincerity and humility .
Praise means to revere, to worship, to honor. In Psalm 146, the first two verses we read “Praise ye the Lord, Praise the Lord, 0 my soul. While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.”
In Luke 24, we read that after Christ ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives, the disciples met in the temple praising God.
The Lord bears a name high above any other name and is greatly to be praised. We reverence our parents, how much more the name of God.
The second ingredient would be thanksgiving. In him we live and breathe and have our being.
We should thank Him for our daily bread and our worldly possessions. We should thank him for calling us out of this world that we might have a part in his kingdom.
The 136th Psalm is what is known as a responsive psalm where the leader of the choir sings the first line of the verse and the audience sings the last part. For example; the leader sings “0 give thanks unto the Lord: for he is good.” The people reply, “for his mercy endureth forever.” The leader sings, “0 give thanks to the God of Gods;” The people reply “for his mercy endureth forever.” This psalm is twenty six verses long and was sung at the dedication of Solomon’s temple and the temple of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews writes “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”
Again in Philippians “Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.”
The third ingredient should be sincerity. We are not to pray as the Pharisee, who made a show of praying. He put on his best clothes, wore his phylacteries and stood on a busy corner where all could see and hear him. He lifted his hands toward heaven and began to tell God how good he was. His prayer never reached the Lord and Jesus called him a hypocrite.
Lip service is not enough. . .
We should not give lip service for the master said “They honoreth me with their lips but their heart is far from me.” We certainly do not want to fall into that classification.
In the 1st epistle to the Corinthians Paul says, “Let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Even Christ in the garden of Gethsemane as he prayed that the cup might be removed, said “Not my will but thine be done.”
The fourth ingredient is humility. Peter says humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.
In Isaiah 66, God speaking thru the prophet says “To this man will I look even to him that is pure and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
The words of James in his letter require humility, for he wrote “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, that he shall lift you up.”
Incense was made for only one purpose, to worship God. Used for any other purpose that person is to be cut off.
Our prayers to the father must contain the proper ingredients else they will not be heard by God. If we use the right formula, we will be heard. If not we cannot reach the Father.
Again the first chapter of Isaiah the Lord says “Bring no more vain oblations, incense is an abomination. The people of Israel were only giving the Lord lip service. They did not have the proper ingredients of praise, thanksgiving, singularity and humility so their prayers became an abomination to the Lord.
Each time we pray to God it is a sweet smelling odor that ascends to His presence. If we use the right ingredients we can be sure our prayers will be heard.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One