THE ALTAR OF INCENSE AND THE LAVER 1- The altar of incense 1 - 10 2- The Ransom money 11 - 16 3- The Laver 17 - 21 4- The holy anointing oil 22 - 33 5- The holy incense 34 - 38 1- The altar of incense The speech about the golden altar of incense comes after that about the bronze altar of the burnt offering. In the tabernacle, the sinner will first encounter the bronze altar, to see his sin transformed into ashes underneath the altar. Then, he would be able, through the Most High Priest -the Lord Christ- the Savior to enter into the divine sanctuaries, to see before him, in the Most Holy Place, the Ark of Testimony, the table of the Showbread on his right hand, and the lampstand on his left. It presents his life on the golden altar, as sweet aroma of incense, that God the Father will smell as pleasure in Christ Jesus. Through the bronze altar, the debt is paid, for us to enter into the righteousness of Christ, in a fellowship with Him to eat the bread of angels, to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and to behold the Divine glories above the Cherubim. This view shook the soul of the scholar Origen, as he says that each of us should try to set within himself a sanctuary for God. Let there be, for the soul in the depths of our hearts, an altar of incense, to be able to say, “We are to God, the fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2.15). Let there also be the Ark of testimony that includes the two tablets of the Law to “meditate in it day and night” (Ps. 1.2). Let its thought itself be an ark and a library where divine books are kept, according to the words of the prophet: “Blessed is he, who keeps in his heart the Law of the Lord, and who acts according to it”. Let it carry in its heart the pot of manna, the true and sweet comprehension of the word of God. Let it have the rod of Aaron, the priestly teaching and the continuous keeping of piety. And above all glories, let it bear the priestly adornment, as inside it, there is, who plays the role of the priest who binds us to God. Some call it the heart, and some call it the sense of reason, while others still call it the thought. Let us have the adornment of a priest: the linen ephod that hangs down to the feet, in reference to the first virtue that we should have -purity. Let us have the breastplate with its precious stones, that refers to the shining good works: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5.15) 1. He also speaks about the inner altar of incense saying that the soul which finds no comfort, until it finds a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, would set for itself an altar in its heart to be able to present offerings to the Lord2. Father Methodius sees in the golden altar a symbol of the congregation of chaste virgins in the Church, who bear the sweet fragrance of the virginity of Christ saying, “Moreover, it has been handed down that the unbloody altar of God signifies the assembly of the chaste; thus virginity appears to be something great and glorious. Therefore it ought to be preserved undefiled and altogether pure, having no participation in the impurities of the flesh; but it should be set up before the presence 1 Origen. In Exod. Hom. 9:4. 2 Ibid. 219 of the testimony, gilded with wisdom, for the Holy of holies, sending forth a sweet savour of love to the Lord.”1 2- The ransom money If the incense is the sacrifice of love, offered by the priests inside the sanctuary on behalf of the whole congregation, the people were committed to offer a contribution of love in the expenses of the tabernacle, from all men -over 20 years old- without distinction between the rich and the poor (Exod. 30.15). This contribution refers to the fact that, besides bearing a collective spirit, each believer shall also have a personal relationship with God. The ministry of the tabernacle is that of the whole congregation, without losing the identity of the individual believer as a living member, who has a direct relationship with God and, at the same time, through his union with the congregation. Note that the contribution is symbolic, that anyone can afford (half a shekel), lest the rich assume that they have a special status more than the poor. Salvation is free for all, and all souls are equal before the Lord and His ministers. 3- The Laver It is a round bronze basin put in the outer court, between the tabernacle and the altar, for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet in its water. It is so located, as though it refers to the baptismal font. No one can enjoy the divine holies, namely, enter into the tabernacle of meeting, to encounter with God, without being purified in the water of Baptism. It is located between the altar and the door of the tabernacle because there is no purifying by the water of Baptism, except through the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, says that when we hear of the laver, we should understand that in it, we wash ourselves of the disgrace of sins by the secret water2. 4- The holy anointing oil The anointing oil occupies a special position among God’s commandments in the Old Testament, referring to the anointment by the Holy Spirit of prophets, priests, and kings, to do leading tasks, which are all done by the Person of the Lord Christ Himself. He is called Christ, meaning the (Anointed), having been anointed for His salvation work, before the beginning of the world. To Him, the Psalmist testified saying, “You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Ps. 45.7; Heb. 1.9). We have previously dealt with this issue in our interpretation of the Book of the Songs of Solomon3. This anointment also refers to the anointment given generally to the Christians after baptism and which is called (The anointment of Myron - or confirmation). St. Ambrose says that every believer is anointed a priest and a king, not to be a real priest or king, but a spiritual priest and king, to present to God spiritual sacrifices and offerings of thanksgiving and praise4. Moreover, St. John Chrysostom says that in the Old Testament, only prophets, priests, and kings were anointed; But we, the Christians of the New Testament, have to be anointed, to become kings, reigning over our lusts; priests, to slay our bodies, and to sanctify them “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service” 1 Methodius. Banquet of the Ten Virgins. 5:6. 2 Vita Mos. 2:185. 3 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Song of Songs. 1980. 4 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Pastoral Love. 220 (Rom. 12.1); and prophets, having known very great and important secrets pertaining to eternity1. St. Augustine says that the name Christ comes from (anointment); as every Christian receive it, as a proof that he became, not only a fellow in the Kingdom, but a warrior against the devil2. 5- The holy incense As we said, when we talked about the golden lampstand, that it was not just a way of illuminating the tabernacle, but a worship ritual, that carries a theological concept, concerning our relationship with God. The same thing applies here: the incense was not meant just to give a sweet smell to the tabernacle, but it carried a theological concept that touches our life in God. That is why God commanded the use of a particular kind, its proportions, the time to offer it, and those who do it, banning its use (with the same proportions), outside the tabernacle, and offering it by foreign hands. Addressing His bride, the Lord Christ says, “Who is this coming out of the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders” (Song 3.6), as though the smoke from the bronze altar (the daily offerings), has intermingled with the incense coming up from the golden altar. Thus, the sacrificial work of Christ in our life intermingles with our prayers, for God to smell a sweet fragrance of pleasure. In our study of the house of God, from the spiritual ritual aspect, we dealt with the topic of incense and its use in the early Church3. We saw how the Jewish rites (Exod. 30.34-38) intermingled with the Christian rite (Mal. 1.10-11), and with the heavenly one (Rev. 8.3-4). The Church of Jerusalem easily accepted the use of incense, having known it in the tabernacle of meeting and in the temple. We have seen in the prophecy of Malachi (1.10-11) how the Church of the New Testament would offer it “from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,” and in how the heavenly, in the heavenly worship, offer it to God (Rev. 5.8, 8.4). Yet, the Churches of the Gentiles were apprehensive, lest the new believers of Gentile origin be confused between the incense for God and that for the idols. Nevertheless, we soon saw in the early liturgies continuous confirmations to offering the incense to God. 1 Ibid. 2 Ibid. 3 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Church, the House of God.
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