And Jehovah said to Moses, Take fragrant drugs -- stacte, and onycha, and galbanum -- fragrant drugs and pure frankincense; in like proportions shall it be.
God gives Moses a recipe: four fragrant substances, weighed out alike and blended into incense. Commentators read the list as a portrait of Christ. They press two questions: why these four spices, and why in equal measure?
This perfume belonged in God's house. Its worth rested on His appreciation of it, not ours.
All the fragrance, the sweetness, and the perfections of Christ, in His life and ways as a lowly man, walking in grace on earth, are shown here. Burned on the altar morning and evening, their sweet savour went up before God. If you and I do not appreciate Christ, God does.
Each name carries a meaning, and the meanings point to Christ.
The instruction about the incense follows the anointing oil, and the incense speaks of worship. Its ingredients again draw attention to the Lord Jesus. The first spice is stacte, which means "to drop," as words drop from the lips. It reminds us of "the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22) — words that flowed out from His heart. The second spice, onycha, means "fingernail," telling us of the very details of the work of the Lord's hands. Galbanum has a double meaning, "fatness" and "lamentation." The fat of the offerings always belonged to God. It speaks of the devotedness of the Lord Jesus to His God and Father. "Lamentation" speaks of His sorrow. Because He was devoted to God without reserve, He suffered the cruel reproaches of men. "Frankincense" means "white," and speaks of the purity of the Lord Jesus in His lovely separation to God.
These ingredients are rare, and their own scent was only the beginning.
The incense held four different ingredients, three of them mentioned nowhere else. It was a perfume, pure and holy, and it seems to have had a fragrance of its own (verse 38). But its full perfume only came out when burned. This teaches us that Christ's sweet savour came out in its fullness when He bore divine judgment on the Cross. The fire on the Altar of Burnt-Offering was never to go out. It was the fire that came down from heaven on the eighth day, when Aaron was set apart as priest — a fitting picture of divine judgment.
No amount is named, only that the four match each other. The ESV reads "an equal part"; the older wording the writers quote is "a like weight."
God prescribed no quantity for the ingredients. More than that, we read, "of each there shall be a like weight." Every feature of moral excellence found its due place and proper proportion in Christ. No one quality ever displaced or interfered with another. All was "tempered together, pure and holy," and gave off a scent so fragrant that none but God could appreciate it.
Imagine the balance broken, and you see what the equal weight protects.
Each ingredient balanced the others. In man the qualities have to counteract each other; in Christ each one enhanced the fragrance and brought out its true character. So if there had been too much of the stacte — of sweetness and fragrance alone — it would have wearied the sense, even though this one came first. If the galbanum had dominated the others, there would have been lacking the "meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:1). Too much onycha would have cast too dark a gloom over all His life.
God told Moses to beat some of the mixture very small and put it before the testimony, in the tent where He met with him.
There is uncommon depth and power in the expression "very small." It teaches us this. Every little movement in the life of Christ, every tiny circumstance, every act, every word, every look, every feature, every trait, every line gives off a scent. That scent comes from an equal proportion — "a like weight" — of all the divine graces that make up His character. The smaller the perfume was beaten, the more it showed its rare and exquisite blend.
God forbade anyone to copy this recipe for private use, on pain of being cut off.
Counterfeits of the graces of Christ are an abomination before God, and so is finding satisfaction in them... But our hearts are subtle. We often deceive ourselves, and others too, accepting the sweetnesses of nature, its charm and pleasantness, as the work of the Holy Spirit, as resemblances to Christ. There can be no likeness to Christ except as the result of the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Four spices. Stacte means "to drop" — His gracious words. Onycha means "fingernail" — the work of His hands. Galbanum means "fatness" and "lamentation" — devotedness through sorrow. Frankincense means "white" — His purity.
- Equal weight. Each spice matched the others. In Christ no one quality ever crowded out another.
- Fire. The blend already had fragrance. Its full perfume came out only in the fire — Christ's fullness shown as He bore divine judgment at the cross.
- Very small. The finer the beating, the more the blend showed. Every word, look and trait of His life carries the same full proportion of grace.
- Not to be copied. God forbids copies. A likeness to Christ worked up out of natural charm is a counterfeit. Only the Holy Spirit can produce the real thing.
And thou shalt make it into incense, a perfume, after the work of the perfumer, salted, pure, holy.
God gives the recipe for the holy incense here: fragrant spices in equal weight, blended, salted, and set apart for Him. Why is God so exact about a perfume, and what does the mixture say about the One it was made for?
Commentators read this incense as a picture, not just a ritual detail. The picture is of a person.
The incense is a picture of the precious perfume of the graces of Christ. It is the fragrance of divine graces made visible, a sweet odour in the world, in man. He alone answers to it, though we may ask Him that we may walk in them.
The Hebrew piles up terms drawn from one root — fragrance. One writer traces them and points to who the real blender is. (Older translations render the phrase "a confection after the art of the apothecary.")
The general word, translated "sweet spices," comes from a root meaning "to be fragrant." It might be rendered "odours." The same passage has several other words with the same general sense. "Perfume" is literally incense — that which smokes. "A confection" means "seasoning," made after the art of the "apothecary" or "seasoner" — the same root. This piling up of words suggests a fullness in the theme — Christ — which no single word can describe. The "perfume" would suggest His fragrance, as the fire of divine holiness tested Him even to death. "Confection" might remind us of the blending of the various ingredients, according to the art of the blessed Spirit of God, who is the true "Apothecary."
Mackintosh reads the recipe's even measure as a portrait of Christ's character.
We also read that of each there was to be a like weight. Every feature of moral excellence found its due place and proper proportion in Christ. No one quality ever displaced or interfered with another. All was "tempered together, pure and holy." It gave off an odour so fragrant that none but God could appreciate it.
Ridout tests that balance spice by spice, using the four names listed just before this verse.
Each balanced the other, not by working against the rest, the way man so much needs. Instead each one enhanced the fragrance and brought out its true character. The stacte came first, but too much of it — sweetness and fragrance alone — would have wearied the senses. If the galbanum had dominated the others, the mixture would have lacked the "meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:1). Too much onycha would have cast too dark a gloom over all His life.
Writers differ over the word behind "salted." Ridout weighs both readings, and notes one thing Scripture never gives: a quantity of salt.
Some have taken this word, with fair probability, as showing that salt was also added. If so, the text says nothing about the proportions. Indeed Scripture never gives an exact quantity of salt. "Salt without prescribing how much" (Ezra 7:22). The word may, however, not refer to actual salt at all. It may mean the rubbing and tempering together of the various ingredients, which in this way seasoned or "salted" each other.
Grant takes the salt as real salt, and follows the fragrance to where it leads.
Such fragrances seen in the Lord Jesus are bound to draw out the worship of believing hearts. Indeed this is the true material for worship. It was also to be salted (v. 35). Salt crystallizes at right angles, so it speaks of righteousness — another ingredient that could not be left out.
The last two words settle who the perfume belongs to. That leaves a question for the worshipper.
It was for God, "holy to the Lord." The perfections of Christ were for God. In the anointing oil we have the perfections that are to fill the created scene — the tabernacle — in the power of the Spirit. That oil also anointed the priests, so that they might be sanctified and able to minister in the knowledge and fragrance of these perfections. The incense was for God. Still, we have the privilege of entering into the delight He has in Christ. The priests enjoyed the fragrance of the incense while offering it to God.
- Ingredients: the four spices stand for the graces of Christ — a fragrance He alone answers to, though we may ask Him for it.
- Blending: "as by the perfumer" points past any human craftsman. The true blender of these perfections is the Spirit of God.
- Balance: equal weight means no one excellence crowded out another. Too much of any one would have spoiled the whole.
- Salt: either real salt, or the spices rubbed and tempered into one another. Read as real salt, it stands for righteousness.
- Ownership: the finished perfume is "holy to the Lord." It was made for God's pleasure first, and shared with those who serve Him.
And thou shalt beat [some] of it to powder, and put [some] of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee it shall be unto you most holy.
The instructions for the holy incense end with a small command: crush part of the mixture to powder, and keep it in front of the ark of the testimony, where God promised to meet Moses. Why did the finest form of the perfume belong in the most sacred spot of all — and why does God call it "most holy"?
Commentators read the incense as a picture of Christ. The order to crush it very small points to the smallest details of His life.
There is uncommon depth and power in the expression "very small." It teaches us that every little movement in the life of Christ gives off a fragrance — every minute circumstance, every act, every word, every look, every feature, every trait, every line of Him. That fragrance is produced by an equal proportion — "a like weight" — of all the divine graces that make up His character. The smaller the perfume was beaten, the more its rare and exquisite quality came out.
Writers also connect the pounding of the spices with what Christ endured.
Before use it had to be beaten "very small," evidently into a powder. This of course was to release the maximum amount of fragrance. The beating very small may remind us of the way our Lord was tested in all things. He endured the hostility of sinners against Himself. All of it only served to make the fragrance of His perfection plain.
One writer takes the same thought to the cross.
On the cross He was made sin. There He faced the judgment of God's holiness — the fire. That only brought out everything most precious and fragrant to God. He was never more precious in God's eyes. His perfections were never more fully displayed than when He proved His obedience to the very end, in the place of sin.
The crushed powder had a set place: "before the testimony," in the tent of meeting.
Testimony and communion go together. The incense was burned when the lamps were trimmed and lit. And again in verse 36 the incense beaten small was placed before the testimony, where the Lord met with Moses to speak to him. The fragrance of the incense was connected with the communications made there.
One writer explains what this meant for Moses.
Moses, as the mediator, would be before God in all the acceptability of this holy perfume. So God could meet him in grace, and tell him His mind and will for His people.
The closing words of the verse set the perfume apart for God alone.
This fragrant perfume was designed only for God. Its place was "before the testimony." There is that in Jesus which only God could appreciate. True, every believing heart can draw near to His matchless Person, and more than satisfy its deepest and most intense longings. Still, God's redeemed may drink to the limit of their capacity, and angels may gaze on the unmatched glories of the man Christ Jesus. Even then, there will remain in Him what God alone can fathom and enjoy.
One writer applies this to imitations of Christ's character that come from nature, not from the Spirit.
Counterfeits of the graces of Christ, and finding satisfaction in these, are both detestable before God… There can be no likeness to Christ except as the result of the work of the Holy Spirit… Nothing can please God, and nothing should please us, unless His Spirit has worked it out for the glory of Christ.
The same principle shapes worship today.
Before it went on the fire, the incense had to be beaten small. The more searching the testings of the Lord Jesus in His earthly path, the richer the fragrance was for God. And the more we enter into the precious details of that perfect life, the richer will be our worship in the presence of God.
- Crushed: Beating the incense small points to the testing of Christ. The pressure released the fragrance.
- Fine: The finer the powder, the fuller the scent. The smallest words, looks and acts of His life carry the whole weight of His graces.
- Placed: The powder sat before the testimony, at the meeting place. God met Moses in grace where the fragrance of Christ was.
- Reserved: It was "most holy," kept for God, because there is a depth in Christ that only God can fully enjoy.
- Unrepeatable: No one could copy it. Likeness to Christ never comes from nature; only the Spirit produces it. And the more we take in the details of His life, the richer our worship becomes.