02.10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten The Altar of Incense

David provided “for the altar of incense refined gold by weight. “And with this the whole altar of cedar was overlaid (1 Kings 6:20; 1 Kings 6:22; 1 Chronicles 28:18). The altar stood before the vail. Cedar is the type of the Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection, overlaid with gold, setting forth the Divine glory of His person, the One in whose name we worship, who said, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Not only is He the one Mediator between God and man in time, but He is the One through whom throughout eternity all praise, honour, and glory, in the power of the Holy Ghost, will be given to God the Father. “God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at [in] the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in [on] earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Php 2:9-11). Worship in the ages past was paid direct to the Triune God, as in Isaiah 6:1-13, where the thrice holy, Three in One, Jehovah, is the object of adoration. But now there is One to whom a Name has been given above every name, and in that Name every knee must bow. From that time a new order of worship has been established in the universe; and throughout the countless ages of eternity the hosts of Heaven will render all thanksgiving, glory, honour, and power to the Triune God in the name of Jesus Christ. This is what the Golden Altar in the sanctuary of God signifies.

All these varied types are shadows, the substance of which is to be found in the Person, Work, and Offices of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was God who gave the commandment, “Thou shalt make. “They are the embodiment of Divine thought concerning His beloved Son.

—Our Daily Homily