Exodus 30
“Never stop praying; it’s how you talk to God.” These were the words our oldest son recently told a group of believers gathered in our home one evening. As I read through the first section of Exodus 30, describing in great detail the altar of incense, my mind keeps going back to these simple yet profound words uttered by our seven-year-old.
On this altar, the high priest was to “burn fragrant incense…Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when [he] sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations” (vv. 7-8). As David Guzik notes, “Incense is a picture of prayer, in the sweetness of its smell and the way it ascends to heaven (golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, according to Revelation 5:8). The ministry at the altar of incense speaks of how God’s people should continually come to Him in prayer.”[i] Never stop praying; it’s how you talk to God.
Following the instructions for the altar of incense, God outlines specifications for the census tax (which will be an important statute to recall when we get to 2 Samuel 24). This standard payment, often referred to as a ransom, was to be given as an offering to the LORD “to make atonement for your lives” (v. 15). We must be clear that the money itself did not atone for the life of the giver, but rather the offering symbolized a restoring of the relationship between the one who sinned and a holy God. The amount of the tax was a half-shekel, regardless of whether one was rich or poor. Adam Clarke comments, “The rich were not to give more, the poor not to give less; to signify that all souls were equally precious in the sight of God, and that no difference of outward circumstances could affect the state of the soul; all had sinned, and all must be redeemed by the same price.”[ii] That price for all of us on this side of the Cross? Jesus’s precious blood, spilled out the same for each one of us, regardless of worldly status.
A bronze basin for washing was introduced next, then chapter 30 closes with provisions for the anointing oil, which was to be used on the tabernacle, a great deal of the furnishings inside the tent, and the priests. The idea was that this oil would consecrate that which it touched, making it “most holy” (v. 29). Interestingly, the sweet-smelling oil, as well as the incense, was not to be used for any other means other than what God had prescribed. Particularly, these elements were not to be poured out on ordinary people or outsiders, nor used as perfume. These were sacred to the LORD and should be treated thusly.
God also cautioned the people not to try to reproduce the oil in some other form or fashion (v. 32). We discussed a few days ago about how the oil represented the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us. Guzik notes that this warning from God “shows that the work of the Holy Spirit is never to be imitated. There is to be no place for encouraging a man-made imitation of the gifts or operations of the Holy Spirit. To do this denies the holiness of the Holy Spirit, regarding His work as something we can do just as well on our own.”[iii] How often do we try to do for God what He wants to do through us, then are surprised when our efforts fall flat? Friends, let’s not try to futilely imitate the power of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Rather, let Him bear His fruit so that others may see our light shining and bring glory to God!
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Journal responses to the following prompts:
· “Never stop praying; it’s how you talk to God.” We know prayer also involves listening to God, but I would ask you to consider this encouragement from a young boy full of the Holy Spirit. How often do you talk to God throughout your day?
· Are you using anything that God has set aside as holy in your life for self-gratifying or self-promoting means?
[i] Study Guide for Exodus 30. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/exodus/exodus-30.cfm
[ii] Clarke, A. (1854). The Holy Bible, containing Old and New Testaments with a commentary and critical notes. William Tegg and Co. p. 467.
[iii] Study Guide for Exodus 30. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/exodus/exodus-30.cfm