Chapter 6
In addition to the bread of the Presence and the lampstand being in the Holy Place, there was also the incense altar. According to Exodus 30, this altar was in the Holy Place, however, Hebrews 9:3-4 says that it was in the Holy of Holies. How can we explain this apparent contradiction?
When the Lord Jesus was crucified, the veil at the entrance of the Holy of Holies was rent in two from top to bottom. Therefore, since then, under the new covenant, there is no longer a separation between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Since the incense altar was before the veil, when it was torn, the altar then became part of the Holy of Holies. Because the veil was rent, we can enter with boldness into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He initiated for us through his flesh (10:19). The One who opened a new and living way for us was not Aaron, the high priest according to the flesh, but the Lord Jesus, our heavenly High Priest. He did not commit sin, nevertheless, He became sin for us so that His body could be split in order that we might have free access into His presence. In this way we can serve Him in the Holy Place, which is under the control of the Holy of Holies, that is, we can serve Him with the faculties of our soul, that are under the control of our spirit in which the Spirit of God dwells (cf. Rom. 8:6).
Just like all the other items of the tabernacle, the incense altar, the censers and the incense also denote spiritual realities. Leviticus 16:12-13 says that the high priest had to take a censer filled with coals of fire and bring it before the Lord into the Holy of Holies where he would add two handfuls of incense, thereby producing a cloud that covered the expiation cover. Revelation 5:8 explains the spiritual significance of the censers and incense in this way: “And when He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which bowls are the prayers of the saints.” The bowls here are the prayers of the saints and this applies also to the incense altar. The incense is Christ Himself added to the prayers of the saints. When we pray, Christ must be added to our prayers because only in this way can they will be well-pleasing to God (8:3).
How does this happen? For example, sometimes we ask something of the Lord but we do not get an answer. Why? It is most likely because our prayer does not have Christ added to it, that is, it comes from us, from our will, our considerations, and not from Christ, from His desire and will. Romans 8:26 says that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and verse 34 also says that Christ intercedes for us. Therefore, Christ, who is at the right hand of God, is also the Holy Spirit who is in us, in our spirit (cf. 1 Cor 15:45; 1 Cor 6:17). Christ prays in us through the Spirit who generates the feeling and the desire to pray. This is how Christ is added to our prayers.
When we go to God in prayer, we must not immediately “pour out” our requests and anxieties on Him. Rather, we need to calm our soul down for awhile and empty ourselves of our own feelings so that we may touch God’s feeling. We may pray, “Lord, turn my heart to You and wash me with Your precious blood. I repent of my sins. Lord, I need You.” In this way, without asking for anything, we are gradually emptied and purified by the Lord and we begin to “touch” Him in our spirit. Little by little, the Lord will give us a burden, a feeling, a direction for our prayer. He will be able to enlighten us regarding a certain sin we have not confessed or a resentment we are holding onto in our heart. As we confess each item we become cleaner and cleaner and the Lord is able to burden us to pray, for instance, for matters related to His work. In this way our prayer becomes a channel for the Lord to carry out His will on the earth.
When we pray, if we realize that we are not in the Lord’s presence, contacting Him in a living way, we must immediately stop our words and call on Him. We need to ask for His blood and His light in order to find out what barrier is between us and Him. Many times the barrier between us is our own prayers that are filled with empty words, selfish requests and desires that are not according to God’s will. God does not listen to this kind of prayers and they become a burden to us. The more we pray the more empty we feel and the less of God’s presence we enjoy. Instead of this, when we pray we should say, “Lord, I open myself to you. How do You want me to pray?”
Praying is a basic and definite labor in a Christian’s life. There is no mature or overcoming Christian who has not spent much time before God in prayer. Moreover, it does not matter how much we pray; if our prayers are not carried out in spirit, in living fellowship with the Lord with Him as the “incense,” they are of no value before God. God does not hear prayers that originate from us, that are produced independently of Christ’s will. Hence, we need to seek Him in a sober way in order to touch the Spirit every time we pray.
When Paul said that the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26), he was referring to the fact that the Holy Spirit prays within us. Why does He speak with groanings? Many times when we pray we do not know what to say or how to speak regarding a certain matter. We may turn to our spirit, perhaps only being able to call on the name of the Lord and we stay in His presence calling, “Lord Jesus,” until the Holy Spirit begins to produce a prayer in us that is according to His mind (v. 27). This experience may seem to be very high and spiritual, but in reality, it should be our daily and constant practice.
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