In the prescription for the ointment recorded in Exodus 30, definite quantities are designated for each ingredient. But in the prescription for the incense, no quantities whatever are mentioned. What is the meaning of this? This means that Christ is immeasurable, unlimited. With this incense there is no measurement, no weight. In the entire universe there are no means available to weigh Christ, there is no scale large enough to measure Him. Ephesians tells us that Christ is the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth (3:18). You may have studied modern science—can you tell how long is the length, how high is the height, or how broad is the breadth? The answer is this: the length is just Christ, the height is just Christ; the length is as long as Christ; the height is as high as Christ. This is the incense.
It says furthermore regarding the incense that all the ingredients must be in like proportion. Why? This simply means that Christ is balanced in everything. In all that He is, in all His being and in all that He does, He is so balanced. We are all unbalanced. Sometimes a brother is so humble, but he is also rather slow. Those who are humble always have an amount of slowness. We do not like the slowness; we like the speed. But with those who are quick, there is always an amount of pride. Neither are balanced. Take a good look at the Lord Jesus in the four Gospels: He is so balanced; every part is in right proportion. He is immeasurable, but balanced; He is unlimited, but so fine and equal. No human words can adequately explain Him, but we have such a picture from which we may learn.
All four ingredients of the incense when mingled together must be seasoned with salt. Salt is not one of the main elements, but something added to season the whole. What is the meaning of this? It is a type of Christ’s nature, a nature which is incorruptible, a nature which remains forever the same. All that Christ is, all that Christ does, is a kind of incense before God; His fragrance is unchangeable and incorruptible. There is nothing in the universe like Him. With this incense there is no need of refrigeration—it is seasoned with salt. In salt there is corruption-killing power. In typology it signifies the keeping and killing power of the death of Christ. The death of Christ has such power.
If we would offer this incense to God, we must grind or beat it into small pieces, even to powder (v. 36). Finally, it must be burnt. In summary, the incense must be seasoned, ground, and burnt.
Sometimes it seems that we have some experiences of Christ, but they do not remain long; they are here today and gone tomorrow. Why? Because they are not seasoned with salt. Three days ago brother so-and-so may have given a marvelous testimony, but tonight when he is speaking, there is a clear sense of oldness. His experience has not been seasoned with salt. Sometimes you may sense that the testimony given by a brother is good, but there is no beating, no grinding. His experience of Christ is good, but it has never been broken into pieces or ground into powder. What do I mean by this? Suppose a sister has a real experience of Christ and in the meeting relates it with a long speech. Suppose then that while she is speaking one of the brothers interrupts her and asks her to abbreviate her testimony. If so, she may really be offended. She may say, “If they treat me like that, I will never come to the meeting again.” She has had a good experience of Christ, but she has not been broken. How could our experiences of Christ become a sweet fragrance to God? They require the beating, the breaking, and eventually the burning. When our experiences pass through all of these processes, they become a sweet savor to God. We not only need to experience the essence of what Christ is and does, but our experiences of this Christ must be seasoned, beaten, ground, and burnt.
Sometimes when others give testimonies, we sense that they are good, but they are stretched and raw. They are incense, but they are not burnt. Anything after being burnt is reduced; it is not so great in form or in quantity, neither is it so fine in quality. It is reduced to ashes. Whatever we offer to God will be consumed, but it will be so fragrant to the Father. The experiences of Christ are indeed good and fragrant to us, but they need to be burnt that they may be fragrant to God.
If we would have a proper church life, this is the way. It is not just that we all have some experiences of Christ and bring them to the meetings. We may do that and we should do that, but we still need the seasoning, the breaking, and the burning; otherwise, the more experiences of Christ we have, the more of a problem we will be to the church. Only when we are seasoned, broken, and burnt, will the church be built up, and we will have the fragrance of burnt incense to God. We will have a little heap of ashes, not much in form or quantity, and not even so good in quality, but so sweet and fragrant to the Father. This kind of incense must be the content of our praises and our prayers. It is not just that we are so happy; so we come to the meeting to rejoice and to praise. We need firstly the real experiences of Christ with all the ingredients of the incense. We need secondly the seasoning, the breaking, and the burning of this incense to the Father. This is the incense we should offer to God in His tent of meeting. (The “tabernacle of the congregation” in verse 36 should be the “tent of meeting.”) This is the way for us to meet, and this is the way to be built up together by meeting one with another.
Experience is indispensable for the burning of the incense— the experiences of Christ, seasoned, beaten and burnt. These must be offered not in our home, but in the tent of meeting for the building up of the local church, God’s dwelling place. May the Lord unveil these things to us.