Exodus 30:36 says: “And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be to you most holy.” The grinding of the incense and putting it before the testimony in the tent of meeting signifies that Christ’s sweet death and His fragrant resurrection are blended and offered to God as a base for the intercession of Christ and His members.
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament incense signifies our prayer (Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8). This kind of prayer, which is actually Christ, is our ascending to God through Christ and with Christ. This is a sweet-smelling fragrance to God. In the Old Testament, before the serving priests entered the tabernacle, they were required to come to the altar in the outer court to be cleansed and nourished. Then they were qualified to enter the tabernacle and come to the table of the bread of the Presence to receive a further supply of life. After this, they came to the lampstand to receive light. This light guided them to the ark, where they could contact God. God’s presence then led them to the golden incense altar, the place of prayer. So also it is in our experience. We begin from the bronze altar, the cross of Christ, and eventually we come into God’s presence. The outcome is prayer that is Christ ascending to God as incense for God’s acceptance.
For the two-way traffic between the Triune God and us, we need the anointing of the holy ointment, and we also need the burning of the holy incense. God anoints us with the holy ointment, and we offer the holy incense to God. Thus, God sanctifies us with the holy ointment that we may enjoy the compound Spirit, and we satisfy God with our prayer, the holy incense, and carry out God’s administration.
The holy anointing oil and the holy incense reveal a divine two-way traffic: through the holy anointing oil Christ coming to us from God and with God for us to enjoy, and with the incense Christ going to God with us for God’s satisfaction. The holy ointment was made by the compounding together of flowing myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive oil. Flowing myrrh signifies the precious death of Christ, fragrant cinnamon signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death, calamus signifies the resurrection of Christ, cassia signifies the power and effectiveness of Christ’s resurrection, and olive oil signifies the Spirit of God. Furthermore, in this compound ointment there are the numbers four and one, signifying humanity and divinity. This indicates that in the holy ointment, which typifies the compound Spirit, consummated by the Triune God passing through the processes of incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, there are the elements of divinity, humanity, Christ’s death and its effectiveness, and Christ’s resurrection and its power. This compound Spirit anoints, moves, and operates in the believers to transmit His divine elements into them that they may be joined with the Triune God as one and sanctified for the building of God’s habitation and the service of the priesthood.
The holy incense was made with three spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum—and pure frankincense plus salt. The three spices signify that Christ’s death not only redeemed the fallen sinners but also produced the sons of God and expelled the evil Satan and the demons. Frankincense signifies Christ’s resurrection. Salt signifies that the cross of Christ has the killing power and the preserving power that incense may become pure incense. This indicates that the holy incense signifies the incarnated Christ, who passed through death and was resurrected to become the divine incense. His sweet death and His fragrant resurrection are blended and offered to God as a base for the intercession of Christ and His members, so that all who are anointed by the compound Spirit and separated unto God may be accepted by God.