Exodus 30

“You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.

Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit. It shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides around it, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding around it.

You shall make two golden rings for it under its molding; on its two ribs, on its two sides you shall make them; and they shall be for places for poles with which to bear it.

You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you.

Aaron shall burn incense of sweet spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn it.

When Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

You shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering; and you shall pour no drink offering on it.

Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once in the year; with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once in the year he shall make atonement for it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are counted among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to the LORD when you count them, that there be no plague among them when you count them.

They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to the LORD.

Everyone who passes over to those who are counted, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering to the LORD.

The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.

You shall take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.”

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.

Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.

When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD.

So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. This shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”

Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Also take fine spices: of liquid myrrh, five hundred shekels; and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty; and of fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;

and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; and a hin of olive oil.

You shall make it into a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.

You shall use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the covenant,

the table and all its articles, the lamp stand and its accessories, the altar of incense,

the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its base.

You shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.

You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.

You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations.

It shall not be poured on man’s flesh, and do not make any like it, according to its composition. It is holy. It shall be holy to you.

Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.’”

The LORD said to Moses, “Take to yourself sweet spices, gum resin, onycha, and galbanum: sweet spices with pure frankincense. There shall be an equal weight of each.

You shall make incense of it, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy.

You shall not make this incense, according to its composition, for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for the LORD.

Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter details the construction and consecration of three essential elements for worship at the tabernacle: the altar of incense, the ransom for the atonement of souls during a census, and the bronze laver for priestly washing. It also prescribes the making of the holy anointing oil and the incense to be used before the Lord, emphasizing holiness, exclusivity, and reverence in the sacred space and duties.

Flow.

Begins with instructions for building the altar of incense—its materials, placement before the veil, and the perpetual morning and evening offering of sweet incense, while forbidding any unauthorized offerings.
Shifts to the census ransom: a half-shekel payment from every Israelite twenty years and older, regardless of wealth, to avert plague and serve as atonement, with the funds dedicated to the tabernacle’s service.
Then prescribes the bronze laver for washing, placed between the altar and the Tent of Meeting, to prevent death among priests who must cleanse hands and feet before ministry.
Concludes with the formulation of the sacred anointing oil and incense, both strictly reserved for holy use, with severe penalties for misuse or imitation.

Connections.
Following chapter 29, which completes the consecration of the priests, chapter 30 provides the ongoing means by which holiness is maintained in their service—the incense altar where intercession ascends, the laver for ritual purity, and the oil by which they and the tabernacle furnishings are set apart. These provisions prepare the way for chapter 31, which appoints Bezalel and Oholiab as divinely gifted artisans to carry out the construction of these items according to the pattern given, thus shifting from instruction to implementation.

What it teaches.
The chapter underscores that access to God’s presence is governed by precise divine order and atonement. The incense altar symbolizes prayer ascending to God (WCF 22.5; ), while the ransom reflects the equal value of every soul before God and the necessity of atonement (WCF 8.5; ). The laver illustrates the continual need for purification in approaching God (WCF 13.3). The anointing oil and incense, both called “holy” and restricted by law, signify the uniqueness of God’s sanctification (; WCF 14.1), with the penalty of being “cut off” reinforcing the seriousness of preserving holy things (; HC LD 10).

Apply.
Approach God with reverence, remembering that your access rests on atonement and is sustained by sanctification.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.