Exodus 30 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Exodus 30

“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. ² It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high^[a]—its horns of one piece with it. ³ Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. ⁴ Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.

⁷ “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. ⁸ He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. ⁹ Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering^[b] for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”

Atonement Money

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,^[c] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

Basin for Washing

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. ²⁰ Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, ²¹ they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

Anointing Oil

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels^[d] of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels^[e] of fragrant calamus, ²⁴ 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin^[f] of olive oil. ²⁵ Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. ²⁶ Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, ²⁷ the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

³⁰ “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. ³¹ Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. ³² Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. ³³ Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’”

Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, ³⁵ and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. ³⁶ Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”

Footnotes

1. Exodus 30:2 That is, about 1 1/2 feet long and wide and 3 feet high or about 45 centimeters long and wide and 90 centimeters high
2. Exodus 30:10 Or purification offering
3. Exodus 30:13 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.8 grams; also in verse 15
4. Exodus 30:23 That is, about 12 1/2 pounds or about 5.8 kilograms; also in verse 24
5. Exodus 30:23 That is, about 6 1/4 pounds or about 2.9 kilograms
6. Exodus 30:24 That is, probably about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters

 

Holy to the Lord

The altar, the anointing oil, and the incense we read about in Exodus 30 were all to be holy. They were to be used for one purpose, and if anyone used the same items or the same blend for anything other than worshiping the Lord, they were to be put to death. Also included in this chapter is the command for the priests to wash their hands before they minister or touch any of the holy items, or else they would die.

What in your life is to be set apart as holy, used only for the Lord? We know that our entire lives are to be lived in service to the Lord, but let’s get specific. Do you have a certain prayer time set apart for the Lord, or a time designated to read your Bible? Do you set aside a certain portion of your money to be used only on the Lord’s work? Ask the Lord what He wants you to treat as holy today.

 

Each One

Exodus 30:11-16

Then the Lord said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

I love how everyone is valued the same. The ransom you pay is the same ransom I pay. The ransom the rich pays is the same ransom the poor pays. The ransom the women pay is the same as the man is the same as the child.

You know that you’ve been ransomed, right? You were spiritually bankrupt, in debt beyond ever being able to pay what you owed, captive to sin and a slave to the devil. But Jesus paid your ransom by taking your place on the cross and in Hell. And the price He paid was the same for every single person. He valued each one of us equally. He paid the same high price for you as He did for me.

Jesus gave His life as an offering for you. What can you offer to Him today?