Leviticus known to the Jewish people as (Vay-yik-ra/called) is God’s guide book for His newly redeemed people. Showing them how to worship, serve and obey a “Holy God” and its focus is on the worship and the walk of those newly redeemed people. The key word in this book is ‘Holiness’ and the only way to approach this “Holy God” was through the blood of an innocent sacrifice and the only way to walk with this “Holy God” was in complete and perfect obedience to His commandments. The Hebrew word word (kodesh) for holy or holiness is found almost 200 times in Leviticus as well as the repeated command, “Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God, am holy.” Lev. 19:2. You will find this repeated in the Newer Testament in I Peter 1:15-16, “But as He who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of life; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

A major emphasis is on the order of the five offerings and the seven feasts and their instructions to the Levites and the Priests. It has also been said, “It took God only one night to get Israel out of Egypt, but it took God 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel.” Leviticus takes place at Mt. Sinai in approximately 30 days, now the question is where is Mt. Sinai? If you look at your Bible map in the back of your Bible the one in the Sinai peninsula will probably have a question mark next to it, but we will leave that for another blog. The key concepts in chapters 1-17 are ‘Worship or Sacrifice’ – “without the shedding of blood there is no redemption.” In chapters 18-27 the key concepts are, ‘Walk or Sanctification’ – “come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the LORD.”

Now keep those keys in mind as we look at the subject of prayer in Leviticus, we are in the first half of Leviticus and the key is “Worship or Sacrifice” and our first occurrence of prayer is in Lev. 4:7, “And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation;” Now we know the only way to approach a ‘Holy God’ is through the blood of an innocent sacrifice, Amen? That was weak, are you with me? You want to grab another coffee or energy drink before we go any further, I can wait, stay with me now. Heb. 10:19 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus!” WOW! So, we have the blood of an innocent sacrifice, to make the way possible for us to enter the “Holy of Holies” into the very presence of Almighty God! However, we too need to be separated unto God, obedient to Him and His Word, following Him, His will, His desires, His passions, His commands, His heart beat, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7. You need to camp out on that promise for awhile and roast some marshmallows, until you absolutely be-live it. Do you love Him? I mean do you really, really love Him? The test is simple, John 14:15, “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” Start with the one Jesus gave you in John 13:34, that you love one another as He has loved you. Then move on to the two He gave you that you love God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as your self and when you master those three move on to the “Big Ten” in Exod. 20:1-17 and when you master those you might want to ask a Jewish friend for his list of 613. However, I have to be honest with you, I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling with the first three. Amen? That was better!

Now as I said, the first indication of prayer in Leviticus is in Lev. 4:7 when the Priest put the blood on the horns of the incense altar. Horns signify power, and there is no power in intercessory prayer apart from the blood of an innocent sacrifice. The intercession of Christ Himself, is based upon His own atonement. He offered Himself without spot before the throne of God and now He makes intercession for us without ceasing. It pleased the Father to bruise Him and now it pleases the Father to hear Him. The bruised spices of passion release a sweet aroma to heaven when presented on a blood smeared altar. Now apply the type to your prayer life before a “Holy God.” Incense is a symbol or type of prayer, Rev. 5:8 says, “And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of saints.” Rev. 8:3-4 tells us that the smoke and incense from these saints ascends up before God’s throne. The sweet incense resembles our prayers being wafted toward heaven before a ‘Holy God’ as a sweet savor and aroma. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 141:2. Oh how precious before God are the prayers of His redeemed people, Lev. 4:7. This is, “the altar of sweet incense, before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of congregation.” Sweet incense; Before the LORD; Tabernacle of meeting; Oh, the precious, sweet fellowship of intimate, intercourse with a “Holy God,” what can surpass it? I guess my question today is, if they called for your bowl or mine, would there be a full bodied, sweet incense, or a stingy, stinking stench? Just the smell of sulfur from the match? How is your prayer life? We can all use a tune up! There is no better way, and no more beautiful picture to begin looking at prayer in the book of Leviticus than an ‘Altar of Sweet Incense’ before the LORD, in the Tabernacle of Meeting, with the blood of an innocent sacrifice applied to the horns of the altar, before the veil. Lev. 4:6 also tells us that the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the “Holy of Holies.” Listen to that promise in Heb. 10:19 one more time, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest (Holy of Holies) by the blood of Jesus.”  “…Between The Lines…”

“Lord, may we enter this day and every day into Your presence, Your “Holy of Holies” by the blood of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Thank You for this beautiful, graphic picture of prayer in Leviticus, burn it into our hearts and minds. May we never forget that a “Holy God” demands sacrifice and obedience. The sacrifice You provided on Calvary, the obedience we need to provide. Please, ‘Bevakasha’ help us to obey, that You might be glorified in our answered prayers. In ha shem, Yeshua we pray. Amen!”

“The Altar of Prayer” – Leviticus 4:7 – 10/24/2012