Exodus 30

The fragrance of His presence

Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense. ~ Exodus 30:1

Have you ever walked into a room and immediately noticed a familiar fragrance? Maybe it reminded you of home, a loved one, or a special moment. Scents have a powerful way of connecting us to memories and meaning. In Exodus 30, God instructed Moses to build the Altar of Incense, a place where sweet fragrance would continually rise before Him. This wasn’t just about the smell, but it also represented worship, prayer, and intimacy with God.

As I read this chapter, I thought about how easy it is in today’s world to fill my life with the noise and pressure of daily responsibilities. There have been many times when I rushed through prayer or hurried past moments of quiet with God. Yet every time I paused long enough to simply sit in His presence, it felt like I could breathe again. It wasn’t about doing something big or saying the right words; it was about letting my heart rise before Him like that sweet fragrance from the altar.

The incense in Exodus 30 was a sacred blend, something set apart for God alone. In the same way, my life and your life is meant to be a living offering of worship. Every prayer, every act of seeking His plan, every moment spent with Him becomes like that fragrance before His throne. In a world filled with distraction and hurry, the presence of God remains the place where peace, strength, and purpose flow freely.

Maybe you’ve been feeling spiritually dry or distant. Maybe prayer has felt routine or quiet moments with God seem hard to find. The message from Exodus 30 is simple but powerful: God still desires the fragrance of your presence. He still invites you to come close.

Here are some ways you can get started today:

• Set aside a consistent time each day to meet with God, even if it’s just ten minutes of uninterrupted quiet.
• Play worship music or read a psalm to help your heart focus on His presence.
• Keep a journal of answered prayers and moments when you sense God speaking, as a reminder that He truly listens.
• Offer your daily work, your thoughts, and your conversations as an act of worship, inviting His presence into everything you do.

Today I want to encourage you to bring the fragrance of worship into your daily life. God is not distant; He is near and waiting to meet with you. As your prayers rise like incense before Him, His presence will fill your heart with peace, His wisdom will guide your steps, and His love will surround you like a sweet aroma that lingers long after you leave His presence.

Today’s scripture reading: Exodus 30

1 “Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 

2 Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. 

3 Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar. 

4 Make two gold rings, and attach them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. 

5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 

6 Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. I will meet with you there.

7 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. 

8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. 

9 Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.

10 “Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s most holy altar.”

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 

12 “Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them. 

13 Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the Lord. (This payment is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.) 

14 All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. 

15 When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. 

16 Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.”

17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 

18 “Make a bronze washbasin with a bronze stand. Place it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water. 

19 Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet there. 

20 They must wash with water whenever they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the Lord and when they approach the altar to burn up their special gifts to the Lord—or they will die! 

21 They must always wash their hands and feet, or they will die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants, to be observed from generation to generation.”

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 

23 “Collect choice spices—12-1/2 pounds of pure myrrh, 6-1/4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6-1/4 pounds of fragrant calamus, 

24 and 12-1/2 pounds of cassia—as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil. 

25 Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. 

26 Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the

27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, 

28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. 

29 Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.

30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. 

31 And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. 

32 It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. 

33 Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’”

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather fragrant spices—resin droplets, mollusk shell, and galbanum—and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts. 

35 Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. 

36 Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy. 

37 Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. 

38 Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.”

Journal:

• What would it look like for my life to become a continual offering of worship before God?
• What are some distractions I can set aside to make more room for His presence each day?
• When was the last time I truly felt the peace of being near Him, and what can I do to return there again?
• How can my prayers and actions release a fragrance of faith and gratitude to God this week?