Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh part 3
What is frankincense?
Frankincense is a white resin burned as fragrant incense. It
is first mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 30:34 when the LORD told Moses to
make a perfume, pure and holy, to put before the Ark of the Covenant in the
Tabernacle, where the LORD would meet with him. The frankincense along with
three fragrant spices, was to be only for the LORD; anyone that would make the
perfume for themselves to smell were to be cut off from his people.
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet
spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure
frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: and thou shalt make it a
perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure
and holy: and thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the
testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee:
it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make,
ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall
be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell
thereto, shall even be cut off from his people." - Exodus 30:34-38 KJV
From these verses it appears that frankincense as one of the
three gifts of the wise men to the young child Jesus was symbolic that Jesus is
the LORD incarnate.
Frankincense was also placed on meal offerings to the LORD.
"And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD,
his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put
frankincense thereon: and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he
shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with
all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon
the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: and
the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing
most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire." - Leviticus 2:1-3
KJV
As the remnant of this offering with frankincense was for
the high priest Aaron and his sons, it points to Jesus being our High Priest,
bringing the offering of His own blood to atone for our sins.
"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to
come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to
say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his
own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us." - Hebrews 9:11-12 KJV
Frankincense was also placed on the shewbread, which was
placed in the holy place by the altar of incense and the golden menorah. The
shewbread was renewed every week and would be eaten by the priests. It is said
that the frankincense gives the shewbread a bitter taste.
Here we see the frankincense pointing to the bitterness of
suffering of Christ, the Bread of Life that was offered for our sins.
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will
give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." - John
6:51 KJV
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his
disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the
third day. ... Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever
will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find it." - Matthew 16:21, 24-25 KJV
Jesus experienced the bitterness of extreme pain and
suffering of lashes and then crucifixion. We are to follow Him, as the priests
would eat the shewbread with the bitter frankincense, and crucify our sinful nature
with Christ.
"Knowing this, that our old man [our old sinful
lifestyle] is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin." - Romans 6:6 KJV
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts." - Galatians 5:24 KJV [Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his
cross and crucified them there. NLT]
We do this by covenanting with Jesus.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call." - Acts 2:38-39 KJV
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