There were three holy objects in the holy place of the tabernacle where the Israelites gave sacrifice before God in the wilderness: golden lampstand, bread of the presence table, and the altar of incense. Of these, the altar of incense is where the incense is burned in the holy place. In today’s terms, the altar of incense is the place of prayer. It is because just as the smoke of the fragrant burning incense rises, our prayers ascend to the heavenly throne. What types of prayer are soothing aromas to God? The four types of incense offered at the altar of incense testify this secret to us.
The four types of spices used to make incense are stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense (Exodus 30:34).


Offering the most holy incense at the most holy altar of incense raises an alarm on our wrong prayer habits. Repetitive prayer, pleasure-seeking prayer, prayer without faith, prayer with hypocrisy will never receive an answer even if you pray habitually for a long time. The four kinds of fragrant spices used at the altar of incense signify the precious value of our prayers. Redemptive historically, Jesus showed us an example of true prayer like that of the four kinds of incense. He further demonstrates the four types of prayer that are necessary for the saints following the footsteps of redemptive history. 

by Geun-Wook, Ji
This article recapitulates the contents from Book 9 of the History of Redemption Series, The Mystery of the Won-drous Glory: the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant (Author Abraham Park, Huisun Publications).