1 AND thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: [ Inside of the tabernacle right before the veil. We are headed west. ] of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

2  A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; [ Again we see a perfect square. Repeated again as in the Ark of the Covenant. ] foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.

5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense [ So we have God's house filled with both light and the sweet smell of incense. The light is like the tree of life the sweet smell is like the smell of the garden of eden where Adam and Eve dwelt in God's presence. Rev 8:3 4 is John's vision of the altar and the the insence. Someone who smells bad when they enter a place that smells so good is found out very quickly. There is no judgement to be made it is obvious to all, and there really is no way to hide it except go made yourself clean. The altar of incense is the last thing that we will pass by as we go through the veil into the Holy of Holies. ] upon it.

8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps [ God brought forth light unto the world (see Genesis 1:2-3); Aaron produced light for the Tabernacle. ] at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense [ Pray always as the smoke from the incense always rises up, so should your prayers. ] before the LORD throughout your generations.

9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year [ So even the incense altar has a atonement offerring oince a year. So in essence we have the atonement invoked so that we can improve our prayers. So we can learn how to better communicate with God. ] with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.

11 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. [ What kind of plague is the Lord suggesting here? Well when a group pf men get together and see how many there are they begin to see strength in their numbers. When they see strength in their numbers then they start to feel like they have more power than they otherwise might, because they start to trust in the arm of flesh not the arm of the Lord. Which is a plague to the Lord. ]

13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.

14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.

15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

17 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

18 Thou shalt also make a laver [ Hebrew means "basin of bronze for washing, laver; set on a bronze supporth". ] of brass, and his foot [ The stand that the laver sits in. ] also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: [ Symbolic that every things that should have been removed, everything that is unclean still has a chance to be removed before they enter the tabernacle. It does not matter how well you washed before - do it again for extra measure. You cannot be too clean to bear the vessel's of the Lord. The Laver is between the tabernacle and the altar. So first you enter the courtyard, symbolic of leaving what the world has behind (repentance). Next you procede to a place of washing (Baptism) such that as one has repented and entered baptism now I am ready to enter the house of God, to gather and see greater light that is inside. ]

20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:

21 so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

22 ¶ Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, [ Here we have the receipe for making the oil found in the tabernacle. There is a distinct relationship here with th egarden of Eden and the smell there. This was made to be a reminder with the sense of smell that you were in the presence of God. Did you catch the chief ingredient in the oil? Myrrh, five hundred shekels of myrrh. In the ancient world, myrrh was highly prized for its medicinal and aromatic qualities But what exactly is myrrh? Well, it's a sappy-like substance or resin that's secreted from a particular tree, the Kamaphora myrrh tree. When this tree is wounded, the tree secretes resin. It bleeds. A connection here between myrrh and Christ. The word myrrh is actually derived from the Hebrew word myrrh and the Arabie word myrrh, which means bitterness. Another connection to Christ who, by paying for the sins of the world with his blood, drank the bitter cup. And to add to this connection, when myrrh is soaked in oil, it produces a reddish-brown color; very similar to the color of blood. ] and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,

28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

32 Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

33  Whosoever compoundeth any like it, [ God revealed the formula for the temple oil to Moses in verse 22-25. ] , or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. [ God apparently took the use of the holy oil that was used in his temple very seriously, and it's clear here that the holy anointing oil was not to be used outside of the mosaic tabernacle or temple as there are pretty severe consequences for those who did so. ]

34 ¶ 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:

35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

36 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.

37 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. [ So the only time that you will make this perfume is for this place in front of the ark of the covenant. when I hear that I think of things like My grandma's perfume, or my mom's or my wife's. I can tel who has been in the room quite often just by the smell. So here God is setting our sense of smell to him the reference that he has been here when we smell this perfume. ]

38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.