Exodus 30:1-38

Verse 1-10, And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. {2} A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; 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 veil 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 upon it. {8} And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense 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 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.

I.    The Altar of incense.

II.   Placed in the Holy Place against the south wall.

III. Verse 7,8.

A.  The burning of incense is at the same time as the morning and evening sacrifices.

B.   Incense is a type of prayer.

1.      Rev. 5:8, odors, which are the prayers of saints.

2.      Rev. 8:1-4 - Incense, with the prayers of saints, go up before God.

C.   Burnt sacrifice or meat offering -- These have their own time and place.

D.  No drink offering - It defiles the purpose.

IV. Verse 10 - Yearly atonement - a yearly atonement not only "rolled forward" the sins of the people, but also protected their prayers by rolling them forward.

Verse 11-16, 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. {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. A ransom for the soul.

I.    To be given when a census is taken.

A.  In order to keep the plague away.

B.   II Sam. 24:1-3,10  David numbered Israel that he might rejoice at their number (strength).

C.   Give a half shekel (about 30 cents) this showed the value of people (keep them humble).

II.   Twenty years old and upward.

III. Every man the same - all are worth the same.  Jesus blood paid for all sin on the cross.

A.  The wealthy is worth the same as the poor.

B.   The "wicked" are worth the same as the "good".

IV. Used for the service of the tabernacle.  Those that took part in the worship of the tabernacle would pay for the service of that tabernacle.

Verse 17-21, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {18} Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot 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: {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.  The brazen laver - a judging and cleansing oneself before service.

I.    Placed between the brazen altar and the tabernacle.

A.  The altar represents Christ who died for us.

B.   The tabernacle represents our place of service for God.

II.   Made of brass - The symbol of judgment (us judging ourselves).

A.  Ex. 38:8 - Made of the brazen looking glasses of the people.

B.   James 1:22-25 - When we see ourselves in the Word of God, let us remember what kind of person we are.

C.   Do not be a forgetful hearer.

III. Water - not baptism since it is done over and over again.

A.  Eph. 5:25,26 - Church is washed by the water of the Word.

B.   Each person washed himself.

1.      This is the only way true worship can be sustained.

2.      Many folks today are busy looking at others instead of examining themselves by the Word of God.

3.      That's why churches, people, and societies, are in the shape they are in today.

IV. This washing is not like the Pharisees.

A.  Matt. 15:1-20.

B.   Mark 7:1-23.

V.  The penalty for not washing is death - Verse 20.

A.  II Peter 1:9 a forgetting of salvation, therefore death to their "Christian life".

Verse 22-38, Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {23} Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, 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, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. {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. {38} Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

The anointing oil is composed of the following:

1. pure myrrh five hundred shekels – Myrrh is a red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the Commiphora myrrha tree, indigenous to Somalia. A number of other Commiphora or Balsamodendron saps are also known as myrrh, including that from Commiphora erythraea (sometimes called East Indian myrrh), Commiphora opobalsamum, and Balsamodendron kua. Myrrh is a constituent of perfumes and incense, and was highly prized in ancient times. Its name is derived from the Hebrew murr or maror, meaning "bitter."  [1]
2. sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels – Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, synonym C. verum) is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka and Southern India. The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, 7-18 cm long. The flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish colour and a rather disagreeable odour. The fruit is a purple 1 cm berry containing a single seed.  [2]
3. sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels – Common Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a plant from the Acoraceae family. It is a tall perennial wetland monocot with scented leaves and rhizomes which have been used medicinally, for its odor, and as a psychotropic drug.  [3]
4. cassia five hundred shekel – Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum, synonym C. cassia) is an evergreen tree native to southern China and Indochina, a close relative to the Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), and Malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala) trees. As with these species, a spice is made from the bark of cassia. Most of the spice sold as cinnamon in the United States and Canada (where true cinnamon is still generally unknown) is actually cassia. Sometimes cassia is called "Indonesian cinnamon" to distinguish it from the more expensive true cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), which is the preferred form of the spice used in Mexico and Europe.  [4]
5. oil olive an hin – In agriculture, olive oil is an oil extracted from the fruit of the European olive tree (Olea europaea L.), which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, and soaps. It is also used by Eastern Orthodox Christians as a fuel for their traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat.  [5]

Shekel (or sheqel) refers to one of many ancient units of weight. The first known usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC.  It most commonly refers to an ancient Hebrew unit of weight. As with many ancient units, the shekel represented a variety of values depending on date, domain and region. Sources quote weights between 9 and 17 grams and values of 11, 14, and 17 grams are common. It can be a gold or silver coin equal in weight to one of these units, especially the chief silver coin of the Hebrews.  [6]

A shekel equals about ½ ounce, according to American Heritage Talking Dictionary.

A hin is about five quarts. 

The mixture should be about:

1. myrrh, five hundred shekels times ½ ounce = 250 ounces or about 15 5/8 pounds.
2. cinnamon, two hundred and fifty shekels times ½ ounce = 125 ounces or about 7 pounds 8 ¼ ounces.
3. sweet calamus, two hundred and fifty shekels times ½ ounce = 125 ounces or about 7 pounds 8 ¼ ounces.
4. cassia, five hundred shekel times ½ ounce = 250 ounces or about 15 5/8 pounds.
5. The above ingredients are mixed with about five quarts of olive oil to produce the anointing oil. 

The above measurements are accurate as far as I can tell.  Ancient measurements are often very different from measurements today.  Any anointing oil produced today will probably not be like the anointing oil of yesteryear.  Of course, it is not so important that the exact measurements remain the same, or that we know the measurements.  It is important that we know why we use the anointing oil, and that we give glory to God when we do use it.