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.

Yesterday I compared the offerings of incense upon the altar inside of the tabernacle to the silent, personal adjustments that we make each day, rejecting temptation and choosing the higher road. That comparison is further reinforced by today’s verses which say there was to be a perpetual offering upon the incense altar, constantly being replaced every morning and night, just as many the disciple has found that he must perpetually recommit himself to the Lord every morning and night.

We also learn from today’s verses that once every year the blood from an atonement offering would be applied to the horns of the incense altar. Periodic, deep sacrifice would be used to maintain the quieter, more perpetual ones. This, too, often happens in the path of discipleship, where the occasional great sacrifice renews and invigorates our smaller, daily commitments.

God also makes clear that they must not offer any “strange incense thereon,” nor any other kind of non-incense offering. Even approved animal sacrifices were forbidden from being performed upon this altar. Every offering had to be made in the correct way. Such is the rule of the rightly ordered life. For example, it is right to offer our worldly goods to sustain and improve the lives of our children, but we must never offer them the worship that is only for God.