Why Was Incense Burned Every Morning and Evening? The Beautiful Rhythm Hidden in Scripture

Have you ever been reading through Exodus and found yourself doing that thing where your eyes begin to glaze over just a little? You start off full of enthusiasm, eager to see what God is doing, and then suddenly you're reading about curtains, measurements, priestly garments, acacia wood, lampstands... and somewhere amongst it all, detailed instructions about burning incense every morning and every evening.

If you're anything like me, it's easy to wonder why God included so much detail. Surely He could have simply said, "Build a place for Me to dwell amongst My people," and left it there. Yet page after page, chapter after chapter, He carefully explains every material, every colour, every measurement and every act of worship. The more I've studied Scripture, the more I've become convinced that when God slows down to give us details, it's often because there's something beautiful waiting to be discovered.

One of those details appears in Exodus 30. God commands Aaron to burn fragrant incense every morning when he tends the lamps, and again every evening as he lights them. Not once a week. Not only during festivals. Every single morning and every single evening, generation after generation.

Now, if you've already read my article 'Top 7 Unusual Scents in the Bible', you'll know that fragrance appears throughout Scripture far more often than many of us first realise. From frankincense and myrrh to cassia, hyssop and spikenard, these weren't simply pleasant aromas added for decoration. Time and time again, God chooses fragrance to communicate something much deeper. So when we arrive at the altar of incense in Exodus, it shouldn't surprise us that there is far more happening than first meets the eye.

As I sat with this passage, I found myself asking a few questions such as:
Why fragrance?
Why not another sacrifice?
Why morning and evening?
Was this simply part of Israel's daily routine, or was God revealing something about Himself?
And if so, what does a command given thousands of years ago have to teach us today?

The more I looked, the more I realised this wasn't actually about incense at all..it was about God's desire to dwell with His people.

One of the things I love most about studying Scripture is noticing where things happen, because location often tells us just as much as the event itself.

The altar of incense wasn't placed outside the tabernacle for everyone to see, nor was it positioned beside the bronze altar where sacrifices were offered. Instead, God instructed that it should stand inside the Holy Place, immediately before the veil that separated the priests from the Holy of Holies, the place where His presence dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant.

I find that so beautiful!

Out of every piece of furniture in the tabernacle, the altar of incense stood closest to God's presence. Every morning and every evening, fragrant incense would rise from this small golden altar, day after day, year after year. It wasn't an occasional act of worship reserved for the great festivals. It became part of Israel's daily rhythm, a continual reminder that God desired to dwell amongst His people.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons I've grown to love studying fragrance throughout Scripture so much. The more you begin noticing it, the more you realise that perfume in the Bible is never simply about perfume. As we explored in 'Mary of Bethany: The Woman Who Poured Out Perfume,' fragrance often accompanies moments of extraordinary worship and devotion. Mary's perfume filled the whole house as she honoured Jesus, just as the incense in the tabernacle continually rose before the Lord. Different moments, different covenants, yet both reveal a God who delights in wholehearted worship.

And maybe there's another connection worth making.

In 'Is Beauty Biblical?', we explored how beauty wasn't humanity's idea first; it was God's. Before beauty became tangled with comparison, performance and culture, God had already filled creation with colour, craftsmanship, precious materials and fragrance. The tabernacle itself reflects this beautifully. Rather than creating a purely functional place of worship, God instructed His people to use gold, fine linen, skilled craftsmanship and fragrant incense. Beauty wasn't added as an afterthought. It became part of worship itself.

The deeper I study these details, the more convinced I become that God rarely wastes words. If He chose to record every measurement, every material and every act of worship, perhaps He is inviting us to slow down enough to notice them too.

Because often, it's in the details that we discover the heart behind them.

The Golden Altar: Closer Than You Might Think

Why Morning and Evening?

Out of everything God could have asked His people to do, I find it fascinating that He specifically instructed the priests to burn incense twice every single day, not every few days, or when they felt particularly close to Him, not just before the great feasts or celebrations... it was every morning and every evening.

At first, I wondered whether this was just about maintaining the practical function of the tabernacle. After all, the priests were already tending the lamps at these times, so maybe burning the incense was just another task to tick off the list. But the more I read, the more I realised that God so rarely does anything simply.

Morning and evening become a rhythm that runs right the way through Scripture. Morning and evening sacrifices. Morning and evening prayers. Morning and evening praise. It almost seems as though God was gently teaching His people that their relationship with Him was never meant to be confined to occasional moments of crisis or celebration, but woven into the ordinary rhythm of everyday life.

I wonder if that's something we need reminding of today.

So often, our days begin with the sound of an alarm, followed almost immediately by emails, notifications and endless to-do lists. Before we've even had a chance to gather our thoughts, our minds are already occupied by everything waiting for us. Then, by the time evening arrives, we're often exhausted, scrolling mindlessly or simply trying to make it through another day before starting it all over again tomorrow. And, somewhere amongst all the noise, time with God can quietly become something we squeeze in if we happen to have a spare moment.

Yet the rhythm God established in the tabernacle tells a rather different story. He invited His people to begin with Him and to finish with Him too! Not because He needed reminding that they existed, but probably because they needed reminding that He did.

The Fragrance That Never Really Disappeared

One of my favourite things about fragrances is that they have a remarkable way of lingering.

Long after a candle has been blown out or a perfume bottle has been put away, the scent often remains. It settles into the room, into fabrics and even into our memories. There's something beautifully gentle about fragrance. It doesn't demand our attention, yet somehow it quietly changes the atmosphere around it.

As I was reading about the altar of incense, I couldn't help but think about that. Every morning, fresh incense was burned..every evening, fresh incense was burned again. As the previous offering would gradually fade, another would rise in its place, day after day, year after year..generation after generation.

It created a continual rhythm of worship before the Lord, and not because God needed fragrance but because every act pointed beyond itself to something greater!

Throughout Scripture, fragrance is so often connected with worship, devotion and drawing near to God. We saw this so beautifully in 'Mary of Bethany: The Woman Who Poured Out Perfume,' where Mary's extravagant act of worship filled the entire house with fragrance. What began as one woman's offering didn't remain contained within the alabaster jar; it overflowed into the room and touched everyone present.

Maybe that's one of the reasons God chose fragrance so often.. because it refuses to stay hidden..it naturally fills the space around it and perhaps our lives were always meant to do the same.

More Than a Pleasant Smell

A surprise for me whilst studying this passage was realising that the incense itself was never really the point.

If God simply enjoyed pleasant smells, then surely any fragrance would have done. Yet He gave Moses incredibly precise instructions about the incense that was to be used. It was holy, set apart, and never to be recreated for ordinary purposes (Exodus 30:34–38). This wasn't because the ingredients themselves were somehow magical, but because God was teaching His people that worship belongs to Him.

Later in Scripture, the picture becomes even clearer. David writes, "May my prayer be set before You like incense" (Psalm 141:2), and then centuries later, in Revelation, John sees golden bowls of incense which are described as "the prayers of God's people" (Revelation 5:8).

Suddenly, the daily rhythm of incense in the tabernacle begins to make so much more sense, the fragrance was never simply about fragrance! it became a beautiful picture of continual communion with God.

Not rushed or forced or reserved for special occasions...but rising faithfully before Him, morning and evening, day after day. Maybe that's one of the greatest invitations hidden within these seemingly ordinary verses. God wasn't merely teaching Israel how to worship, He was teaching them how to remain close.

Jesus Fulfilled What the Incense Was Always Pointing Towards

As I continued studying this passage, I found myself wondering something else. If the priests were commanded to burn incense every morning and every evening before the Lord, what happened after Jesus came?

After all, the New Testament never tells believers to build an altar of incense or recreate the rituals of the tabernacle. So does that mean this beautiful picture simply came to an end?...not at all! In fact, I think it became even more beautiful.

Throughout the Old Testament, the priests acted as mediators between God and His people. They offered sacrifices, tended the lamps, burned the incense and entered the holy places on behalf of Israel. Their ministry pointed forward to Someone greater who was still to come.

and drum roll... that Someone is ..Jesus!

The writer of Hebrews tells us that "we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God" (Hebrews 4:14). Unlike the earthly priests, whose work was never truly finished because sacrifices had to be offered again and again, Jesus offered Himself once and for all (Hebrews 10:11–14). Through His death and resurrection, He accomplished what the sacrifices and ceremonies could only ever point towards.

One of the most powerful moments in all of Scripture happens at the very moment Jesus dies. Matthew tells us that "the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51). This wasn't just an extraordinary event; it was deeply symbolic. That curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, the very place where God's presence dwelt. It was the barrier that only the high priest could pass beyond, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). Yet when Jesus gave His life, God Himself tore the veil apart...what had once been inaccessible was now opened.

Because of Christ, we no longer approach God through earthly priests, temple rituals or fragrant incense. Hebrews tells us that "we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19–22). The invitation that was once limited has now been extended to every believer. And what I find especially beautiful is that the language of incense doesn't disappear after the cross, instead, it takes on an even richer meaning.

David prayed, "May my prayer be set before You like incense" (Psalm 141:2), and centuries later John sees a vision of heaven where golden bowls full of incense are described as "the prayers of God's people" (Revelation 5:8). Again in Revelation 8:3–4, an angel offers incense before God, and the smoke of the incense rises together with the prayers of the saints before His throne.

The picture remains..not because Christians are called to burn incense as part of worship, but because what the incense symbolised continues today. Through Jesus, we have continual access to the Father.We don't have to wait for morning or evening sacrifices or need an earthly priest to approach on our behalf. The One who "always lives to intercede for us" (Hebrews 7:25) has made a way for us to come boldly before the throne of grace whenever we need Him (Hebrews 4:16).

I think that's one of the most beautiful fulfilments hidden within the tabernacle. What once had to be pictured through fragrant smoke has become a living reality through Christ Himself.

There's More in the Details...

One of the things I love most about studying Scripture is discovering that God never seems to waste a detail.

The more time I spend reading His Word, the more I realise that the things we are often tempted to skim over are sometimes the very places where God reveals His heart most clearly. A few verses about incense can become an invitation to understand worship more deeply. A small golden altar tucked away inside the tabernacle can point us towards the incredible access we now have through Christ. What first appears to be an ordinary daily routine becomes a beautiful reminder that God has always desired relationship with His people.

I think that's what has stayed with me most whilst writing this article. The command to burn incense every morning and every evening wasn't simply about maintaining a religious ritual. It was about cultivating a rhythm of continually turning our hearts towards God. Morning and evening became bookends to the day, gentle reminders that before the work began and after it was finished, God's presence remained the most important place His people could be.

Although we no longer stand before a golden altar, I wonder whether the invitation is still the same. Not that we should recreate Old Testament rituals, because Christ has fulfilled them, but that we would build lives that continually return to Him. Lives that don't only seek Him when everything is falling apart, or when we need an answer to prayer, but lives that naturally begin and end in His presence because we have come to know that there is nowhere better to be.

I also find it remarkable that God chose fragrance to illustrate so many of these truths. Unlike so many other things, fragrance has a way of quietly changing the atmosphere around it. It lingers long after the moment itself has passed. It calls memories to mind. It fills spaces we cannot always see. Perhaps that's why it appears so often throughout Scripture. Not because God needed beautiful aromas, but because fragrance became a picture of something invisible yet deeply real: worship, prayer, devotion and His desire to dwell amongst His people.

The more I study perfume, the more I find myself returning to passages like these. They remind me that fragrance has never merely been about smelling beautiful. Long before perfume became something we wore, fragrance was pointing us towards something far greater. Maybe that's why I find it impossible to separate perfume from purpose. And maybe that's why I believe there really is more in the details.

Reflect With Me...

As I finished studying this passage, I found myself sitting with a few questions that perhaps are worth asking ourselves too.

• What currently shapes the rhythm of my mornings and my evenings?

• Do I intentionally begin and end my day with the Lord, or has time with Him quietly become something I fit in only when it's convenient?

• Am I rushing past details in Scripture that God has intentionally included for my encouragement and understanding?

• What would it look like for my relationship with God to become less about isolated moments and more about a daily rhythm of walking with Him?

T&C's

Experience God's Word Through Scent