In the offering of incense the priest was brought more directly into the presence of God than in any other act of the daily ministration. As the inner veil of the sanctuary did not extend to the top of the building, the glory of God, which was manifested above the mercy seat, was partially visible from the first apartment. When the priest offered incense before the Lord, he looked toward the ark; and as the cloud of incense arose, the divine glory descended upon the mercy seat and filled the most holy place, and often so filled both apartments that the priest was obliged to retire to the door of the tabernacle. As in that typical service the priest looked by faith to the mercy seat which he could not see, so the people of God are now to direct their prayers to Christ, their great high priest, who, unseen by human vision, is pleading in their behalf in the sanctuary above. {FLB 197.3}

Ved røgelsesofferet kom præsten mere direkte i Guds nærhed end ved nogen anden handling i den daglige tjeneste. Idet helligdommens indre forhæng ikke nåede til toppen af bygningen blev Guds herlighed, som viste sig over nådestolen, delvis synlig fra den første afdeling. Når præsten ofrede røgelsen til Herren, så han mod arken; og idet røgelsesskyen steg op, sænkede den guddommelige herlighed sig over nådestolen og fyldte det allerhelligste, og ofte blev begge afdelinger så fyldte at præsten var nød til at trække sig tilbage til tabernaklets dør. Idet præsten, i den symbolske tjeneste, så op i tro mod nådesstolen, som han ikke kunne se, således skal Guds folk nu rette deres bønner mod Kristus, deres store ypperstepræst, som, usynlig for menneskeøjne, beder for deres skyld i helligdommen deroppe.