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 no 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.

Når præsten brændte røgelse, kom han i mere direkte kontakt med Gud end ved nogen anden handling i den daglige tjeneste. Da det indre forhæng i helligdommen ikke nåede boligens loft, var Guds herlighed, som åbenbaredes over sonedækket, delvis synlig fra den første afdeling. Når præsten ofrede røgelse til Herren, så han mod arken, og idet røgelsesskyen hævede sig, sænkede Guds herlighed sig over sonedækket og fyldte det allerhelligste. Det hændte ofte, at den fyldte begge afdelinger, så at præsten blev nødt til at trække sig tilbage til tabernaklets indgang. Ligesom præsten i den forbilledlige tjeneste i tro så hen til sonedækket, som han ikke kunne se, således skal Guds folk nu opsende deres bønner til Kristus, deres store ypperstepræst, der, uset af mennesker, går i forbøn for dem i den himmelske helligdom.