And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it,.... In the evening the priest went into the holy place to light the lamps that were gone out; see Gill on Exodus 27:20 at the same time he burnt incense on the altar; and as the daily sacrifice was offered up morning and evening, so the incense was burnt every morning and evening, and much about the same time: the Jews say (t), that the incense of the morning was offered between the blood (i.e. the sprinkling of the blood of the daily sacrifice) and the members, or the laying of the pieces on the altar; and the incense of the evening was between the pieces and the drink offering: and with this Philo agrees (u), who says, twice every day most fragrant odours were offered, at the sun rising and setting, before the morning and after the evening sacrifice:

a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations; thus Christ's mediation and intercession is constant and continual; as his sacrifice continually takes away the sin of the world, in which it was the antitype of the daily sacrifice; so his blood continually speaks for peace and pardon, and every blessing of grace for his people, in which it is the antitype of the morning and evening incense; for he ever lives to make intercession; and so the prayers of the saints are directed to God both morning and evening, and they cease not praying as long as they live.

(t) Misn. Yoma, c. 3. sect. 4. (u) De Victimis, p. 836.

And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

lighteth: or setteth up: Heb. causeth to ascend

at even: Heb. between the two evenings

8. Aaron shall burn incense-seemingly limiting the privilege of officiating at the altar of incense to the high priest alone, and there is no doubt that he and his successors exclusively attended this altar on the great religious festivals. But "Aaron" is frequently used for the whole priestly order, and in later times, any of the priests might have officiated at this altar in rotation (Lu 1:9).

30:1-10 The altar of incense represented the Son of God in his human nature, and the incense burned thereon typified his pleading for his people. The continual intercession of Christ was represented by the daily burning of incense thereon, morning and evening. Once every year the blood of the atonement was to be applied to it, denoting that the intercession of Christ has all its virtue from his sufferings on earth, and that we need no other sacrifice or intercessor but Christ alone.