Does the Bible mention anything about people who use incense?

Incense has been used for thousands of years in various religious and cultural rituals around the world. But does the Bible mention anything about people who use incense? The answer is yes – incense is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments.

In the Old Testament, incense was an important part of Jewish worship. It was used in the tabernacle and later in the temple as a symbol of prayer and worship. The recipe for the incense used in the tabernacle is described in Exodus 30:34-38, and it includes ingredients such as frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia.

In addition to its use in worship, incense was also used in Jewish funeral rites. The Book of Ecclesiastes describes how "The day of death is better than the day of birth," and how the scent of incense can be used to mask the smell of decaying flesh.

In the New Testament, incense is mentioned in the story of the wise men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus. This story is often interpreted as a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Jesus, with the gifts of gold representing his kingship, frankincense representing his divinity, and myrrh representing his eventual death and burial.

In addition to these specific mentions of incense, the Bible also contains many references to the importance of prayer and worship. In Psalm 141:2, for example, the psalmist writes, "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."

Similarly, in Revelation 8:3-4, incense is described as a symbol of the prayers of the saints: "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up before God from the angel's hand."