One of the three gifts offered to Jesus shortly after His birth was frankincense. It is a fragrant resin that grows in some of the world’s harshest places—Oman, Yemen, and Somalia. The spindly trees themselves are actually disappointing to behold. They are lowly, twisted, thorny things with fat prickly branches spreading out into small crinkly leaves.


Yet as soon as an incision is made into the silvery bark, brilliant drops of white resin ooze from the wound. These drops, known as luban, are left on the tree for two weeks to dry. Then the little pearls are gathered in the early morning. From Rome to India, frankincense was deemed one of the most prized substances in the civilized world. It was essential for a host of uses, ranging from religious to cosmetic to medicinal. Besides its lovely fragrance, frankincense is attributed with healing powers, which range from treatment of depression and irritability to ailments such as eczema.

The frankincense trade peaked in the Roman Empire in the first century. (Nero burned it by the ton at religious ceremonies.) To supply the copious need, this rare resin had to be carried overland via long and grueling journeys. Eventually, incense caravans grew in size to 3,000 camels in a single procession. Even today, satellite images reveal faint traces of these ancient caravan trails carved in the wilderness. The trade was so lucrative that Alexander the Great planned to invade Arabia in an effort to control and tax the roads, a plan thwarted only by his death.

For religious purposes, many great civilizations in the ancient world believed that prayers could only be carried to heaven in the smoke of sacred incense. It was also used in the sanctuary service to depict prayers rising before the God of Israel.

One of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture is found in Daniel 9:3–19. Read through this passage and make it your own prayer to the Lord. Let it rise like incense up to heaven, a sweet savor before God.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. Revelation 8:4