ספורנו - 30:1 “ועשית מזבח מקטר קטרת עצי שטים תעשה אתו”
“You shall make a Mizbe’ach on which to bring incense up in smoke, of shittim wood shall you make it.” The last of the Mishkan’s Keilim is the Mezbe’ach upon which incense was burned every morning and evening. It was known as the Mizbach Haktores, the Mizbach Hazahav, and the Mizbach Hapnimi. Why is the Mizbe’ach not mentioned earlier together with the Menorah and the Shulchan, the Keilim that were near it in the Mishkan? The Mizbe’ach Haktores was different than the other Keilim in the Mishkan. The Mishkan as a whole was to bring the Shechina to rest there, and when Korbonos were brought, it created the meeting place of Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Klal Yisroel. Once the Mishkan and the bringing of Korbonos brought the Shechina to rest there in the Mishkan, the incense was prescribed as a means to welcome the King, Hakodosh Boruch Hu, to show Him the proper respect. Being that the Mizbe’ach Haktores was necessitated by the successful completion of the entire Mishkan and its other Keilim, for first the Shechina must come down in order to give Kovod, it is mentioned at the very end.
