Now this is what you shall offer on the altar:
two lambs a year old day by day regularly. One lamb you shall offer in the
morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight . . . with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for
a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. . (Exodus 29:38-39, 41)
“Something sure smells good!” We all know the pleasant aroma
of savory food in the oven. God spoke to Moses about sacrifices that emitted “a
pleasing aroma” to Him. In the Tabernacle in the wilderness, Aaron and his sons
were to offer burnt offerings of two one-year-old lambs, one in the morning and
one in the evening. Each lamb was to be offered with what amounted to two cups
of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil and a quart of wine poured over
the whole sacrifice. The combination of these ingredients would certainly
produce a distinctive aroma that spread throughout the camp of the Israelites.
Whether that would be a pleasant aroma to any particular individual would be a
matter of taste. But it certainly became a characteristic aroma in the camps of
Israel. Most importantly, the aroma of those sacrifices was pleasing to God
because of what they represented.
The pleasantness of the aroma to God was, without a doubt, the
symbolic representation of the sacrifice of His Son, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) The whole burnt offering pictures
Christ’s complete surrender to the Father’s will, his total dedication,
expressed in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, “. . . not as I will, but as you will.”
(Matthew 26:39)
Another pleasant aroma that permeated the Tabernacle and
undoubtedly seeped through the curtains to the surrounding camps was the daily
incense that was to be offered on the golden altar in the holy place, just
outside the Holy of Holies where the Ark of Testimony (or Covenant) was housed.
That incense was a special formula to be used only in the Tabernacle.
Israelites were forbidden to use that formula for common use, and the priests
were forbidden to offer any “strange incense” on that altar. The incense
represents the sacrifice of intercessory prayer. (Revelation 5:8; 8:3, 4). The
prayers of God’s people, those cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and
surrendered to Him in humble service are also a pleasant aroma to God.
So how does all this apply to our churches? As we have
noted, the aroma of the sacrifices and the incense spread to the surrounding
area. Those living in the vicinity of the Tabernacle could not miss it. The
faithful would find it pleasant, as God did. The aroma of sacrifice would be a
reminder every morning and evening of their covenant relationship with God. It
was their spiritual atmosphere. But, from the history of Israel we know that
there were others who despised the law and the worship of the Lord God. They
wanted to run their own lives and they resented any restrictions. These
individuals most likely hated the “smell” of those sacrifices and wished they
could get away from it. Some probably did.
The Apostle Paul wrote of his ministry and that of his associates
in terms of those Old Testament sacrifices:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always
leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to
life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many,
peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the
sight of God we speak in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ESV Emphasis added)
Notice that Paul says the offering of his ministry was to God, not to people. Yet the fragrance
of that ministry spreads all around! To some, those whose heart is yearning for
salvation, it is a “fragrance of life,” but to those who are obstinate and
rebellious, it is a “fragrance of death.” In either case, the aroma of a church should be pleasing to
God. When it is, that church will attract those who love that aroma.
Does your church emit the savor of Christ’s sacrifice? Is it
a pleasing aroma the God?
