An Incense So Sweet
By Karen Holland … 11-1-2010
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I trust in Him
There’s an incense so sweet.
These two lines are the turning point from my poem ‘I Am Helped’ in the article ‘From the Depths to the Heights’. They really have intrigued my heart this month. Just what is this incense so sweet? Is it trust in the Lord? The Lord Himself? Where does this incense come from? Where does it lead?
From the NetBible Incense is a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned. It was associated with offering a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord and was to consist of four ingredients finely ground, pure and holy, to be set before the ark of the testimony in the tent of the meeting(Ex 30:34-36). This incense was to be offered daily on the golden altar{the altar of incense} in the holy place, and on the great day of atonement it was burnt by the high priest in the holy of holies(Ex 30:7-8). This immediately made me think of Jesus Christ, the perfect offering, the spotless Lamb, a living sacrifice pleasing to God; a sweet smelling savour.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. -Eph 5:1-2
From the Netbible Eph 5:2 the word for offering[4376], is a sacrifice for sin, and the word for fragrant[2175], means a sweet smell, incense. Incense – the smell of a pleasing sacrifice to God! Jesus was a pleasing sacrifice, a sweet smelling offering – as incense when it is burned before the Lord. Jesus, an incense so sweet, burning before the Lord; a sin offering for each of us given in perfect love!
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. -2 Cor 5:21
We are only able to become the fragrance of Christ, a sweet incense acceptable and pleasing to God, because Jesus bore our sins for us.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the aroma of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? -2 Cor 2:14-16
The fragrance of Christ is the fragrance of life among those being saved, but the aroma of death among those who are perishing. I’d never thought of this before: Christ’s sacrifice seems to emit an aroma which is either pleasing and accepted or displeasing and rejected. The Netbible 2 Cor 2:14 confirms this, the word for aroma[3744] has the idea of emitting an odor; a smell that is either good or bad. This idea of an offering emitting a smell that is good or bad, pleasing or displeasing, accepted or rejected led to the following verses.
I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. -Amos 5:21 NASB
I hate, I reject your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. -Amos 5:21 KJV
Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. … Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma{sweet savour}; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. -Gen 8:11, 20-21
From the Netbible Amos 5:21 the word for smell[07306](ruwach) in the KJV is very interesting. It means to smell, accept or delight. The word ‘ruwach’ comes from a primitive root ruah[2131] and means to breathe an odor. It is closely linked to ruah[2131a] the word for wind and Spirit. So here the Lord will not accept, delight in, breathe in or smell the Israelite worship.
On the other hand, Noah’s offering was a sweet, soothing aroma to the Lord. The word for smell[07306] here is the same as in Amos 5:21. Not only did the Lord smell, breathe in, accept and delight in Noah’s offering; the offering was soothing. From the Netbible Gen 8:21, soothing[05207] means sweet, quieting, tranquillising and comes from the root word nuah[1323] which means rest or resting place. Is it a coincidence that Noah[05146] also means rest and comes from the same root word nuah[1323]? Or that Noah’s altar was the first altar we read of in the Bible?
The smell of Noah’s sacrifice quieted God’s wrath and produced tranquility! God not only ‘inhaled’ the pleasing, soothing scent, He breathed it out. Noah’s offering, the whole burnt offering represented his complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. The offering was thought to be consumed and accepted by God as it ascended with the sweet smelling smoke. Noah’s offering, his complete surrender and dedication produced a sweet fragrance breathed in by God. His altar provided a resting place where God breathed out the fragrance of tranquility and peace. How beautiful that the dove carrying an olive branch is also part of this passage!
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove(Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32) and rested on Him. How beautiful that the dove the symbol for peace and rest seems to be associated with the fragrance of a pleasing sacrifice.
An incense so sweet, Jesus
The fragrance of a pleasing sacrifice, the spotless Lamb
The fragrance of life and love
The fragrance of complete devotion and surrender
The sweet fragrance of the dove.
Both the Bridegroom and the bride are compared to doves(Song 1:15, 5:12). Notice in the following where the bride is called ‘My dove’ by the Bridegroom there is also a fragrance given forth.
“My beloved responded and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.
‘For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
‘The fig tree has ripened its figs,
and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!’”
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet, and your form is lovely.” -Song 2:10-14
From the
Netbible Song 2:13 the word for fragrance
[07381] is the odor of soothing(technical term for sacrifice to God) from the root
[07306]! The bride of Christ, the dove in this passage is midst the fragrance of soothing. Is it a coincidence that the description of Noah’s sacrifice used similar words? WOW! And look, it is here midst the blossoms giving forth their fragrance that the bride promises to give the Bridegroom, her love.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded{flourished} and its blossoms have opened, and whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love. -Song 7:12
From Netbible Song 7:12 the word for budded[06524] paints a beautiful picture of this place of fragrance where the bride gives the Bridegroom her love! Budded means to break forth, to bloom; we saw from Song 2:13 that a fragrance is released as this happens. This is a beautiful picture of a flower opening, unfolding, releasing a sweet, soothing fragrance pleasing to the Lord. The Bridegroom longs for this unfolding, this release, this opening of the complete surrender of His bride’s heart.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking:
The Lover to His Beloved:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the damp of the night.’ -Song 5:2
Looking closer at this word, budded[06524], it not only gives the image of a fragrant flower opening wide, it also means to fly as the extending of wings! The image of the dove, the bride, extending her wings anticipating flight! Flight to her home, her place of shelter and rest, flight to the place where she gives her Bridegroom her love.
Who are these who fly like a cloud and like the doves to their lattices{roost, home}? -Isa 60:8
The Beloved about Her Lover:
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the windows, He is showing Himself through the lattice. -Song 2:9
Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. -Ps 55:6
This is really beautiful! Can you hear the longing of both the Bridegroom and the bride for each other? So is it any surprise that the word for showing[06692] Himself, means to shine, to blossom, put forth blossoms, or produce blossoms? How strong is your desire to worship Jesus? Are you willing to worship at His feet with your whole heart and being, even when it appears foolish?
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John 12:1-7
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
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Mary was not afraid to express her love for Jesus, even midst the critics who viewd this act as waste. Jesus was her only focus. In Mark’s account, Jesus said … “She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mk 14:6). Jesus saw her heart, a heart completely devoted to Him. Mary’s worship was intense - the oil was more than a years wages. Jesus saw the desire in Mary’s heart to express her love of her Redeemer. This desire of Mary’s heart, a completely devoted heart, was of more value to Jesus than all the expensive perfume in the world. Her act of worship released a beautiful fragrance which filled the whole house and touched not only Christ’s heart and the hearts of those present but also the hearts of those to come in the future. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her(Mk 14:9). This is the kind of heart the Lord is searching and longing for. A heart full of the fragrance of love and devotion to Jesus; this is the heart Jesus promises to meet upon the ‘mountains of spices’, midst the smell of a pleasing sacrifice, an incense so sweet.
The Lover to His Beloved:
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. -Song 4:6
The Maidens to the Beloved:
Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned{to face, appear}, That we may seek him with you?
The Beloved to the Maidens:
My beloved has gone down to His garden, To the beds of balsam{spice, sweet smell, perfume}, To pasture his flock in the gardens and gather lilies.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies. -Song 6:1-3
An incense so sweet, Jesus
The fragrance of a pleasing sacrifice, the spotless Lamb
The fragrance of life and love
The fragrance of complete devotion and surrender
The sweet fragrance of the doves.
Sweet blossoms opening pouring forth complete devotion
Among the lilies
An incense so sweet
Complete surrender
A living breathing sacrifice.
Oh my beloved, upon the mountains of spices,
Make Haste! -Song 8:14
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is fully committed to Him … -2 Chr 16:9
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living{breathing} sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. -Rom 12:1
| Word Study
Netbible Eph 5:2
an offering[4376] and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant[2175] aroma[3744]
Netbible 2 Cor 2:14
manifests through us the sweet aroma[3744] of the knowledge of Him in every place.
offering[4376]
the act of offering, a bringing to
that which is offered, a gift, a present.
In the NT a sacrifice, whether bloody or not: offering for sin, expiatory offering
fragrant[2175]
sweet smelling thing, incense
an odour of acquiescence, satisfaction
sweet savour, spoken of the smell of sacrifices
metaph. a thing well pleasing to God
aroma[3744]
fragrance, odor, savor
From [3605] to give an odor either good or bad
***
Netbible Amos 5:21
I will not smell[07306] in your solemn assemblies.
Netbible Gen 8:21
The LORD smelled[07306] the soothing[05207] aroma[07381]
Netbible Gen 8:20
Then Noah[05146] built an altar to the LORD … and offered burnt offerings[05930] on the altar
smelled[07306]
to breathe, accept, delight
from a primitive root ruah[2131] which means to breathe an odor
closely linked to ruah[2131a] the word for wind and Spirit
soothing[05207]
sweet, quieting, tranquillising
from the root word nuah[1323] which means rest or resting place
Noah[05146]
rest
from the root word nuah[1323] which means rest or resting place
burnt offerings[05930]
whole burnt offering
ascent, stairway, steps
sacrifice go up in smoke to God
aroma[07381]
scent, fragrance
odour of soothing (technical term for sacrifice to God)
from root smell [07306]
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Netbible Song 2:13
the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance[07381]
Netbible Song 7:12
Let us see whether the vine has budded{flourished}[06524] and its blossoms have opened[06605]
fragrance[07381]
scent, fragrance
odour of soothing (technical term for sacrifice to God)
from root smell [07306]
budded[06524]
to break forth as a bud, bloom
to spread; specifically, to fly (as extending the wings)
opened[06605]
to open wide, break forth
appear
to be loosed, freed, released
***
Netbible Isa 60:8
like the doves to their lattices{roost, home}[0699]
lattice[0699]
window, dove-cot, roost, home, shelter
chimney (lattice opening where smoke escapes)
Netbible Song 2:9
He is showing[06692] Himself through the lattice[02762]
showing[06692]
to blossom, shine, sparkle
to put forth blossoms, produce blossoms
lattice[02762]
opening through which one may look
Netbible Psa 55:6
Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest[07931].
rest[07931]
to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside
to permanently stay, inhabit |
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Related:
The Heart of a Dove
The Fragrance of the Dove
Arise Beautiful One{Blossom}
Among The Lilies
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