Pleasing Aroma

DEVOTION

EXODUS

PLEASING AROMA

Ex 29:22-30

22 "Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) 23 From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the LORD, take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. 24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD, an offering made to the LORD by fire. 26 After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your share. 27 "Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. 28 This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the LORD from their fellowship offerings.   29 "Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

NIV

Dinner is served. This portion of one of the rams is to be cooked and eaten by Aaron and his sons. However there is a phrase that has been repeated several times in these instructions about consecrating Aaron and his sons. The sacrifices, the offering are to be made to the LORD by fire. Even the wave offering had to be taken and put on the altar and burnt as an offering to the LORD by fire. Of course we could take a lesson about the priests being able to have their meals from a portion of the people’s offerings. This could be how the whole idea of ministers being paid from the offerings of the people. Although for the most part the modern ministers promote the idea of not just an offering, but the principle of the tenth, or tithe. If we were to try to make that case, they we would have to see just what the percentage of the ram was the breast and the high thigh. This would be the same percentage a modern minister could expect to receive from the fellowship offering of the people. So let us not get into that trap, but see the truth in this offering made to the LORD by fire. If we did a study of all the scriptures concerning burnt offering, being a pleasing aroma, or sweet aroma, or pleasing fragrance it would be mind numbing. There are many refferences to this type of aroma from burnt offerings. Is there any spiritual significance to all these burnt offering that are a pleasing aroma to God?

2 Cor 2:14-17

 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

NIV

In Christ we are that sweet aroma to God. We are that burnt offering so to speak. We offer our body as a living sacrifice, however. But the point is that God has always been showing the people their offerings by fire were for a pleasing aroma to Him. Yet those things that were burnt represented their sins. Christ took upon him all our sin and offered himself to God for us. So that when we are in Christ we are that sweet aroma pleasing to Him. Certainly the song writer took this idea in writing the lyrics of the song, “A sweet aroma of praise”. Our life is to be basically a continual burnt offering to God, a life of being a sweet aroma to God, which is being fully in Christ. That is the only way we are ever acceptable, pleasing, a sweet aroma to God. Paul agrees to the Corinthians that if we build our lives on any other foundation then Christ it will be burnt up in the fire. If we are in Christ then we shall not be burnt up, but rather that sweet, pleasing aroma to God.