The Fragrance (8/8-10)

08-10 August 2014 – The Fragrance – Manna by Dorothy Callies

2 Corinthians 2:14b, 15 NCV. God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.”

During the time of Exodus, God gave a special design how to build the Tabernacle. The purpose of the Tent Meeting was for the people to meet their God at the altar of sacrifices. The important part of the Tabernacle, was the altar of incense. Exodus 30:1 “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon …” (KJV).  And God told Moses what kind of spices He had chosen.

Exodus 30:34, 35a “And the Lord said unto Moses, “Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: 35a) And thou shalt make it a perfume …” (KJV). God gave the recipe for this special incense or perfume which could be used only for Him. (Exodus 30:37-38).

The Israelites often burned incense, but this holy incense could be burned only in the Tabernacle. The sweet-smelling incense or perfume was burned in shallow dishes called incense burners and was used to show honor and reverence to God. It was like prayer lifting up to God.

The Tabernacle, then a Temple during Jesus’ time explained that the Temple would be destroyed, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down” Matthew 24:2b. The next thing, the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom while Jesus was at the cross, saying, “It is finished." (Matt. 27:51). In 70 A.D., the Temple was destroyed.

So now, whatever happened to the sweet-smelling perfume God had designed in the Temple? This is going to be interested. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down upon 120 disciples who spent 10 days of worshiping God. The infilling of the Holy Spirit represented God’s approval of their true sweet-smelling worship.

Their prayer of incense were only a part of “three spices” until Christ represented “the fourth spice, the pure frankincense” was added to their lives. The people, 3,000 of them had heard their first gospel through Peter’s sermon.  To those 3,000 people, it became the fragrance, a sweet-smelling gospel of salvation to their souls.

So Paul said, “But thanks be to God …”  “Now wherever we go He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God …”  “ … to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume …” (2 Cor. 2:14-16 NLT).

      Song: Thank You Lord!

Thank you Lord for saving my soul.

Thank you Lord for making me whole.

Thank you Lord for giving to me.

Thy great salvation, so rich and so free.

(From Memory, author, I don’t know)