Sweet Aroma

My dear friend Tracy really sees the poetry of life, she seeks after Wisdom and she loves the Lord.  I am so glad she could join us.  Won’t you make her feel welcome by posting a comment below?

What is a sweet aroma to your soul?  I feel nostalgic when I catch the scent of chimney smoke penetrating stiff, frigid winter air.  My soul pines for the past when I smell sautéing onions…this was a sure sign of holiday time at my late grandmother’s home.

In Hebrew, the phrase “sweet aroma” is “rayach nichoach”.  The Hebrew word for fragrant is “ray-ach”.  Ray-ach originates from the root, “ruach”, which is where we get “Ruach HaKodesh”, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit.  “Nichoach” is translated as restful, pleasant.  “Rayach Nichoach” communicates that a fragrant aroma has a soothing effect upon our Lord.

“And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 2:2).

When The LORD gave the Old Testament rituals, requiring strict performance of them in His Law, He still had a concern for the heart:

“The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing‘” (Exodus 35:29).

As believers in the Messiah, we are a fragrant aroma because of the indwelling of Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).  Jesus became the Sacrificial Lamb so that His Spirit could dwell within us (1 Cor 3:16).  The Holy Spirit enables us to become a sweet aroma unto the LORD:

“Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance 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” (2 Corinthians 2: 14-15).

On the other hand, in Psalm 38:3-5 we read about what prevents us from being a sweet aroma to God: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.  For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.  My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.”

Fellow sheep, see what redeems us from becoming a “foul” “and “festering”:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

So, let us not be a stench in the nostrils of Adonai.  May we confess and repent regularly, and live fully restored and reconciled to Him.  Then, by the power of Ruach HaKodesh, we may present ourselves as a pleasing and fragrant offering to our King.