Sense of Smell

Sense of Smell

Exodus 30: “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. ⁴ Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. ⁶ And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷ “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. ⁸ And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

 

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GOD told Moses to build an altar for incense. HE would give the ingredients of the incense later. GOD gave the instructions on when to use the incense.

 

My Observations:

• GOD seems to want us to experience HIM using our five senses.
• GOD may have wanted the priest to experience the sweet aroma to put him in a mindset of worship.
• During the daily sacrifice, which could be a bit smelly, Aaron and his sons were supposed to burn incense to make the experience pleasant.

 

Animal stink. Sacrificing animals twice a day can imprint a bad experience on the priest’s mind. GOD took care of that by having the priest light enough incense to provide an aromatic experience that would be pleasant.

 

The priest could experience what GOD experienced. GOD would get the aroma of the burnt offering and the priest would get the aroma of the incense. The other senses are included in this experience. The gold would shimmer from the light of the flame of the lampstand. Part of the burnt offering would be eaten, satisfying the sense of taste. The garment bells would ring, satisfying a life sustaining sound. And the curtains made from hair were to be touched, giving a tactile experience.

 

The altar of incense was to be used as a reminder of atonement. Once a year, blood would need to be put on the horns of the altar. GOD gave an experience with all senses.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the altar of incense?
• Has GOD given you instructions to uses your senses for HIM?
• How are you experiencing GOD through your five senses?