Focusing Message on Audience

Posted on September 10, 2018 | Leave a comment

Dill for Blog Jesus named three herbs while teaching in the Temple Court during Holy Week; read Matthew 23:1-32. This dill plant is from St. John Church Bible Garden.

Matthew is the only gospel writer who recorded seven “Woes” as part of Jesus’s teaching in the Temple Courtyard during what Christians call Holy Week. The first day of the week, Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, the second day he cleared the Temple of money changers, and the third day was a day of controversy and parables. This day must have been challenging and exhausting for Jesus.  Group after group, e.g., Pharisees, teachers of the Law, Sadducees and Herodians, came forward to challenge Jesus. They attempted to trip him up so that they could condemn both Jesus and his answers. At one point during their challenges, Jesus spoke seven “Woes” in which he condemned both the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. As we read these 32 verses, we hear the agony that Jesus feels at the blindness of these spiritual leaders of Israel.  Jesus is so frustrated that he names them “hypocrites.” 

In the fourth “Woe,” Jesus told the Pharisees that they give 1/10 of spices – mint, dill and cummin; but neglect the more important parts of the Law that have to do with justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He advised them to practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness while tithing on the herbs. Then, Jesus gave a concluding denouncement to the Pharisees and teachers by saying that “you strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24).

Jesus’s teaching that justice, mercy and faithfulness are more important than tithing on herbs was similar to one he gave while eating a meal in a Pharisee’s home (Luke 11:37-44). The differences were that Jesus used a different list of herbs than in Luke’s gospel, and in Luke he only he directed the Pharisees to practice justice and to love God. Despite these dissimilarities, the point of both teachings was the same. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to get their priorities in line with God’s priorities. God’s priorities are summed up in a simple Bible verse (Micah 6:8),  “What does the Lord of require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Dill

Photo taken at Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel.

The species name of New Testament dill is Anethum graveolens.  Early Israelite settlers cultivated dill on the coastal Sharon Plain, possibly in sheltered area because strong winds can destroy or damage tall dill stocks. Dill is an erect annual herb that grows about 3 but sometime 5 feet tall. All parts of the dill plant are edible except the roots.  Young foliage is used to flavor meat and fish sauces. Dill weed can be frozen with foliage on the stems.  Dry or green seeds give the spicy tang to pickles, relishes and vinegar and add zest to potato and egg salads. Dried crushed seeds are used in soups.

Symbolism: Offering

Because dill is common in Western cooking, we do not fully comprehend how valuable it was to ancient peoples.  In ancient times, the dill plant was a luxury item often used as an offering.  Today we think of an offering as money or something valuable given to support the church.  The ancients had a similar view of an offering.  In ancient Egypt, dill was placed in the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs (god-kings) as an offering for the Pharaoh’s afterlife.  Israel’s Talmud required that a tithe be paid on dill stems, leaves, and seeds; therefore, dill was used as an offering to the Temple.  Shortly after this teaching in the Temple Courtyard, Jesus offered his body as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.  His bodily sacrifice was an offering for the sins of these Pharisees and teachers of the Law who attempted to trip him up so they could justify condemning him.

It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around Jesus offering his body — even dying — for men he knew were hypocrites and who had the goal of condemning him. My first reaction to hypocritical behavior is anger, even contempt.Perhaps I need to step back from these emotions and consider what my teacher did.

Reflection. How do you react to hypocritical behavior in your spouse, neighbors, or church family members? Think about what you can offer them besides judgment and anger.

I love Bible plants along with their symbolism. If you want to learn more about them, read my two books: 1) Rooted in God and 2) God as a Gardener. You can purchase them from my website: Carolyn Roth Ministry at http://www.CarolynRothMinistry.com/

Copyright: Carolyn A. Roth, 12/13

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Flowering Rush and Legacy

Posted on September 5, 2018 | Leave a comment

“Can reed flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down they wither before any other plant” (Job 8.11-12, ESV).

In this verse Bildad, one of Job’s friends recommends to Job that he repent of his sin. Then, God will forgive Job and restore his losses. Typical of wisdom literature, Bildad uses an analogy from nature to illustrate the vulnerability of the wicked. Bildad is sure that Job did something wicked for God to give Job all the disasters that occurred in his live. The flowering rush is primarily a Mediterranean plant. Its presence in Job suggested that his home country possibly had rivers or lakes.

Flowering Rush

The flowering reed in Job 8.12 is the flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus). The word butomus comes from the root words bous (ox) and temmo (cut). The temmo portion of Butomus is an allusion to the sharp leaf margins of the flowering rush. Some writers put this rush in the sedge family known for its cutting leaves. The flowering reed produces flowers April to August. Inflorescence contain 20-25 flowers. The flower itself has three large pink petals.

Flowering reeds grow rapidly in wet lands. They can reach a height of 15 feet. At the same time, the flowering rush is vulnerable, dependent on a constant supply of water. The merest drought results in death. Like most reeds, Butomus umbellatus produces rhizomes. Rhizomes break from the parent plant and migrate to new sites where they take root and grow.

Symbolism

In Bildad speech to Job, he makes use of a characteristic of flowering rush which suggests that he had studied the plant. Flowering rush rhizomes can move from their original site leaving no trace of their presence. Bildad cautions Job that if he does not repent despite his previous wealth and influence, Job will pass from existence leaving no trace of his presence.

Reflection

Most of us want to be remembered. We want to leave something that makes an impact on the earth when we are gone. Some individuals have children. Others write books, design buildings, or determine to be great politicians. What do you want to leave as your legacy?

Copyright July 22, 2018; Carolyn A. Roth

Visit my website to purchase books on Bible plants: http://www.CarolynRothMinistry.com

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September newsletter

Posted on September 1, 2018 | Leave a comment

To read my latest newsletter, click the link below.

http://www.carolynrothministry.com/uploads/8/1/1/7/81173938/volume_2_2c_issue_9.pdf

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Back to Eden

Posted on August 28, 2018 | 1 comment

Guest Blogger: Tom Breene

Once in a great while, I am inspired; rather compelled to write about what I see are the present and most urgent issues that we are facing as a race of people on the face of the earth.

In my humble opinion, it all began in the garden of Eden when Satan put a spin on what God told Adam and Eve about the forbidden fruit. Eve was so intrigued, (was won over so to speak) by this new way of understanding an idea, that she threw caution to the wind, accepted the words of this new creature, and partook of the fruit.  The next thing she did was to convince Adam of this bigger and better deal, and he too was won over to the dark side. I call this the (dark) side because on that day the focus of man was shifted from God to this new and persuasive being that promised a new reality based on his reality.

No longer could God be trusted to tell the truth about life, or to be trusted concerning the issues of life, because now the original man and women had made the first step (of many), away from the Author of life and into the hands of the deceiver. Their precious, innocent, loving relationship with the One who made them and who cared deeply for them, was replaced with the new reality of them having to pull up their bootstraps, (along with their rest and peace), and follow this new siren because (after all), he now had their best interests in mind (right?) They were now convinced that God wasn’t really telling them the truth; that He was just leading them along for His personal benefit, taking advantage of their trusting relationship in order to exploit them for His selfish purposes. Shoot, He didn’t really care for them; maybe He wasn’t even good. From now on they were going to have to look out for themselves because who else could they trust? Oh yeah, the new guy. He would show them the real way….but where was he now? Thus, the liberal, leftist progressive movement was born.

Fast forward to the world we live in today. No one can deny the culture war that is raging. There seems to be two sides that are pitted one against the other. Both claim to have the truth on their side. Both claim that their truth is the real truth; but we all know that there can not be but one Truth. Therefore one side must be deceived.

I said there is a culture war. The present culture determines what we call politics. Politics is what determines power; and power is what determines the order in our society. The side that is in power determines the agenda, and so on and so forth.

So the battle rages still; and despite all that one may hear from the media and all the talking heads of today’s world about this issue, or that issue, and who said what, and who is right and who is wrong; it is a spiritual battle that we are experiencing. It is also a worldwide phenomena. This (new) leftist, progressive movement is nothing new. Like I said earlier, it all began so long ago. So no matter what you hear, there are only two choices, two sides. The one side still believes that there is a creator, a God who loves us, and who is GOOD, and who is still pursuing us to come back to Him and have that original relationship restored. That is the side who believes in the rule of law; who respects authority; who believes that God did not leave us without instructions on how to live a good life, and who believes that God provided a Way for us to be restored to our original state of relationship and purpose with Him. That is the side who doesn’t have to struggle to feel good about themselves, and say all the right things and speak with political correctness, and try to justify themselves by themselves and all their good intentions and thoughts and so on and so forth.

The other side doesn’t believe that there is order to the universe. They don’t believe in an all powerful loving Creator who is waiting to receive them. They don’t believe in the Spirit of Truth, but that there are many truths, and yours are just as good as mine. That truth is what you make it to be, and all that matters is that I respect yours and you respect mine. So I suppose that makes the author of truth to be man himself. Wow! Then I guess that makes man an idol to himself. Where, where do we go from here? Well, that means we have to solve all the problems of the universe in order to be FREE! Personal freedom at all costs! Isn’t that what all the noise is about? I want mine, you want yours, but things get in the way don’t they? Other’s agendas for instance; or other’s expectations of us. Or our own inability to figure everything out; the balancing act of trying to meet all the requirements of making that freedom work for us. That’s right; in order for my freedom to work, everyone else has to cooperate the way I think they should to make it a reality. It’s a fragile thing! People get angry when others get in the way. They start shouting, accusing others of faults and aggression; organizing marches and protests; even threatening violence.

Sound familiar? So, if history tells us anything, it may be that this is how wars get started. I don’t know about you, but I tend to believe that if mankind had the ability to make himself free and happy he would have done so by now. The left claims it is more compassionate, more loving, and has more of a passion to make everything fair for everyone; than anyone else. If the aim of the leftist progressive movement was to finally someday free mankind of all it’s fetters, and if it were even possible; how would that be fair to the billions of people that have lived and died before that time were to come? How can one keep going through life enjoying all the benefits and all the mystery; along with the wonder and beauty and living art of creation without seeking the One who made it?

In spite of all the rhetoric one might hear of who has the most passion, the most intelligence, and insight about what to do to fix all the problems of humankind today, they will all fall short; because we are not facing an intelligence problem, we are wrestling with a spiritual one. There is a spirit that is driving and influencing and powering the individuals of the left today, and I don’t have to tell you who he is. If history tells us anything, it reveals that it is possible for humans to be so deceived that they begin to call evil good and good evil. (consider the Nazis or read the first Chapter of Romans).

No matter how one colors it; no matter how one disguises it; what mankind is missing and what he needs the most is rest. The rest that the first pair had before they were deceived by the serpent. It’s time to admit you need a Savior. Not a superhero on the big screen. Not an idol like mother earth or the government, or even mankind itself. Look for the One who’s footprint is all around you. He has already done everything to make your rest possible. If you’re looking for freedom, you will never find it until your heart is captured by Christ. Receive and trust Him today.

Reflection: Maybe Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were on to something when at Woodstock they sang the song that contained the refrain: “we are stardust, we are golden, and we got to get ourselves back to the garden”.

Author: Tom Breene, Copyright June 1, 2018.

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Posted in Plants in Creation & Eden

Too Late for Healing Aloe

Posted on August 20, 2018 | 4 comments

Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Jewish council who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Boldly, Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. After confirming with a Roman officer, that Jesus was dead, Pilate released Jesus’s body to Joseph. Along with Nicodemus, Joseph took Jesus’s body from the cross. They wrapped the body in linen stripes and 75 pounds of mixed aloe and myrrh. The Jewish burial custom of using spices in burial linens was associated with covering the smell of the decaying body.  Scholars suggested that because aloe had little odor, aloes were used to “fix,” or hold the scent of the myrrh. Based on my knowledge of aloe plants, I have another proposed reason for  aloes in the linen grave cloths. Aloe gel is moist and slightly sticky. Perhaps, aloe gel didn’t so much “fix” the myrrh aroma in the linen cloths as hold them together and onto the body of the deceased.

The aloe of the New Testament is the Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis, Aloe vulgaris medicinal aloe). Some sources identified aloe as the oldest medicinal plant. Certainly, it figures prominently in ancient Egyptian medicine. In Israel, aloe grows as far south as Kibbutzim Lotan and Ketura in the Arava Desert near the Gulf of Aqaba. Old and New Testament aloe are from different species of plants. In contrast to New Testament aloe which is an herbaceous plant, Old Testament aloe comes from a tree. The Old Testament aloe tree was the eaglewood tree (Aquilaria malaccensis, A. agallocha). Likely, Old Testament traders brought aloe wood from India.

Currently, aloe is used to reduce the pain of burns and scrapes. When aloe is harvested for its medicinal gel, older leaves are harvested because they contain more gel. I keep an aloe plant in my home. When I get a burn, I slice off a piece of aloe and rub the fluid on the burn, which takes the pain away.

Isaiah wrote these prophetic words about Jesus, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isaiah 53.5 ESV) Jesus’s body was dead; therefore, aloes couldn’t heal him; aloes couldn’t take away the sting of his death. Aloe couldn’t heal Jesus’s wounds. The healing aloes in Jesus’s burial cloth exemplified Jesus’s healing of mankind, not himself.

After Jesus’s resurrection some individuals in Judea and the Roman Empire accepted healing from him. They accepted Jesus as Messiah, as the promised Savior of the world. Other individuals weren’t willing to be healed. Some couldn’t comprehend that a man would die for their sins. Others simply didn’t believe that they were all that bad; why would someone need to die for their few sins? For still others it was easier to continue their same religious observances, i.e., make an animal sacrifice or give a little money into a treasury, than to accept a new way of thinking. These individuals often want to cover over the smell of their sin rather than be healed of that sin. The rationale and rationalizations that individuals used 2,000 years ago for not accepting healing from Jesus are the same ones that individuals use today.

In church on Sunday morning, we pray the “Prayers of the People.” Frequently, there are prayer requests for healing – surgery, diagnostic tests, cancer – from members of the congregation. I’m always surprised that congregates don’t offer more prayers for loved ones’ spiritual healing. My dear friend isn’t a Christian; I love him so much. From time to time, I ask congregates to pray that he comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus. I really should ask them to pray for him every Sunday. My friend needs the healing that only Jesus can give.

Reflection: Like the reason for aloe in Jesus’s burial cloths, do you attempt to stick close to Jesus? What excuse do you give for not accepting Jesus as your Savior now?

Copyright July 8, 2018; Carolyn A. Roth

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Wrapped in Linen

Posted on August 10, 2018 | 3 comments

First century Palestinians made clothes from linen and cotton in addition to using animal hides and fleece.  Both linen and cotton were made from plants, with linen the more valuable material.  Linen was used almost exclusively for wrapping bodies of dead individuals. Israelites didn’t cremate their dead. Rather, they interned them in a cave or crypt.

According to Mosaic Law, a dead body had to be buried or entombed the day the individual died or was killed, so the land wasn’t defiled (Deuteronomy 21.23). At the same time, two other Mosaic laws were applicable: First, a man couldn’t work on the Sabbath. Preparing a body for burial was work. Second, an individual who touched a dead body was ceremonially unclean for seven days (Numbers 19.11). Devout Jews internalized these law; thus, Joseph of Arimathea asked Governor Pilate for the body of Jesus as soon as Jesus died. Because Jesus died at about 3:00 p.m. and because the Sabbath begun about 6:00 p.m., Joseph had a three-hour window of opportunity to prepare and intern Jesus’s body. Joseph and his helper, Nicodemus, both devout Jews, knew that they would be unclean for seven days because they touched Jesus’s dead body.

Nicodemus supplied 75 pounds of aloes and myrrh to infuse Jesus’s grave cloths. While Jesus lived, his clothes were made from cotton or wool. Linen would have been a luxury item for an itinerate rabbi (Luke 16.19).  After his death, I don’t believe Jesus cared if he was wrapped in linen cloths or simply cotton rags, as his mother used for swaddling cloths at his birth.

One Bible scholar11 wrote that first century Jews wrapped the corpse’s body with a wide long cloth beginning at the feet and ending with the head.  This perspective contrasts with John’s description of Lazarus, when he came out of the grave. John wrote that when Lazarus came out of the grave, his hands and feet were bound with perfumed linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth (John 11.44). Logic suggests that Jesus was wrapped for burial in the same manner as Lazarus.

The gospel writer, John, identified that Jesus was wrapped in linen cloths, not in a linen cloth. As I pondered the proposal that Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus in a single piece of linen, I remembered 30 years ago when I practiced nursing. Part of the care of a deceased body in the hospital was wrapping it in a single sheet of cloth and tying this “shroud” around the body. Only then, was the body transported through the hospital halls to the morgue. Perhaps, Jesus was wrapped in strips of linen cloths, then wrapped in a shroud.

In New Testament Greek, words for linen (bussos, sindōn) generally, translated as “fine linen.”1 Fine linen cloth was associated with coverings in the tabernacle and with Israelite priests’ robes. The ancient Hebrew word for fine linen, was shêsh. Shêsh denotes a type of linen of peculiar whiteness and fineness.

 In the ancient Near East, the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum, was used to make linen.  In Biblical times, flax was the most important fiber crop. Although flax may have originated in Mesopotamia, it was extensively cultivated in Egypt and less so in Palestine.  In Egypt flax grew along the sides the Nile River, particularly the Nile Delta region. In Egypt and the Middle East, flax was planted in the early winter and harvested in the spring. Egypt exported linen cloth and linen threads to Palestine in the first century.

The flax plant has a single stem that grows up to 4 feet tall.  The fiber is in the stem.  Initially, the stem is green, but turns yellow as the plant ripens and readies for harvest. When flax plants were harvested for fiber, mature plants were pulled up by their roots. Harvested plants were allowed to dry, then retted.  Retting is a process of soaking flax to separate the fiber from the woody tissue (straw).  Fibers were spun, then woven into linen cloth. Ancient people dyed some linen threads.

Have you ever wondered why each of the gospel writers recorded something about Jesus’s body being wrapped in grave cloth/cloths? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stop with Jesus’s death?  We are given all the detail about Jesus’s body being wrapped in linen grave cloths and then possibly in a shroud so that we believe absolutely that Jesus died on the cross. His corpse was treated the way all dead Jews were treated.

Reflection: Will it matter what you are wrapped in at your death?

Copyright July 8, 2018; Carolyn A. Roth

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August Newsletter

Posted on July 31, 2018 | Leave a comment

If you click on the link you will be able to read Carolyn Roth Ministry Newsletter for August.

Volume 2, Issue 8.pub

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Rock rose source of onycha

Posted on July 30, 2018 | Leave a comment

Onycha is the most controversial ingredient used in incense when it was prepared for use in the tabernacle on the Sinai Peninsula. Originally, Bible scholars believed that onycha came from a shell fish that was common to the Red Sea area. The problem with this hypothesis was that Mosaic Law identified that all non-finned and non-scaled fish were unclean and should be considered detestable (Leviticus 11.10-11).

The Talmud stated that onycha (shecheleth) grew from a plant, most likely an exudate from a bush or small tree. According to Winifred Walker’s All the Plants of the Bible (1979), shecheleth is a form of rock rose (Cistus ladaniferus var.  creticus), which produces a resin called labdanum. The flowers of the rockrose bush are described as having petals with scarlet and black fingernail-shaped markings. Usually, rock rose produces labdanum annually, during the summer, to protect itself from the heat. When aged labdanum becomes more fragrant.   The fresh resin is a soft, sticky, and tar-like substance that is sweet, flowery, musky, and reminiscent of honey or ambergris with a hint of sweet leather. As labdanum ages it becomes hard and brittle.

I planted Cistus in the church Bible garden. The plant lived two winters but did not make it through the third winter (Plant Zone 7). When I checked for more plants at my neighborhood nursery, the manager told me that they no longer sold Cistus because it did not overwinter in the Roanoke climate.

Labdanum, the product of onycha, is produced to protect the flower from heat. My thought is that I can produce nothing to protect my body and mind from heat. Jesus give me protection from heat, from all stress, worry, tension, strain.

Reflection: “Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?” Thanks be to God that Christians will never have to endure God’s indigation and anger. We got Jesus!!!

Copyright June 21, 2018; Carolyn A. Roth

Please check out my website: http://www.CarolynRothMinistry.com

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Good News in Nature

Posted on July 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

Good News in Nature centers on plants in the 4 Gospels. With few exceptions, the plants are ones that Jesus used in his ministry. At this time, it is available on Amazon/Kindle in electronic format.

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Galbanum, Ingredient in Incense

Posted on July 20, 2018 | Leave a comment

The story of the Tabernacle incense is in Exodus 30:1–10, 34-38; Exodus 37:25-29; and Exodus 40:26-28.

When God listed offerings for the Tabernacle, he included spices for fragrant incense (Exodus 25:6).  Specifically, a perfumer was to blend the holy incense out of equal proportions of gum resin (stacte), onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense.  The incense was to be salted and pure and sacred (30:35).  Several scholars have commented on what “salted” meant.  One idea was that salt was a preservative in the incense.  A second idea was related to the ancient’s belief that sharing salt between two people was considered to bind them in a covenant.  In the incense, the Israelites offered salt to God, which set Israel’s seal on the covenantal relationship that God offered.  Finally, directing the incense to be salted could have meant it was to be well prepared.The Tabernacle incense was to be “most holy” to the Israelites, and the Israelites were to consider the Tabernacle incense “holy to the Lord” (Exodus 30:36, 37).  Israelites then and in generations to come were to burn incense before the Lord (Exodus 30: 7-9).  The incense on the Altar of Incense was to thanks and praise God for his care and protection to a redeemed people. The Israelites were cautioned to not use the incense formula to make incense for personal use. If they did, they would be cut off from the Israelite people.

The question of the origin of the ingredients for the incense is an important one. The Israelites were in the Sinai Peninsula where these spices did not occur in nature. Most likely, the spices were brought with the Israelites out of Egypt; they were tributes from the Egyptians.  In particular, women would have fragrant, sweet-smelling spices and perfumes. The Bible noted that the Israelites gave an overabundance of materials for the Tabernacle construction.  That overabundance would have included incense spices as well as other construction materials.

Once blended, the incense was ground and used on the Altar of Incense (Golden Altar) and on the Table of the Presence Bread. Both of these structures were located in the Holy of Holies, Tent of Meeting. The Altar of Incense was located immediately in front of the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the Most Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:6). The Altar of Incense was so closely connected to the Most Holy Place that the writer of Hebrews mentioned that it was placed behind the veil separating the two rooms (Hebrews 9:4). No other incense was burnt on the Altar of Incense; nor were other types of offerings made on it, e.g., animal, grain, or drink. On the Altar, incense was burnt twice a day: in the evening when the chief priest lit the lamps (on the Lampstand) to burn throughout the night, and in the morning when the lamps were prepared (dressed) for the day.  Incense was also burnt on the Table of the Presence Bread.  On the Table, incense was place along each stack of Bread (Leviticus 24:5–9).  The incense was burnt as a memorial representing the 12 loaves of bread.  It was an offering made to the Lord by fire.

The Galbanum Plant

The plant described with the Tabernacle incense is galbanum which produces a resinous gum, also called galbanum.  The botanical name of galbanum is  also Ferula gummosa. Galbanum is a member of the same family of plants as carrots and parsley; it is native to central Asia particularly Iran. Galbanum was not known to grow in Israel; and in 2012 Israeli plant data bases do not list it. The Hebrew word for galbanum is chelbᵉnâh. The only place that chelbᵉnâh appears in the Bible is with spices used to make the Tabernacle incense. In England and the United States, the flowers were described as greenish white or yellow;  however, in Central Asia, flowers are a brilliant orange-yellow (Aitchison, 1887).  There are differing opinions about the gum odor and taste from pleasant odor and an acrid taste to strongly balsamic, pungent, and disagreeable or musky.  Whatever the odor of galbanum gum alone, when it was blended with the other three spices, the resulting Tabernacle incense was fragrant.

Symbolism: Fragrance

The symbolism of Tabernacle incense is three-fold.  In the Tabernacle, the incense symbolized a fragrance, or beautiful aroma, lifted to God in thanksgiving.  In the New Testament, the symbolism of fragrance is repeated in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross and in the work of the Church.  In contrast to Tabernacle incense that was burnt and rose up to God morning and evening, the sweet fragrance of the Church should rise continually to the Lord.  In his writings to a number of young Church congregations, Paul pointed out how Christ was and we are to be fragrant offerings and aromas to God.  For example, Paul told the Church at Ephesus to be imitators of Christ and to live a life of love in the same way that Christ loved us and gave himself as fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2).

To God, Christians are the aroma of Christ among “those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15)  To the saved, Christians are the fragrance of life.  To those who reject Christ, Christians and the gospel message are the smell of death (2 Corinthians 2:16, note, New International Version Study Bible, 2002).  Christians and the gospel message themselves are not evil-smelling or death dealing; but when nonbelievers reject the life-giving message of Christ, they smell death, not fragrant life.

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he acknowledged their gifts saying he was not amply supplied (Philippians 4:14-19).  Probably, the gifts include money as well as material goods such as food and clothing.  Paul identified the gifts were “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).  The gifts from the Philippians to Paul were not in atonement for sin.  Rather, they were gifts of thanksgiving and praise for Paul’s ministry and Christ’s gift of salvation.  The church members at Philippi set an example that church members today can follow in giving to the support of missionaries.

Reflection. When we apply the Bible to our lives, we are like sweet-smelling incense lifted up by a gentle breeze to God. What kind of fragrance are you giving off?

I love Bible plants along with their symbolism. If you want to learn more about them, read my two books: 1) Rooted in God 2 and 2) God as a Gardener. You can purchase them from my website: Carolyn Roth Ministry at http://www.CarolynRothMinistry.com/

Copyright July 1, 2018; carolyn a. roth

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