In a previous post titled A Fragrant Offering , I tried to highlight the importance and understanding of an offering and sacrifice made by Fire, An Aroma pleasing to The Lord! As it applies to Christians today apart from the Jewish traditions and observances.
Today I would like to break open some other mentioned fragrances and how they might not only benefit us as believers in our journey with Christ, but also and perhaps more importantly how they may be presented and pleasing to our God.
In Revelations it states that incense that rises to the throne is the “prayers of the saints”. Rev. 5:8
I believe there is something The LORD God is searching for, sniffing for as it were. A pure, genuine unadulterated fragrant offering.
Prayer is such an important and vital role for Christ followers for without a daily regimen of it, it raises the question who and what are we feeding the seed of faith birthed in us?
I am going to mention a few types of fragrances and the containers in which they are typically and traditionally kept in during ancient times. And unearth some treasures from which we may hopefully be richly rewarded by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit as he guide us into ALL Truth.
A Horn of Oil
First let us look at at The Holy Anointing Oil- it symbolizes The Holy Spirit- and is emblematic of Separating/Sealing- A Holy perfume, not common. It was to be crafted and blended with oil, pure myrrh, cinnamon, Fragrant cane (calamus), and cassia. Exodus 30:22-25
This was a thick heavily fragrant blended oil, used to Anoint Kings, Priests, Prophets, and holy articles. It was stored in a rams horn; A Horn is a symbol of authority and an instrument to declare that authority and the fragrance it kept bottled up until the time it was need for a specific use, it gave that authority an Aroma.
Is there anyone among you sick? Let them call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in The Name of The Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick. James 5:14 NKJV
Prayer, Faith, and Anointing Oil in combination creates an aroma and atmosphere for The living God to take note, the fragrance is there to remind Him of His covenant promise as well as it is to remind us of who we are in Him. Fragrance is a powerful sensory mechanism of recall.
This is The Holy Anointing Oil also symbolic of The Holy Spirit and the sweet fragrance of His presence. Jesus – Messiah – (Christ) means The Anointed One, what was He Anointed with? A full measure of The Holy Spirit, if we are in Him, that anointing, that covering of The Holy Spirit is ours as His inheritance. May that powerful aroma be ever present in our lives. He, Jesus – is that Horn of Authority from which that anointing flows.
A Box
Next let’s look at Spikenard/Nard- it symbolizes Brokenness/Death/Burial and is noted as being a very costly prized fragrance.
On a certain night in Bethel, a woman came and broke open an alabaster box of expensive pure spikenard and poured it on His head. On another account, the night of his betrayal, a woman came and with her tears anointed his feet and wiped them with her hair. Jesus testifies that these women were anointing him for his death and burial and they would forever be mentioned wherever the gospel story was preached. Mat.26:6-13,Mk.14:3-9 , Jn.12:1-8
Alabaster is also commonly known as gypsum, you may have heard of this word before it is also known as drywall or sheetrock, gypsum board. Making this a very strong yet delicate material allowing it to be to carved in great detail, yet capable of crumbling to dust. It is stated somewhere that “He remembers that we are but dust.” Fragile and precious is the container that carries this great gift. So the fragrance which is contained within us as an alabaster box; our hearts, our souls, our hurts, our pains, our anguish and agony is very prized and precious pure as Nard to The Lord. Only when we are willing enough, desperate enough, to become fully exposed – completely vulnerable with our souls laid bare before The Lord our God can we bring fourth that sweet and fragrant offering that rises up and touches the very heart of God.
Samuels mother Hannah is another example of this sincere and open outward brokenness as she prayed earnestly, so intense and fervent was her prayer that the high priest dismissed her and accused her of being drunk. Sounds like Peter on The Day of Pentecost.
In the book of James, again we read of Elijah and the word that declares that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (person) avails much. The encounter which James is referring to pictures the man of God (Elijah) in a position such as is similar to a woman in labor and child birth, this is referred to as a travailing prayer. No greater example of anguish of soul poured out to God The Father can be demonstrated than that by His only Son in The Garden of Gethsemane, on the night of his betrayal, The Pressings in The Garden .
Hannah and the women at Jesus’ feet are pictures of the same truth, a humble spirit and contrite heart God WILL NOT despise. He sees our suffering, He knows and hears our sorrow, our infirmities, our weaknesses. He bore that agony on the tree for you and for me, we meet Him there at the cross that is the altar and He is then able to restore us and give us hope not just any hope but the Hope of Glory which is Christ in us! The fragrance that only that depth of heart and soul can produce surely reaches the nostrils of our heavenly Father.
A Jar
Lastly lets look at The Balm of Gilead
The Balm of Gilead specifically represents – Healing/Restoration –
Is there no balm in Gilead? Jeremiah 8:22
Go up into Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt Jer. 46:11
In these verses it reveals a truth; yes there was a balm in Gilead, a natural balm that provided healing, comfort, and restoration for numerous ailments in the ancient world. However, in context these verses are pointing that without true repent hearts turning back to The LORD God – The True Balm of Gilead – there would be no healing, no restoration, and no comfort for the sorrows. The clay vessels used to store the balm, another symbol of our human construct that we are merely jars of clay, that must be opened to release the fragrant aroma of the resin of the tree from which the balm was derived from.
In ancient Israel, Gilead would have been on the eastern bank of The Jordan River, south of the Sea of Galilee and north of the Dead Sea, lies the poplar balsam trees (opobalsmum) – a gift to King Solomon from the Queen of Sheba. Speaking of trees this leads me to the final aspect of the balm of Gilead.
Revelations 22; On each side of The River (of The Water of Life) stood The TREE of Life (Genesis 2) … And the leaves of the Tree are for the healing of the nations.
These fragrant emblems have one thing in common, they are stored in containers. A horn, a box, a jar.
The fragile delicate container of our whole heart, our whole being must be broken wide open to release the precious fragrant offering to saturate the surrounding atmosphere that rises to His Throne and before His majesty as a sweet and beautiful offering. Only then can He reciprocate in kind and pour out on us the Healing, Comfort, and Restoration we not only seek after but with that which we desperately need. In the Book of Judges in the account of Gideon and the 300 warriors God The LORD defeated the Midianites through them with use of A Horn, A Jar, and A Torch. [Judges 7:16-20]
The HORN of Authority MUST be SOUNDED and the clay pot MUST be smashed to release that which is contained inside the indwelling of HIS Glory to WIN the Victory for whatever battle we are facing and will face.
O how he desires for us to know Him, to be drawn to Him, to cover us with his love and grace, His mercy and His truth.
May The LORD God richly Bless you and may His fragrance and His Glory fill your souls as you Seek and pursue Him with ALL of your heart as a fragrance of itself!
Amen
A Watchmen on the Wall 