Today's devotion from Joseph Prince, speaks of the burnt offerings in the temple having a sweet fragrance before God. I have to admit, that when I think of the Temple, it sometimes seems like a grusome slaughter house. I understand that it provided the food for the temple staff, and I even can stretch my mind around the concept of how these sacrifices picture Christ's death meeting the many needs of sinners for a savoir. But sometimes, I have to think, "why didn't God choose something less gorey to provide our salvation. It sometimes seems no less ungodly as a tribal man sacrificing children to volcanoes. But, God wished to give us a more precious picture. I never really saw past the sacrifice to the glory until this morning. After the sacrifice was offered up, washed and totally unbloody on the altar, it was burned. "Grilled!" We burn beef all the time, and love, love love the smell of it as we wait paitently to consume it. The smell of the temple would be a good one. Like the fragrance of a good restaurant that makes us hungry. God was wanting us to relate the sacrifice of Jesus to what comes after the shedding of blood. Like the delightful fragrance of meat on the grill that calls us to gather at the table, the resurrection of Christ was the sweet fragrance of God's Hunger to comune with man on an intimate and family/friend level. It is a symbol of God's desire to meet with us often through the day, as with when we would eat. It is a symbol of God's desire that we take a break from the work and weariness of living in this world and spend it satiating the hunger that has grown within us. But also to fill us with something of himself. To be blessed by the goodness before us. To find sustenance to go on. It is the symbol of repetition as an element of coming to join with Him often. And in a manner that is not just necessary, but is a time of pleasure. It is a symbol of being drawn to the time by the sweet fragrance of it, just as our favorite foods would make us look fondly to sitting down to supper. Isn't that a wonderful way to see the sacrifice of Jesus.
So often we concentrate on the horror of Christ's Death, that we just don't see how God wants us to remember it. The Lord's Supper itself was a repeat of this concept. He said, as oft as you do this, do it in rememberance of me. What did he tell them to remember? That they had broken bread together...the blessing of being in his presence for all those many meals, and especially this His last. That they drank a refreshing drink, just as any group of friends might, when they are celebrating a holiday meal. And He wanted them to remember, not that this was their last meal, but their first in a New Tradition. They would depart from the symbolism of the passover, when the death Angel passed over, and begin a new reason to gather in rememberance of His being the last sacrificial lamb, which would finally bring to them freedom from sin, and entry into new life. A sweet time, full of fragrance, and a longing to remedy the hunger within. That's what the burnt offering was about. And that perfect picture is how God wants us to see ourselves, because it is how He sees us ever since the death and resurrection of Christ....to all who will come to the feast. God laid out the table and he smells the sweet small of steaks on the grill. He says to all who smell the wafting of the smoke....
"Come 'n Eat."
Thank you Dear Father, for this image of how you saw the sacrifice of the savoir. Each time the priests put up the burnt offerings, it was like smelling steaks on the grill to you. It was just you looking forward to the day that we would all gather round and spend time feeding at your table. And you wanted it to be as easy and as fulfilling as sitting down to a good meal. You wanted us to come hungry. You wanted us to smell of the smoke, cause you wanted us to be so drawn by the fragrance that we just could hardly wait to be there. Pure Joy! Oh my I'm getting hungry. Thank you for this time together. AMEN
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