GOD’S WORD FOR FEBRUARY 21 ~ ~ Genesis 27:27~ ~ “And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son [is] as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed.”
We can smell about 10,000 different smells.
Humans and mammals detect smells by using at least 1,000 different genes. These genes are located in every cell in your body, but they are active only in your nose.
Each of the different genes seems designed to respond to a small group of odors. These genes all work as a team. They pass signals from the nerve cells in the nose to a small region of the brain called the olfactory bulb.
Our sense of smell relies on a very elegant and sophisticated system. Imagine, 1,000 genes lie at the heart of that system. Each one of those genes is information – a programmed code that is designed to make sense of what we smell.
This amazing process is all part of that fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by the One True God.
“I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well.”
The sense of smell is spoken of in the Word of God in several ways. One way is the mention of God smelling the sweet smell of an offered sacrifice from His people. It wasn’t always actually sweet-smelling incense. It could be burning animal sacrifices, or produce, but the meaning that He wants to get across is His pleasure in the attitude of their sacrifice. It is interesting that God smells!
Genesis 8:20-21 ~ ~ “ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” Again, the smell was good in God’s view because of the attitude with which it was offered.
Paul speaks of this concept also. When he was in jail, and the church sent provisions, he referred to it as sweet-smelling, even though it probably wasn’t necessarily, physically so:
Phil. 4:18 ~ ~ “ Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”
The most sweet-smelling sacrifice of all, by far, is the one that reached the nostrils of The Father from His dear son, on behalf of each of us!!! Paul points this out:
Ephesians 5:2 ~ ~ “ And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
But, when the people had secret sins, or their sacrifices weren’t heart-felt, or not offered in obedience, Elohim would say that He would not smell them, no matter how sweet-smelling they were in the air.