Why would the aroma of a sacrifice be important to God?
The aroma of a sacrifice was very important in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. When a sacrifice was made to God, the smoke and aroma that came from the burnt offering was said to be pleasing to God. There are several reasons why the aroma of a sacrifice would have significance for God:
1. It showed obedience and devotion to God’s commands. God gave explicit instructions for how sacrifices were to be prepared and offered in the tabernacle/temple. When people carefully followed these regulations, it demonstrated their desire to honor and obey God. The pleasing smell showed they had fulfilled their duty (Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17).
2. It represented the people’s prayers rising to heaven. As the smoke from the burnt offerings ascended upwards, it symbolized the people’s prayers and petitions rising to God’s throne in the heavens (Psalm 141:2). The pleasing aroma signified their prayers were accepted by God.
3. It was linked to atonement for sins. Sacrifices had an important role in atoning for the sins of individuals or the nation of Israel as a whole. God accepted the offering by fire as a substitute payment for sin. The aroma was like the “smell” of forgiveness and reconciliation with God (Leviticus 4:31, Numbers 15:3).
4. It was associated with God’s presence. When the tabernacle or temple was filled with the fragrance of sacrifices, it signified God’s presence dwelling among His people. The scent of burnt offerings affirmed that God was with them (Exodus 29:18, 25).
5. It symbolized complete dedication to God. Burnt offerings that were wholly consumed on the altar represented the complete giving over of oneself or a possession to God. The aroma that filled the air showed this was an offering fully dedicated and belonging to the Lord (Genesis 8:21, Exodus 29:25).
6. It was linked to purification from sin. Purification offerings released a pleasing aroma that signified the person/object had been cleansed from impurity and was acceptable to God once more. The smell represented the purified status (Leviticus 1:13, 2:2).
7. It indicated honor, respect, and the recognition of God’s worth. The aroma was like a fragrant gift presented to God, recognizing His supreme value. It was an act of honoring and showing respect to God’s holiness and glory (Genesis 8:21, Ephesians 5:2).
8. It was associated with celebration, joy, and fellowship with God. Sacrifices were often part of festivals and feasts. The pleasant smell of offerings contributed to the joyful atmosphere as people gathered to celebrate God’s goodness and graciousness together (Leviticus 23:13, 18).
9. It foreshadowed Christ’s sacrifice for sins. In the New Testament, the Old Testament sacrifices are pictured as a prototype and foreshadowing of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross. He is the perfect pleasing offering and fragrance to make purification for sins for all time (Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 10:1-18).
In the ancient world, smells and aromas had much more significance than they typically do today. The aroma of a sacrifice wouldn’t have only been pleasing in a physical sensory way, but conveyed spiritual meaning about the relationship between God and human beings. The sight and smell of sacrifices rising heavenward in the smoke powerfully represented the connection between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. When offered with a right heart, the fragrance of offerings ascended to God as a sweet savor, testifying to the devotion and allegiance of the people to their covenant God.
Exodus 29:18 – You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:9 – but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:13 – but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:17 – He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 4:31 – And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
Numbers 15:3 – and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord,
Psalm 141:2 – Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Genesis 8:21 – And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.
Exodus 29:18 – You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.
Exodus 29:25 – Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:13 – but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 2:2 – And bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. Take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 23:13 – Its grain offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and its drink offering shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.
Leviticus 23:18 – And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:2 – And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Hebrews 10:1-18 – For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
In summary, the aroma of sacrifices in the Old Testament worship system was deeply significant and meaningful. Though foreign to modern sensibilities, the smoke and fragrance of burnt offerings concretely represented the relationship between God and His people, the atonement for sins, and foreshadowed Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to come.
