Perfume

Welcome to my blog, ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible to unearth God’s meaning in His pattern of usage.

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.

—Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

Several years ago, I visited a perfumery museum in southern France housing glass flasks and wooden vats and antique copper stills that retained the breath of essence from long-ago steeping of blossoms collected in the surrounding fields—roses and lavender, mimosa and jasmine. To this day a whiff of French cologne carries me away.

Scent is a powerful stimulant, and it’s little wonder that God appeals to the olfactory system when drawing us into His Word. The earliest Bible stories tell of camel caravans bearing exotic-smelling cargo from Arabia and Asia and Africa for barter and peace offering: herbs and spices, leaves and bark and “tears” of tree resin, seeds, fruits, and flowers (Gen. 37:25; Gen. 43:11). People of the Near East placed high commercial value on these wares, worthy of a king’s treasury (2 Kings 20:13; Rev. 18:11-13). In fact the Queen of Sheba, overwhelmed by King Solomon’s wisdom and wealth, honoured him with the greatest contribution of spices ever made to Israel’s trove (1 Kings 10:10). Esteemed guests would be sprinkled with fragrant waters of hospitality as a token of friendship, then feast on banquets aromatic with anise, cumin, and the cinnamon-like cassia (Ps. 23:5; Matt. 23:23; Isa. 28:25-27).

In everyday life, perfume was used largely for medicinal, funerary, and cosmetic purposes, prepared by male and female apothecaries who formed a guild during the restoration of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:8; 1 Sam. 8:13). Scented salves using the pungent Balm of Gilead (obtained by “wounding” the balsam tree) and preparations incorporating the minty hyssop were prescribed for cleansing wounds and curing eye infections, and often symbolized spiritual healing as well (Lev. 14:2-7; Isa. 1:4-6; Jer. 8:22; Jer. 51:8; Rev. 3:18). Bodies of the deceased and their linen grave clothes were customarily treated with infusions; in fact the presentation by the Magi of royal myrrh to young Jesus prophesied His eventual death and burial (2 Chron. 16:14; Matt. 2:11; Luke 23:56; John 19:38-39). On a lighter note, Ruth splashed on eau de toilette before her first date with Boaz, and Esther underwent a year-long aromatherapy session in preparation for the world’s greatest beauty contest (Ruth 3:3; Esther 2:12). And we can almost sniff our way through the romantic poetry of Solomon (Song 1:3; Song 3:6; Song 4:10; Song 7:8; Song 7:13)!

Pragmatics and aesthetics aside, Scripture uses the image of perfume to illustrate proper worship of a holy God. It starts with Noah exiting the ark with his family and his zoo to offer a burnt animal sacrifice, the first of many sacrifices throughout the Old Testament, and its odour rose to the heavens to please the Lord (Gen. 8:18-21; Exod. 29:18; Ezek. 16:19; Ezek. 20:41). Jacob awoke from his ladder dream and propped his stone pillow up as a memorial pillar, daubing it with scented oil in gratitude for God’s grace (Gen. 28:18). Soon after, God gave a recipe for this sacred anointing oil to be used, along with pure incense, during tabernacle worship in setting apart people and objects for His special use (Exod. 30:22-38; Exod. 37:29). He declared His chosen people, Israel, acceptable as a sweet savour brought out from among the nations (Ezek. 20:41). For generations scented smoke hovered above the Ark of the Covenant and billowed out from the Holy of Holies in a miniature replica of the Sinai cloud of God’s Shekinah-glory, until one day during the “time of incense” an angel announced that the priestly prayers of the ages were coming to fruition (Luke 1:8-13). The old was giving way to the new.

The Messiah was born in a cave and laid in a manger surrounded, I’m sure, by the heady musk of freshly cut straw (Luke 2:7). Not only myrrh but regal frankincense was presented to the child Jesus—one of the ingredients in the holy oil used in worship and prophetically bespeaking His salvific deity (Isa. 60:1-6; Matt. 2:11). Near the end of Jesus’ short life of ministry, at a dinner given in His honour, in an act of devotion Mary bathed His feet with costly nard poured from an alabaster jar, the ambrosia filling the room in a picture of the sacrifice the Lord’s Anointed was about to make upon the cross of crucifixion (John 12:1-3; Acts 10:38; Luke 4:18). A branch of hyssop—brushed over Passover door lintels and cast upon the slaughtered red heifer and symbolizing salvation—carried a sponge of wine vinegar up to Jesus’ lips as He suffered (Exod. 12:22; Num. 19:6; Heb. 9:18-19; Ps. 51:7; John 19:29). Thus the Great Physician became our healing Balm of Gilead; our High Priest cleansed our sins as with the hyssop of His mercy, giving Himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God on our behalf (Eph.5:2).

Our fitting response is to continually offer the “sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name” (Heb.13:15 ESV). The heavenly creatures will someday bow before the Lamb, holding golden bowls full of the prayers of the saints, a burning incense going up before God (Rev.5:8; Rev. 8:4). Not only sacrifice and prayer, but we Christians ourselves emanate the bouquet of holiness as we spread the savour of godly knowledge, for we are the pleasing aroma of Christ and the fragrance of life (Ezek. 20:41; 2 Cor. 2:14-16).

Hardly what one might describe as wasting our sweetness on the desert air, Mr. Gray!

To comment on this reading, or to subscribe or unsubscribe to a monthly email reminder of new postings, please write me: deb@rolledscroll.com.

These short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., “scroll” is sometimes interchangeable with “book”); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder. I recommend the website of Dr. Grant C. Richison for thorough expository Bible study: www.versebyversecommentary.com.