This Bible study is about our daily routine that we ought to perform, particularly concerning our prayers towards God. It should be pointed out beforehand, that the original Hebrew word for "savor" (Hebrew #7381), as in the phrase "a sweet savor", means "odor." As we read from the Law of Moses, pay attention to, and make note of anything that appeals to the nose, and makes a scent or an odor.
Consider first the burnt offering:
LEVITICUS 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
LEVITICUS 1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
LEVITICUS 1:3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
LEVITICUS 1:4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
LEVITICUS 1:5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
LEVITICUS 1:6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.
LEVITICUS 1:7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
LEVITICUS 1:8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
LEVITICUS 1:9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
LEVITICUS 1:10 ¶ And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
LEVITICUS 1:11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
LEVITICUS 1:12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
LEVITICUS 1:13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
We have just seen in Leviticus 1:9,13, that part of the point of the burnt offering is to be "a sweet savor unto the LORD," that is, ‘a sweet smell unto the LORD.’
The Children of Israel left Egypt and went to the foot of Mount Sinai, where they received the Ten Commandments. That's the famous part. Of course, the book of Exodus records many other things that God told Moses, among which are the "plans" for the construction of the Tabernacle, and what to do in the Tabernacle, once it was constructed. Among the things to be done in the Tabernacle, a burnt offering was to be offered every morning and sundown. God said:
EXODUS 29:38 ¶ Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
EXODUS 29:39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
EXODUS 29:40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
EXODUS 29:41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.Note: The purpose of this is to produce "a sweet savour," that is, to make a pleasant scent or smell unto the LORD.
EXODUS 29:42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
EXODUS 29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
When Exodus 29 is read all by itself, there may be some confusion as to whether or not these things are to be done continually—for ever and ever—or merely for the seven day period in which Aaron and his sons (and their descendants), are undergoing consecration unto the LORD (Exodus 29:35-37). Fortunately, toward the end of their wanderings in the desert, God restated this ordinance of the daily burnt offering.
Part of the daily routine in the Tabernacle, (and later, in the Temple), is to offer a burnt offering at sunrise and at sunset every day, without exception. As you read this, note the things that appeal to the nose, by making a "sweet savor" or a sweet odor, or smell.
NUMBERS 28:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
NUMBERS 28:2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.
NUMBERS 28:3 And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering.
NUMBERS 28:4 The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even;
NUMBERS 28:5 And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.
NUMBERS 28:6 It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
NUMBERS 28:7 And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering.
NUMBERS 28:8 And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Note the following that has just been read:
The Ark, the Mercy Seat, the Table of Shewbread, and the Candlestick, or Menorah, are all described at Exodus 25. The Altar of Incense was also among these items in the Tabernacle, and is described in Exodus 30.
EXODUS 30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
EXODUS 30:6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.Note: The altar of incense is to be seated immediately outside of the Veil that separates the Ark from the rest of the Tabernacle. (This, by the way, is the veil that was torn asunder when the Lord Christ died on the Cross.)
The Altar of Incense is, of course, used to burn incense upon—and produces "a sweet savour."
Twice daily, at the same time that the burnt offering is being made (section 3), the Altar of Incense and the Candlestick (i.e., the Menorah) is to be tended to. Continuing in the next verse, God said:
EXODUS 30:7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
EXODUS 30:8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
EXODUS 30:9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
Note the following that we have just read:
Each morning, a lamb is offered for a burnt offering (along with a meat and drink offering to accompany the burnt offering), incense is lit on the Altar of Incense, and the lamps of the Candlestick (Menorah) is to be tended to. Each evening—at sundown—a lamb is offered for a burnt offering (along with a meat and drink offering to accompany the burnt offering), incense is lit on the Altar of Incense, and the lamps of the Candlestick (Menorah) is to be tended to. Although other offerings may also be offered, depending on whether or not that particular day is a sabbath, or one of the feasts, this pattern is repeated every day, forever.
Note: Luke 1:8-10 records that Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was performing this very duty, saying:
LUKE 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
LUKE 1:9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
LUKE 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
Also note that all of the people prayed during this time.
The Ark, the Mercy Seat, the Table of Shewbread, and the Menorah are all described at Exodus 25. Consider where God actually "meets with" man, by comparing these two scriptures side by side:
EXODUS 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
EXODUS 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
and
EXODUS 29:42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
EXODUS 29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
The observation to be made here is that when God meets with the children of Israel, God Himself will be in the Holy of Holies, between the two Cherubims that are on the Mercy Seat upon the Ark (Exodus 25:22). This should be regarded as God's throne in any discussion concerning things of this world. The congregation, on the other hand, would be at the door of the Tabernacle when they had audience with God (Exodus 29:42).
Thus far, we've been reading out of the law of Moses. Concerning the Law, Paul taught:
HEBREWS 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Therefore it should be understood that all of the objects, and rituals written in the Law of Moses are not the actual things in heaven, neither are they the actual things that matter. Rather, they represent both the things in heaven, and the things to come on the earth as well. They represent the things that matter.
For instance, Jesus Himself said:
JOHN 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
According to the mouth of Jesus Christ, Moses wrote about Christ. However, Moses never wrote anything like "The son of God will be killed for our sins..." Instead, Moses wrote about the Passover (at Exodus 11, 12, and 13), which ultimately is about Jesus. Jesus Christ has even been called "our passover" at 1Corinthians 5:7, etc.
For instance, the shed blood of the Passover, being observed annually during subsequent years according to the everlasting ordinance, did not free anyone from Egypt, since they had already been freed. Instead, the Passover is a "type and shadow" of the Kingdom of Heaven, wherein Christ's shed blood will free believers from sin.
These days are not part of the same timeframe as those days of the Law of Moses were. Something had changed when the Lord said:
MATTHEW 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
In this Kingdom of Heaven, you are now the Temple of God, as we were taught by the apostle, saying:
1 CORINTHIANS 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 CORINTHIANS 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
In the "types and shadows" of Moses' Temple (that is, in the Tabernacle,) a burnt offering was to be given every morning and every evening. (See sections 1, 2 and 3, above). God ordained that this was to be done, every day—forever (Numbers 28:3, Exodus 30:8). Forever—and now you are the temple of God!
What does this mean? How can we offer such a "sweet smelling savour unto the Lord?"
We've already seen that the Law of Moses is the shadow of things to come—it is not the literal things to come themselves (Hebrews 10:1, earlier in this section). The "sweet savour" written of by Moses represents our PRAYERS. This is revealed to us in the Revelation.
REVELATION 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
These "odours," hearkening back to the "sweet savour," represent the prayers of the saints. Note the wording in the above verse: "...which are the prayers of saints." This imagery is used again in the Revelation:
REVELATION 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
REVELATION 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
This hearkens back to the Altar of Incense, upon which incense was burned at the same time that the burnt offering was made, each morning and each sunset of every day. Note that in Revelation 8:3, the "golden alter" was placed just in front of the throne. The Tabernacle prefigured this. There, the Altar of Incense was placed immediately outside of the veil, just before the Ark, above which God would meet with the children of Israel (Exodus 30:6, in section 4). The Ark and the Mercy Seat represent the throne of God, and the incense likewise represents the prayers of the saints.
Speaking in the Law of Moses about the Tabernacle, God commanded that these things were to be done each "morning" (at sunrise) and each "even" (at sunset). Likewise, you and I, each being a temple of God, should have a time of prayer with God each morning and evening.
I say again, we should have a time of prayer each morning and each evening, as something of a "sweet savor unto the LORD."
It should come as no surprise to us that prayers to God, and praise of God, should be likened to a sacrifice. After all, a burnt offering was given each morning and evening at the Tabernacle. This is precisely how the apostles understood, for Paul wrote:
HEBREWS 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
HEBREWS 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Note: Read "communicate" primarily as "communicate with God," and only secondarily as "communicate with the brethren."
In the course of time, the Tabernacle, being a tent, was replaced by the Temple (2Samuel 7, 1Kings 6:11-38). But Israel sinned against God, so the Temple, along with Jerusalem, was destroyed, and what was left of Judah was brought into captivity in Babylon (2Kings 24:1-4, 2Kings 25:8-9,10-21). During that seventy year captivity, Daniel prophesied in Babylon. Daniel was "greatly beloved" by God (Daniel 9:22-23). And how did Daniel live, now that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed? Consider:
DANIEL 6:10 ¶ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Daniel prayed to God three times a day, facing Jerusalem. There should be no doubt that two of these three times were in the morning, and at the even (sundown). The third time was possibly midday, but we're only talking about morning and evening.
Consider this other example:
LUKE 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
LUKE 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
LUKE 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
LUKE 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
LUKE 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
LUKE 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
LUKE 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Day and night? Specifically, this means "sunrise and sunset." Granted, there may well be the American idiom "day and night" meaning "constantly," but our idioms came from the Bible, not the other way around. The Bible is the word of God, and is not dependant upon American idioms. The phrase "which cry day and night unto him" hearkens back to the daily sacrifices at the Tabernacle, which were a "sweet savour" to God—our prayers.
Of course, we are taught to be quick to pray, and to have a generally prayerful attitude:
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
and
EPHESIANS 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
EPHESIANS 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
EPHESIANS 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
In the course of each day, we, in fact, oftentimes find ourselves to be distracted by the events and situations of that day. We are distracted by work, and by our own lifestyles. We must not allow ourselves to become so distracted that we neglect to remember God. Instead, we should make a conscious point to pray to God at least twice a day: in the morning, and in the evening.