Song of Solomon 1 verse 3 - The Fragrance of Christ

THE FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST

“Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.” Song of Solomon 1 verse 3

In this verse, explaining her love for Solomon, the Shulamite maiden admires his “good ointments.” She liked the fragrances she could smell when she was with him. And when she was not with him, she enjoyed a different fragrance, the recollection of his name. It was as if someone had broken a jar of costly ointment and poured it out in her presence. His name, which represented all that he was, gave her that much pleasure.

The Shulamite later refers to him as “a bundle of myrrh” (verse 13) and “a cluster of henna blooms” (verse 14)

These verses bear testimony to the strong link in the bible between fragrance and Christ.

The fragrance of Christ’s person

Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh presented by wise men from the east Matthew 2 verses 1 and 11. They offered 3 gifts and 2 of these are fragrances. These 2 were used in very definite ways.

Frankincense (pure incense). The basic word incense in the OT occurs more than 100 times.  In the NT it is found in Luke 1 verses 

9 to 11 and Revelation 8 verses 3 and 4. Whenever it occurs it has to do with the service of God.

Myrrh – used for the purpose of perfuming a bed – Proverbs 7 verse 17 or a garment – Psalm 45 verse 8. It was prescribed for certain young ladies to make them more desirable - Esther 2 verse 12. It was also used lavishly in bridal processions – chapter 3 verse 6. Mingled with wine it served as an anaesthetic – Mark 15 verse 23. Finally, it was used in preparing a body for burial – John 19 verses 39 and 40.

Frankincense is associated with deity and myrrh with suffering humanity. The baby in a manger was nothing less than God in human flesh! He was God incarnate. He was fully God and fully man at one and the same time, without any contradiction between the two. He was there in Bethlehem because God, in grace that staggers the mind, had taken to himself our humanity.

The fragrance of Christ’s death to God

Why did the Second Person of the Trinity take to himself our humanity? Why was he made flesh? The apostle Paul gives us the answer by again linking Christ to fragrance. Ephesians 5 verse 2 “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.”

Noah – Genesis 8 verse 21 – when he left the ark he offered a sacrifice and the Lord “smelled a soothing aroma”.

Moses and animal sacrifices according to the law – the Lord calls the burnt offering  a sweet aroma Exodus 29 verse 18. God’s pleasure in those sacrifices lay in what they represented.  Back in Garden of Eden animal sacrifices began when God killed animals and made coats of skin for Adam and Eve.  Their sins had been transferred to the animals which had thus been punished in their place by death. Animals cannot pay for the sins of men. But they could and did picture the Lord Jesus Christ, who would one day come to make a perfect and effectual sacrifice for sin. Animal sacrifices pictured and anticipated the perfect offering of Christ.

The fragrance of the gospel to those who believe

2 Corinthians 2 verse 14 Paul is defending and describing his ministry as an apostle and expresses his gratitude to God for diffusing “the fragrance of his knowledge in every place.”  Then he adds this word of explanation – “for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death (leading) to death, and to the other the aroma of life (leading) to life.” 2 Corinthians  verses 15 and 16

Paul asserts that this message is fragrant to God (verse 15). It is obvious that the preaching of that death must be  fragrant to him. It is the preaching of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” that is fragrant to God (1 Corinthians 2 verse 2). When we depart from this gospel to proclaim other things, we are not pleasing God.  That gospel is also fragrant to those in whom the Spirit of God effectually works. The message makes them aware of their situation. It tells them that they must stand before a holy God and that he demands perfect righteousness of all those who would enter heaven. It makes clear that they have absolutely no righteousness of their own to offer God. When the sinner realises these things, he is driven to dark despair. But then the Spirit of God points him to the Lord Jesus. Christ has paid for the sins he has committed and has provided the righteousness that the sinner lacks. He can indeed meet God’s demand for perfect righteousness by availing himself of the “righteousness which ... is through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3 verse 9). Casting himself totally and entirely upon the Lord Jesus, the sinner finds that there is life, eternal life, in Christ. Yes, in that gospel message he smells the fragrance of life, and what a sweet fragrance it is!

The fragrance of the gospel to those who reject it

At the same time as it emits the fragrance of life to those who receive it, it also emits the odour of death to those who reject it Being spiritually blind they cannot even see that they need a Saviour and they certainly cannot see how a man dying on a Roman cross can give them eternal life. In fact they are offended at the suggestion. Because they see only death in the message of “Christ and him crucified”, they reject it and in rejecting it they seal their own eternal death.

The fragrance of a coming day

Psalm 45 verse 8 “All your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made you glad.” This psalm is about Christ and his bride, the church. This passage refers to Christ. This psalm is about the wedding of Christ and his church. The day of Jesus’ second coming will be the wedding day of the Lamb and his bride, the Church. On that glorious day, the church will at last fully appreciate the fragrance of her Christ.

The Christian’s fragrance

Christ finds much in the church that delights and pleases him.

Firstly they are fragrant to him because they are his Father’s gift to him – John 17 verse 6

Secondly, they are fragrant to Christ because they manifest the nine graces that Paul calls “the fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23

These things that Christ finds fragrant in his people are not there by nature, but are rather put there by the indwelling Spirit of Christ; they are the fruit of the Spirit not of human nature.

Paul also refers to the sacrificial service performed on his behalf by Epaphroditus as “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable service, well pleasing to God” Philippians 4 verse 18. So any act of service to God or his people performed from a heart of love is fragrant to our Lord.

Finally, we find the author of Hebrews appealing to his readers to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God”, which he calls “the fruit of our lips” (Hebrews 13 verse 15). He also calls the doing of good “sacrifices” with which God is “well pleased” (Hebrews 13 verse 16).

Look at the words “sacrifice” and “well pleased”. They take us back to the picture of God smelling a sweet savour in sacrifices. Just as Christ’s sacrifice of himself was fragrant to God, so is the Christian’s “living sacrifice” pleasing to God (Romans 12 verse 1). The offering of praise and worship to God and rendering of service for God are alike fragrant to him. It is our privilege and responsibility to see to it that we are offering up such sacrifices continually to our Lord.

Mary of Bethany, out of a heart of love for Christ, poured out a costly ointment on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. So lavish was this gift that the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the oil (John 12 verse 3). As we think about the fragrant ointments we have in Christ, it should be our desire to lavish the precious ointment of our own lives upon him in worship and service, so that the fragrance will be known to all around us. “Let your light so shine before men” said the Lord Jesus, “that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5 verse 16).

Extract taken from He is Altogether Lovely by Roger Ellsworth