A Sweet Savor

“And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.” Leviticus 2:1-3

Have you ever wondered what God enjoys? The idea of a burnt offering being a sweet savor (a pleasant smell) to God is mentioned sixteen times in the book of Leviticus. These various offerings were burned before the Lord at the tabernacle. When something is burning, there is usually a distinct odor. Bacon frying in a pan gives off a particularly pleasant smell. Part of the reason that bacon smells so good to us when it is cooking is that we closely associate its smell with its taste. If the bacon is cooked until it begins to burn, it no longer smells appealing. The offerings in Leviticus were totally burned up, so they probably did not smell very pleasant to the people who were nearby, but Moses said that the odor was pleasant to God. These odors smelled sweet to God because of what they represented. The sacrifice was evidence of faith, obedience, and love in the heart of the one who gave it. God enjoys our sacrifice because it shows Him that we love Him.