Ecclesiastes 10:1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The word perfume comes from the Latin "per fumum" which in English means "through smoke". The ancients used to burn herbs, which released various scents, it was in this context that the word "perfume" came to exist. Whenever i read Ecclesiastes 10:1, i remember Paul's words: 2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. In the wilderness, God told Moses to make "incense" to burn in the altar (tabernacle): Exodus 30:7 Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. God was specific on what to use and how to do it: Exodus 30:34-35 And the Lord said to Moses: "Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy". God did not permit any personal use of this incense: Exodus 30:37-38 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord. Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people. Scriptures tells us that the burning of incense was a type of prayers going up to God. Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Now, let's talk about the "flies". One of the plagues in Egypt, the fourth plague, was a judgment against the Egyptian god called uatchit, the "fly god". Another ancient god (idol) was baal-zebub of Ekron, the lord of the "fly". Later, baal-zebub was know as the "prince of demons", as in the Gospels (Matthew 10:25; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15). Before writing this post i didn't know how bad even the house flies can become, this is what i learned: "House flies are strongly suspected of transmitting at least 65 diseases to humans, including typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, poliomyelitis, yaws, anthrax, tularemia, leprosy and tuberculosis. Flies regurgitate and excrete wherever they come to rest and thereby mechanically transmit disease organisms". Wow, before i thought they were just annoying. Now let's talk about the "bad smell". If a decomposing fly can give a perfume a bad smell, so our sins can give us a "bad smell" (lose "Christ's fragrance"). Whenever our sins are not dealt with (repentance), they start "corrupting" our values and morals, until they become "part" of our conduct (practical sin). What would be "Christ's fragrance" in us? To me, it means Christ's character (fruit of the Spirit) being displayed through us. When we show love, joy, peace, etc., towards other people, we are "exhaling" Christ's fragrance, people can "smell" Christ in us. When there are "practical sins" (iniquity), instead of "exhaling" Christ's fragrance, we will "exhale" the devil's "bad odor". Jesus Christ addressed this issue when talking to the pharisees: John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So, don't be deceived, as a "little fly in the perfume", so it is a "little lie" in your life, and believe me, there's no such thing as a "white lie". As the TRUTH came through Jesus Christ, so the LIE comes from the devil. Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Through Isaiah, God is saying that our "practical sins" (iniquities) give us a "bad smell", so God won't hear our prayers. 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Can people "smell" Christ's fragrance in you? Are your prayers ascending to God as an "incense"? Are you "displaying" Christ's character to other people? It is very easy to be a light in a sunny day or a good fragrance in the midst of a flowery garden, in other words, to be a believer in the church. But, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:15 ... among those who are perishing, are you the "fragrance of Christ" among the unsaved? Are you the "light" in this present darkness"? Are you the "salt" of this insipid world?
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