We’ve all heard that familiar old platitude that a picture’s worth a thousand words, and it seems absolutely true when we come across some image that takes our breath away. But that well-worn remark can also suggest a fascinating inverse effect when applied from the opposite direction. Sometimes a few brief words can evoke a thousand related images. That alternative perspective came to mind recently as I read a few words that Solomon wrote. But before we get into that, I should briefly mention how it all started.
Not Such Sweet Implications ~
Earlier this week I was watching an interview with a doctor who was commenting on a study warning about the potentially negative implications of consuming artificial sweeteners. Apparently Splenda® and a bunch of similar products belong on the growing list of things in my pantry that are going to either kill me or initiate enough of a cognitive decline to qualify me to run for public office as a “progressive” – or at least appear as a guest on The View.
In any case, the good doctor droned on in medically sounding terms describing tiny, microscopic things in the sweeteners that could possibly do some very un-Christian-like
things to some other tiny little cellular creatures living in one of those gated communities in our brain. They sounded like tiny little militant activists who, for no good reason, are prone to randomly engage in unwarranted chemical rudeness that might cause us to have a stroke – or even worse.
A Suggested Strategy ~
The suggested response, I suppose, is for us to go after Splenda with the kind of passion and dedication that the Jews displayed in removing leaven from their homes prior to Passover. If we were to do that, it might free our brains from its stroke-causing sweetness and allow us to live long enough to die fat and happy from some other lethal disorder.
But I digress. What originally intrigued me was Solomon’s reference to the work of artisans generally referred to as apothecaries. Their job was to concoct various ointments and medicines, but Solomon focused on one other item they produced. They also developed perfumes, which have been popular products in every age, including our own. That’s because while nature may be visually beautiful and inspirational to behold, smelling it is not always so stimulating. Here’s what Solomon had to say about it:
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor (Ecclesiastes 10:1 NKJV)
Only One Test Mattered ~
The scene suggests a perfumer who has worked to blend together various elements like plants, oils, seeds, and minerals in a recipe designed to produce a pleasant and enticing 
fragrance. Whether he or she was successful in achieving that objective depended entirely on what the end result smelled like. How it looked or its texture could possibly contribute to its value in some small way, but ultimately, it was the “smell test” that determined whether or not the product was usable. Solomon’s point is that it wouldn’t take much to ruin it. A few “dead flies” could turn something designed to be appealing, helpful, and attractive into something foul and repulsive. Having established that premise, he proceeded to translate the principle in terms of human behavior and to unfold the lesson God really wants us to see.
A Heavenly Fragrance Was Required ~
As Moses learned, God is picky about the surroundings when conducting official meetings with us humans. There were conditions, procedures, and protocols involved in approaching Him, and one of His mandates was that the atmosphere was to have a pleasant fragrance. To ensure that, among the many details involved in His design for the Tabernacle and its furnishings, there was also this:
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. (Exodus 30:34–35 NKJV)
God wanted the atmosphere around Him to be pleasant, appealing, attractive, and distinctively different. Pleasing fragrances invite closeness, and God wanted the people He loved to want to be close to Him and to want Him to be close to them. Pleasant fragrances have the unspoken connotation of freshness and life, like flowers in bloom. Foul odors produce the opposite reaction. They can evoke reactions associated with death and decay, and our natural reaction is to remove ourselves from the presence of whatever is producing the repulsive and often toxic stench.
A Different Picture ~
But the image Solomon’s dead flies creates in our minds isn’t what the Jews would have seen. Instead of dead flies, they would have understood the term as the flies of death. It
was a term they applied to things that were harbingers of death or destruction. It might be applied, for instance, to the discovery of a small, suspicious place on someone’s skin that could be an early sign of leprosy. To the perfumer, the flies of death represented some small, easily unnoticed contaminate that found its way into the ointment that could turn their pleasant and inviting ointment into something repulsive. And that, said Solomon, is exactly what a little folly can do to someone’s character.
Jesus was the very image of God wrapped in humanity. He exuded the fragrance of our living, and loving Father throughout His life and ministry, and now He has equipped us with His Spirit and sent us to do the same thing.The quality of the atmosphere Jesus is concerned about regarding His Church isn’t what’s coming out of the HVAC vents where we meet to worship. It’s the spiritual aroma emanating from our lives every day. Consider what the Apostle Paul had to say in that regard.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 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. And who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:14–17 NKJV)
Designed to be Appealing ~
For us in our day, Solomon’s message is simply this. In Jesus Christ, we have been made to radiate everything about God’s presence that is pleasant, inviting, appealing, and satisfying. We’re sent to be like the spring breeze carrying the scent of fruit trees in bloom
. We’re equipped to radiate the aroma of life leading to more life. But the ungodly and pervasive culture around us constantly pressures us to conform to their standards, and we’re tempted to think that a little foolishness here and there is harmless. Here’s a few of the guises that some of them take:
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- Everybody lies, so a little dishonesty here and there won’t matter.
- Some filthy, profane language once in a while might make me sound stronger and more impressive. Besides, performers and politicians do it all the time.
- A little harmless flirting is fun, nobody knows, and it probably won’t go anywhere anyway.
- If I cheat on my taxes and get a bigger refund, it will help my family. Besides, the government already takes too much.
- A little pornography every now and then won’t matter as long as I keep it secret.
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I wonder how we’d fare if God subjected our lives to a “spiritual smell test.” Are we radiating the fragrance of Christ and making the atmosphere around Him pleasant, inviting, appealing, and satisfying? Or have we allowed some flies of death to spread decay and spoil that special fragrance that God equipped us to share? If we’re not smelling so great these days, there’s a remedy. Jesus is waiting to filter out the flies and restore the fragrance He created us to be and to renew our role – a breath of fresh, pleasant air in this foul-smelling world.
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below. Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .
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- Flies of death represented some small, easily unnoticed contaminate that found its way into the ointment. It could turn pleasant, inviting ointment into something repulsive. Soloman said that’s exactly what a little folly can do to someone’s character. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- Jesus was the very image of God wrapped in humanity. He exuded the fragrance of our living, and loving Father throughout His life and ministry, and now He has equipped us with His Spirit and sent us to do the same thing. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- The quality of the atmosphere Jesus is concerned about regarding His Church isn’t what’s coming out of the HVAC vents where we meet to worship. It’s the spiritual aroma emanating from our lives every day. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- We’re made to radiate everything about God’s presence that’s pleasant, inviting, appealing, satisfying. We’re sent to be like the spring breeze carrying the scent of fruit trees in bloom, equipped to radiate the aroma of life leading to more life. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- We’re made to radiate all that’s pleasant, appealing, satisfying about God’s presence. The ungodly, pervasive culture around us constantly pressures us to conform to their standards, tempts us to think a little foolishness here and there is harmless. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- Have we allowed ‘flies of death’ to spread decay and spoil that special fragrance God equipped us to share? If we’re not smelling so good these days, Jesus wants to filter them out and renew our role – a breath of fresh air in a foul-smelling world. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
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