Day 134: All Fragrant Than All (SoS 3:6d)

 Who is this coming out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant powders? (Song of Songs 3:6)

The speaker in our text clarifies that even though there was the distinct perfume of myrrh and frankincense, all the merchant's fragrant powders could be perceived.

Merchants in ancient times were not mere traders. They were known to carry the most exotic and expensive products. They traded with nobles and royals and no poor man could afford their goods. They imported spices, clothes, precious stones, gold, and a variety of expensive imported goods from different parts of the world. Their goods were costly not just because of their rarity and worth but also because of the time they spent and the distance they had to cover to bring them.

King Solomon was a merchant as many kings of his time were. 1 Kings 10:22 says he had many merchant ships that brought goods once every three years. It was one of the contributions to his great wealth.

Many prominent nations in the prophetic scriptures had merchants or were merchants. Examples are Tyre, Syria, Damascus, and Dedan. It was a symbol of their vast wealth and affluence.

The most significant mention of a merchant in the Bible is in Matthew 13:45-46 when Jesus said:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

In essence, the mention of all of the merchant's spices still refers to the fragrance of Christ's life and death but not just that. It also refers to His greatness, wealth, splendor, and incomparable worth.

Many in the Bible gave Christ lavishly as He more than deserves. When Mary anointed His feet, she emptied a bottle of perfume worth a year's wages on His feet. After He died on the cross and His body was prepared for burial, John 19:39 records Nicodemus brought about one hundred pounds of burial spices.

The usual measure of spices used for burial in Jesus' day cannot be ascertained. The number of pounds said to be required varies from scholar to scholar. It was however common practice to lavish spices on a dead important person, and they all agree that a hundred pounds is extravagant.

The Passion Translation translates this phrase as Him being '...more fragrant than all the spices of the merchant'. The New Living Translation says He is '...fragrant with myrrh, incense, and every kind of spice'. These refer not just to a wide variety of fragrances but also to each one being of the best quality.

In Lessons 15-18, we studied Christ's fragrances and their significance. One of the things we said about fragrance is that it represents a person's reputation. A man with a good reputation has a sweet and pleasant fragrance that precedes him. But a man with a bad reputation has a foul odor that precedes him.

Jesus' reputation is multifaceted. He is a healer, savior, provider, friend, Lord, brother, lover... Name it! But not just that, each of these reputations has an incomparably beautiful fragrance. No one loves, heals, provides, protects, or does anything like Him.

When Moses asked God in Exodus 3, who he would say to Israel had sent him to deliver them, God said to him in verse 14:

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

The Amplified version says:

And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you!

God introduced Himself as I am to let Israel know that He is and will be all they need. His personality and capabilities are limitless

When Jesus walked the earth as the express image of the Father, He embodied that and still does. He healed, protected, provided, raised the dead, and did many wonders. He was a brother, son, friend, savior, Lord, healer, provider... He was what everyone who sought Him genuinely needed at the time.

This same Jesus is our covenant partner. Whatever we need Him to be at any given time, we must meditate on scriptures showing Him as that. until we can perceive the fragrance of His glorious reputation and experience Him as such.

But I'll end with this question: is the One who can be and do all things worth less than everything we can give?

PRAY WITH ME:

My Beloved Jesus, You are everything to me and nothing is worth more than you. Today I surrender all I am and all I have to You. Help me experience your many fragrances and be in awe of You all my life. Amen.

REFLECT & ACT:

• What is Jesus worth to you? If He gave you His all, even His life, you must be willing to give Him all you have and all you are.
• Consecrate yourself to Him once again.
• What do you need Jesus to be in this season of your life? Meditate on that aspect of His person and find scriptures that diffuse that reputation to you until it becomes your experience.