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Day 28, or January the 28th. Fragrant Aroma and

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Covenant in Writing. Our thoughts today are rooted

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in Exodus chapter 31, verse 18. When the Lord

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finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he

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gave him the two tablets of the covenant law,

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the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger

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of God. Now the big picture surrounding this

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verse. An altar is described that would be part

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of the tabernacle project for the children of

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Israel. This would be made from wood and covered

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entirely with gold. Sweet -smelling incense was

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to be burned on this altar, and it would have

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been very important in setting the scene for

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reverent and genuine worship of the living God.

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They knew that God couldn't be contained in a

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tent or even a temple, but having a visual reminder

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of their invisible God was very important to

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them. God understood their need, which is why

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he encouraged them to erect the tabernacle whenever

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they stopped as they travelled to the Promised

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Land. Bearing in mind that all of this was to

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the glory of God, we can better understand why

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so much trouble was being taken to get everything

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just right. When God had finished speaking to

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Moses at Mount Sinai, giving him the regulations

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that would form the foundation for Judaism, and

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ultimately Christianity, he handed him the two

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tablets of stone on which he himself had written

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the Ten Commandments. And finally our action

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step for today. What sort of aroma do you leave

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in a room when you leave it? Sorry if that sounds

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a bit risqué, but our reading today emphasizes

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how important sweet aromas are to God. In chapter

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30, we read of God telling Moses how to mix a

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perfume mixture, which would be a sacred anointing

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oil to be used in the tabernacle. It would consist

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of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive

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oil. Of course, leaving a smell of perfume is

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not the point I'm trying to make. What atmosphere

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do you leave? Is a place better after you leave

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than it was before you came? It should be, so

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be careful to make a godly impression.