In my last post, we saw, among other things, that the smell of holiness causes the devil to flee. But the New Testament makes clear that this fragrant anointing doesn’t come on carnal dirt. There must be a washing first.
When the woman anointed the feet of Jesus, she first washed them with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 7:37,38). The same is seen in the Book of Ruth. Naomi told her daughter-in-law: “Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself” (Ruth 3:3). Likewise, in the Song of Songs, we see the hands of the bride dripping with myrrh, her fingers with liquid myrrh (Song of s. 5:5). But here again there was a washing before the anointing (Song of s. 5:3). To desire a fresh anointing while lingering on the edge of a carnal mind is a reverie detached from all realities.
The relevant question is: What do we really want? If the question puzzles us it doesn’t puzzle the devil. Most of the time he knows exactly what we want because our activities perspire the smell of our deepest desires.
The carnal scant we often send forth cannot be hidden or hidden for very long. We might attempt to cover it with religious perfumes, but sooner or later the carnal aroma will emerge again, causing the demons to smirk at us with a joy of their own.
Where do we dwell?
We saw in my last post that Jesus was like a bundle of myrrh (Song of s. 1:13). But myrrh was not merely something He put on to dissimulate unpleasant smells. It was something intertwined with His very character. He carried the aroma of myrrh because he spent His nights where myrrh proliferated.
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense” (Song of s. 4:6).
This practice is confirmed in Matthew’s Gospel:
And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there” (Matthew 14:23).
A person will always absorb the smell of the place where he dwells. When Isaac blessed Jacob, he thought he was blessing Esau because the clothes Jacob wore were Esau’s and they carried Esau’s odor. It was that peculiarity which misled Isaac. Here are his words:
Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed” (Gen. 27:27).
The clothes of Esau had absorbed the smell of the field because he spent much time there.
To think we can dwell in the plain of Jordan and diffuse the smell of Lebanon is an amplified misapprehension. The truth is: A person will always exude the smell of the place where his heart dwells, and there is no exception to that rule.
What reputation do you have among evil spirits?
There is a report in the Book of Acts that should lead us to deep meditation. Here is the passage:
“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:11–16).
This passage points out that Jesus and Paul had a reputation among demons. They had made a name for themselves that became known among the hosts of darkness.
Jesus
When Jesus was born of the virgin Mary He first appeared to be a mere man and was handled as such by the devil and his legions. But little by little it became obvious to them that there was something unusual about this Man, for He could resist temptations and stand firm in all kinds of adversity.
We have read how the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days. But the possibility exists that Lucifer had sent some of his demons previously only to hear they had failed to accomplish their mission. So at last he went himself to get the work done. But to his dismay he could not prevail either, even with his very best attempts. Ultimately, Jesus became the object of polemics among evil spirits and acquired fame in the dark kingdom.
Paul
The same is true about the apostle Paul. Time and again he resisted the devil, and this in such a way that he became of great renown among the devilish hosts. Yes! There must have been a smell about the apostle Paul that was of distinction among the rebellious angels.
May God help us to get that smell, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
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