Aroma of Favour (II):

“And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed.” (Genesis 27:27, New King James Version)

This is the key Bible verse for the “Come and See” devotional today.

The first part of this series of devotionals showed how the divine ‘aroma of favour’ secured Jacob’s blessings for eternity by the verbal proclamations of his father, Isaac. With this proclamation upon his life, Jacob began to breathe out the ‘visible scent of divine favour’ and this would last for as long as he lived. Wherever he appeared, that ‘fragrance of divine favour’ announced his presence.

He received many blessings and here we should note the carefully-chosen words of Isaac who said: “may God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” (Genesis 27: 28-29, New International Version).

 Later in his life, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel (read Genesis 32:22-32). By that stage, one noticeable thing about him was the aura of his appearance. He arrived at a place known as Paddam Aram to live with his uncle, Laban, whom he was meeting for the first time (see Genesis 29). The Bible recorded, as follows, the warm response of Laban on hearing of Jacob’s arrival: “as soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.  Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” (Genesis 29:13-14, New International Version).

The same response was repeated when he met his brother Esau whom he had cheated earlier. Although Esau had pledged to kill him, Esau could not resist the ‘fragrance of favour’ that now surrounded his brother’s presence. Thus, when Esau first saw his brother, he was subdued by the ‘aroma of divine favour’ upon Jacob. This is what turns hatred to love and rejection to total acceptance. The Bible reads: “but Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.” (Genesis 33:4, New International Version). He became used to a lifestyle of general approval and warm embrace.

The ‘Aroma of favour’ is one of the blessings of Abraham and is available for us even now through Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:14 reads “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus”.  Redemption gives us a new identity and our arrival anywhere becomes evident in the spiritual and physical realm of life: we can be likened to a ray of sunshine whose appearance cannot be ignored or go unnoticed. It is no wonder in Mathew 5: 13-16, Jesus compared believers to two essential items needed by all of us:  light and salt. The world will notice your exploits.

Let us pray: “Father, let your favour surround me and make me acceptable with kindness to everyone I come in contact with in the journey of my life,” in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

 This message was brought to you by Evangelical Ministries International (EMI). We know this message has been a blessing to you. Please share your testimonies with us by visiting our website www.evangelicalministries.org or contact us on info@evangelicalministries.org. God bless you!