Exodus 30:37-38: “And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall be cut off from his people.”
Can you dig this? You get cut off from your people for making perfume to smell it. I mean, like, what value is there to perfume if you don’t smell it. Isn’t that what perfume is all about?
The sages taught that perfume symbolizes the saintly people. The word perfume in Hebrew is ketoreth. The root word is used two different ways. Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett explains that the first use expresses the literal use; the second use expresses its deeper meaning. The first use is fragrance, perfume, incense. This is your clue or hint of a deeper meaning, why are we not to duplicate the perfume offered to God for the sake of smelling it.
The reason is that this perfume represents the saints. The second use of ketoreth is to bind. On a deeper level what this command is expressing is that any one who imitates the conduct of a saint who binds himself to God for his personal benefit is by definition – his own inner experience- cut off from God and automatically from his/His people.
I have noticed among some churches which seek the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, that in each church there are a group of members who express a manifestation that I rarely see in other churches. Yet, for this particular body, this manifestation seems to be quite common. For instance I noticed in one church a number of people fall to the floor and begin rolling back and forth giving a certain type of grunt. I have noticed this type of manifestation once or twice by individuals in other fellowships, but in this church over a dozen people express this manifestation. Now I hope I am not judging a divine work of God, but somehow I could not help but think about this verse in Exodus 30:37-38. Where the Hebrews were commanded to not duplicate the perfume to smell it. Or on it’s deeper level to duplicate, for their own benefit, the saints who bind themselves to God.
Someone sees a saint express some manifestation like grunting, moaning, rolling, shouting Yippee and all that. This person may be really moving under the power of the Spirit of God. Someone else watching this thinks, “Well, I can do that.” Then they start grunting, moaning, rolling and shouting Yippee.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against grunting, moaning, rolling, and shouting Yippee and all that so long as it is truly of the Spirit of God. What I am saying, if you see someone saying “yahoo,” and you are about to respond with a “yahoo” of your own, stop and think about Exodus 30:37-38. Ask yourself, “Am I saying yahoo because I am just so filled with the Spirit of God that I can not contain myself? Or am I yahooing because I am trying to duplicate this saint who really is motivated by the Spirit of God and I want to do it for personal benefit, so people will see how spiritual I am.”
The danger of trying to duplicate the experience of another Christian or imitate the experience of another Christian is that you will cut yourself off from God who wants to do something special and unique in you. Our God is an infinite God who has infinite ways to express Himself. He made us each as unique individuals, each who can express God in their own unique way. Rather than observe another saints manifestation and saying “I can do that.” Say: “God, what can I do that is unique between you and me.”
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