… singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Summary: Understanding this passage leads us to ponder many things in the Bible that have to do with our five senses.
Have you ever wondered why God created singing?
The Old Testament includes many examples of animal sacrifice. (This may seem like a strange way to begin a meditation on singing, but bear with me!)
Animal sacrifice is essentially putting meat on a fire and letting it burn. If you have ever been around a wood smoker or a barbecue, then you will be familiar with the smell of cooked meat. In the Bible, this is described this way:
“It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.” (Leviticus 1:13)
A ‘pleasing aroma’ certainly describes the smell of barbecue! So, what are we to conclude from this? Can God smell cooking meat?
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Trying to understand God is a high bar, higher than us humans are capable of. Yet God gives us clues about who and what he is.
A burnt offering, for example, is an “aroma pleasing to the Lord.” Marriage is also pleasing to the Lord because he made man and woman to “become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
There is an unusual book in the Old Testament that speaks to the joy of marriage. It is called the “Song of Solomon” or “Song of Songs.” It is an intimate portrait of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.
Why is this in the Bible?
In the Gospel accounts, Jesus refers to himself as a “bridegroom” (Matthew 9:15). John the Baptist also refers to Jesus as a bridegroom (John 3:29).
It helps to remember that we humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). What that means exactly is debated, but it certainly suggests that our human senses reflect God’s spiritual senses in some way. For example, the aroma of a sacrifice may be “pleasing to the Lord” not because of the smell but because it represents the soft heart of the person making the sacrifice. In the same way, a romantic “Song of Songs” might please the Lord, not in the carnal sense of the flesh, but in the beautiful bonding of two souls as God intended.
When we sing with gratitude in our hearts, I believe God hears our singing. But I also believe he senses the gratitude in our hearts, and that is what I believe is truly music to his ears.
Application: You heard the man, sing with gratitude!
Food for Thought: If God is spirit (John 4:24), how does God “see” us spiritually?
If God is spirit John 4:24, how does God “see” us spiritually?
2 Corinthians 5:16 – God does not judge us by worldly standards, As believers, we are called to a higher standard focused on faith and character rather than outward, earthly standards of physical success or beauty.
The heart, in biblical terms, is often seen as the center of human emotion, will, and intellect. It is a critical element in understanding our spiritual life and relationship with God who values inner, spiritual qualities of integrity, humility, and love. He loves us for who we are, not how we look or what we achieve according to this physical world.
God is not concerned with outward appearances or worldly standards of physical success. He looks at the heart, our character which is the power behind our physical actions. Humans judge by what they can see on the outside, God sees who we truly are on the inside.
1 Samuel 16:7.
God cares most about the state of our heart, the source of the power determining how we treat others. He values and approves Christlike love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Physical manifestations of an inward condition. Galatians 5:22-23.
Thank you, Ron!
I love the 1 Samuel passage:
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Well said!