Up in Smoke

You’ve heard the expression, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” That certainly makes sense. When you see a column of smoke on the horizon, you can take it to the bank that there’s something burning that you don’t see. The US Forest Service built thousands of fire towers above the tree tops to spot smoke and prevent valuable and beautiful timberland from going up in flames. Smokey Bear’s been spreading the word against preventing forest fires for 70 years. 

But in the Old Testament, smoke meant something else entirely. It was a symbol of praise to God. Back 2,500 years ago, the adage may well have stated, “Where there’s smoke, there’s worship.” That’s the scene in Jerusalem here at the end of Ezra 8. Ezra and his expedition have successfully completed their return to the Promised Land from Babylon (Ez 8:31-32). They’ve successfully delivered millions of dollars of precious metals to temple officials (Ez 8:32-34). As an act of worship, they fire up the holy grill and make a sacrifice. Where there’s smoke, there’s worship.

The author reminds us just who made up the 7,000-8,000 people in the caravan. They were “those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles” (v35). About 130 years before, God used King Nebuchadnezzar to get the attention of His chosen people. Once again, they had turned their backs on the One who had given them everything. It’s an ongoing cycle. God rescues His people. They worship for a while. Then they get bored. They go running to the hot new idol in town. He gets their attention. They repent. He rescues His people. It happens over and over and over in the OT. That’s the cycle we’re reading about here in Ezra. God used the Babylonians to put the Israelites in “time out,” or as the Bible calls it “capivity” and “exile.” 

These returning exiles have lived their entire lives nearly 1,000 miles away from their homeland. Not only are they back in the Promised Land, they have the privilege to worship at the temple for the first time. There was no tabernacle or house of God in Babylon. Their hearts ached to offer God the sacrifices and offerings prescribed in their Bible. Now the exiles are back in Jerusalem. And now it’s time to worship! 

Ezra gives us a glimpse of what it was like that day on the temple mount. Fresh back from exile, they “offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD” (v35). It’s easy to read this as some sort of cookout to end all cookouts. And it was in a way. But there’s just one problem. There’s nothing to eat. Despite the amount of beef, mutton, and goat meat listed, it’s all completely burned by the priests. I know we don’t spend a lot of our Bible reading time digging into Leviticus (if you do, you deserve some sort of medal!), but you’ll find some critical info on worship. God gives Moses VERY specific instructions for worship, especially burnt offerings. The entire first chapter is full of smoke and ashes. Take an entire bull “and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering” (Lev 1:9). Do the same or a male sheep or goat and “the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar” (Lev 1:13). The priest burns “all of it.” How much is left? Nothing. It all goes up in smoke.

The term used in both Leviticus and Ezra for “burnt offering” is the Hebrew word ‘olah. It describes a burnt sacrifice, but more specifically that which goes up to heaven, something that ascends, and an item that is going up in smoke. In other words, it’s all given to God. The fire consumes the entire carcass. It takes several hours for it to burn. Then it all rises back to Him. Every last bit of it. The smoke rises to heaven. The smoke ascends to the throne of God. That’s the picture of the burnt offering. For the first time in their lives, these worshipers ascended to the temple mount so that their burnt offerings could ascend into the sky. Where there’s smoke, there’s worship. 

So what in the world does this seemingly smoky ritual have to do with someone living in the 21st century? So very glad you asked. This system of worship in the Old Testament gave the people a picture of the One who would come as the ultimate sacrifice and offering for sin. The people were to offer a “male without blemish” (Lev 1:3, 10). In other words, return to God the best of the best. No leftovers. No junk. It was offered to cleanse and atone for sin so that we could be restored temporarily in our relationship with God. The offering was completely consumed and there was nothing left. It ascended to heaven. Where there’s smoke, there’s worship. 

These sacrifices pointed to the day when God would send His best as an offering for our sin. Jesus would live the perfect life that you and I failed to live. He would die the death for our sin that we should have died. He rose to heaven as an offering to give us new life that we don’t deserve. His life was completely consumed and there was nothing left. His sacrifice atoned for our sins once and for all and restored our relationship with God for all time. The author of the book the Hebrews spends verse after verse explaining the connection between sacrifice in the Old Testament and Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you and me. The best way to sum up Hebrews is that God is telling everybody, both Jews and Gentiles, “GET OUT OF THE TEMPLE!” Jesus was completely consumed for you and me. 

While the smoke no longer rises from the temple like it did during Ezra’s day, we’re to let our praises rise from wherever we are. Not surprisingly, we find this truth in the book of Hebrews. “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name” (Heb 13:15). Instead of rising smoke, let’s continually speak of who He is and what He’s done. Let’s let His fame rise! Let’s make sure the world hears us praise the only One worthy of the applause! That’s the kind of smoke that should be rising from our lives. You may have heard the expression that someone is “on fire for the Lord.” It’s someone who just can’t hide their excitement and thankfulness for all that Jesus has done. If you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four, you know the Human Torch. Let’s be like Johnny Storm, completely consumed by Christ. Let His praise by our smoke. Because where there’s smoke, there’s worship.