Aroma of Obedience – Leviticus 4–7

I’ll confess—
I’ve read Leviticus
through gritted teeth.
Ticked the box,
moved on.
This God?
Not the one I’ve loved all these years.

But digging in
I saw what I’d missed.
Not a different God—
just a deeper one.
Holy.
Utterly other.
Not tame, not safe.
But always making a way
for us to come close.

The Sin Offering

Sin doesn’t need intent
to be real.
The priest sins,
leaders sin,
any one of us
can do wrong without even knowing.

But ignorance is not innocence.
God gives a way back:
Lay your hand
on the head of the sacrifice.
Name the wrong.
Let blood cover what you cannot.

It feels harsh.
But it’s grace.
A life for a life—
not in vengeance
but in mercy.

Eight times he says it:
They will be forgiven.
The aroma he loves
is not smoke,
but obedience.

The Guilt Offering

And when we wrong another—
keep what’s not ours,
deceive, forget,
dismiss the harm—
we make it right
with both God and neighbour.

Restitution.
A fifth added.
Because justice matters.
Because community matters.

This, too, is worship.
This, too,
is the way back.

We downplay sin.
But God doesn’t.
Because he longs
for unpolluted closeness.

Every sacrifice—
a bloody IOU.
Until the One came
who could pay them all.

And now,
the question:
What rises from our lives?

Is it the scent
of surrender?
Of joy in holiness?
Of being set apart?

Don’t hide.
Don’t pretend.
Don’t believe
you’re beyond forgiveness.

The way is still open.
And still—
you will be forgiven.

Original message by Alli Whalley. The Bridge Church Kirribilli NSW
11 May 2025