In my younger days I had the privilege of living near Yosemite National Park, and I had the opportunity of often camping out, building a campfire, and spreading a sleeping bag on a bed of pine needles. Some of my fondest memories are of sitting around a campfire in the flickering shadows telling stories, roasting marshmallows, gazing into the glowing embers, and smelling the redolent, aromatic odor of wood smoke. In later years I have been RV-ing among the cypress and eucalyptus trees of the central California beaches and the redwoods of northern California. The pungent odor of a campfire or even a nearby chimney brings back precious memories.
When I worked as a rocket scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Ca. during WWII, my desk was in a large room containing many other desks occupied by my fellow researchers. This was before the era of a smoke-free workplace or any knowledge of secondhand smoke. Many of my colleagues smoked cigars or pipes, so I was daily subjected to a smoky atmosphere. I didn't like the cigar odor, but I rather liked the odor of the pipes. Each pipe tobacco had its own peculiar fragrance - caramel, vanilla, fruity, etc. I escaped any physical consequences from the smoke, and the odor from a pipe brings back memories of those long ago days.
Smoke can be a dangerous thing and it can also serve as a warning. Many homes these days are equipped with smoke alarms to give warning of a potentially dangerous fire. Most causalities from domestic fires are caused by smoke inhalation. Smoke and associated toxic fumes can be extremely irritating to the delicate membranes in the nose. throat, and lungs. and this can cause difficulty in breathing and, without relief, eventually asphyxiation.
This is the kind of smoke that God is talking about in Isaiah. a choking, eye-watering, breath-gasping, nose-stinging smoke. He is talking about His people, Israel, and their rebellious nature. He says, "All day long I have reached out to stubborn and sinful people going their own way. They keep making me angry by sneering at me...they eat the meat of pigs, cooked in sauces made of stuff unfit to eat...such people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day." ( Isaiah 65:2-5). God is not talking about sweet-smelling pipe smoke nor fragrant incense; He is talking about people that make Him feel ill. Don't you think we should do our best to avoid being that kind of person? We should not be stubborn and think our way is better than God's way; we should not sneeringly ask, where is the promise of His coming, or worse yet, where is God? Certainly, we should not irritate God by what we eat or we may become like "smoke in God's nose."
