Genesis 8:20-22 - God's Curious Remark
By Frank and Mary Hoffman - 10 Oct 2012
In Reference to: Commentary by Frank L. Hoffman
Dear Barb and Sara:
We are also troubled by that portion of Genesis 8:21, but you stopped at that portion of the verse without connecting it to the second part and most important part of the verse, which is where God says that He will never destroy all living beings again, because the intent of the human heart is evil for their youth. So, in order to understand the meaning of the first part we must take it the context of the second part. God did not want sacrifice; He wanted obedience. God considers the sacrificing of animals to be evil, even though he may have accepted their repentance, which He would have accepted without the sacrifice.
We strongly believe that all of these expressions of sweet aroma were inserted by the priestly writers around 400 BCE, and were never part of God’s original intent. Also, many scholars agree with this understanding.
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank and Mary