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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
‘The glory of his nostrils is terrible’ is the dramatic - if somewhat unusual - description of a horse in Job chapter 39 verse 20. If you have been surprised when stood next to a horse as it unexpectedly ‘neighed’ or snorted, you might be inclined to agree!
Have you ever stopped to consider why we have nostrils? Or why God considered them sufficiently important that, in keeping with many other key parts for our body, He gave us two?
Even stranger than giving us nostrils or describing those of a horse, is that the Bible goes to the effort of describing the nostrils of God. In this article we will explore what we learn about God through the description given of nostrils and of the practical implications that it has for the Christian’s life.
The nostrils of God is one of the most unusual of anthropomorphisms. These human-like characteristics are not attributed to God because He physically has them (for ‘God is a spirit’, John 4. 24). Rather, these human attributes, which are very familiar to us, are used so that we would understand more about God. Much more common examples of anthropomorphisms are things like the ears and eyes and hands of the Lord, to which we can readily relate.
Something of God’s wisdom is shown by the design of human nostrils. We use them to stay alive, with most human beings doing much of their breathing through their nostrils. The design is very specific. With over a hundred hairs per nostril, the air is cleverly filtered to stop tiny impurities entering the lungs. The nostrils also aid breathing by warming the inhaled air and adding moisture. One only needs to try feeding a baby that has a nasal cold to realize the deliberate design that went into ensuring that normally we can breathe and eat at the same time!
But it is not just in their design that God’s greatness is seen - God does not need nostrils in the way we do. God is eternal and self-sustaining and is not dependent on breathing in oxygen for survival. In a unique and divine way, He is the source of life so scripture records, ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul’, Gen. 2. 7.
Divine power is also seen in the first specific mention of God’s nostrils. In Exodus chapter 15 verse 8, ‘with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea’. Although the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt overall is spoken of as being by ‘a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm’, Deut. 5. 15, the parting of the Red Sea and holding back the water as a solid wall is spoken of as being the work of His nostrils. We may be able to blow out candles or move small things with the breath out of our mouth but there are not many things we do by exhaling through our nose. This was mighty power indeed!
The most dramatic mentions of the nostrils of God are in Psalm 18 and in the corresponding parallel passage in 2 Samuel chapter 22 - which both have two mentions of the nostrils of God relative to His anger. ‘Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it … The foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils’, Ps. 18. 7, 8, 15.
The link between anger and the nostrils is shown by the Hebrew word itself. Although the English word nostril appears relatively infrequently in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is quite common (more than 250 mentions) and is normally translated as anger. There is an intentional play on this dual meaning of the words in Proverbs chapter 30 verse 33. ‘Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife’. While the truth of the comparison is clear enough in English, in Hebrew it would have been even more memorable as the word for nose and wrath is the same (and also the same as is occasionally translated nostril elsewhere).
The idea of animated and fierce anger being shown by the nostrils is there in the description of Leviathan in Job. In chapter 41 verse 20, we read, ‘Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron’. There are several verses that give us an insight into God’s anger. While being very glad that ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger’, Ps. 103. 8, another psalm reminds us that He ‘is angry with the wicked every day’, 7. 11. His anger can be fierce, Lam. 1. 12, but, in contrast to ours, God’s is always righteous, patient, and self-controlled.
There are no direct mentions of the nostrils of God in the New Testament, or verses that allude to His nostrils showing either power or anger. However, there is a use of human nostrils that we have not yet referred to - that is, the ability to smell. We may not think of it as being as important as some of the other senses, but it is clearly something that gives a level of either pleasure or disgust and contributes to our sensory awareness.
There is certainly reference in the New Testament to God smelling a sweet savour when it comes to the Lord Jesus, ‘Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour’, Eph. 5. 2. This fulfilled what had long been pictured in some of the offerings of the Old Testament, (e.g., each of the three types of burnt offering, Lev. 1. 9, 13, 17) and other parts of the Levitical system such as the unique perfume, Exod. 30. 35-38. This stands in obvious contrast to Isaiah chapter 65 verse 5, where God’s people are described as like irritating smoke in His nose (or nostrils in several translations). I am sure that we have all experienced the contrast between that which is particularly unpleasant in terms of annoying or disgusting fumes in our nostrils versus the delightful smell of a meal or a perfume. In the perfection of Christ’s life and the completeness of His death, there was a unique pleasure that He brought to God.
This is one of the more obscure Bible studies I have done, so I think it is especially important that there is practical application.
First, this subject is a reminder of the greatness of God. We live in a time where informality is often the order of the day and technology enables remarkable experiences. Additionally, as New Testament believers, we are uniquely privileged in the access we have into the presence of God. Nevertheless, we have the same God about whom the Psalmist wrote, ‘I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works’, Ps. 145. 5. While we will never exhaust the preciousness of the Lord Jesus - and it is entirely right that our worship is often taken up with Him - it is also befitting that there are occasions when we simply worship God for His amazing person and works. This sense of divine majesty will also bring a level of reverence and holy caution into both our day-to-day lives and the gatherings of God’s people.
By the grace of God, Christians today do not need to be in fear of eternal punishment. But it is to believers that the letter to the Hebrews records the salutary warning that ‘our God is a consuming fire’, 12. 29. Our obedience to His word should therefore be prompt, willing, and fulsome. We would surely never want to do the things that would provoke God as spoken of in terms of angry, flared nostrils.
Second, the subject should be a wonderful, positive motivator to do what is right. In 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15, we have the simple but delightful statement, ‘For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ’. A remarkable aspect of our nostrils is the ability to recognize a smell, as it evokes a memory from a completely different time and place. Likewise, when someone regularly wears the same perfume, we only need to catch a faint smell of it to be reminded of that person. Applying these things to the Christian life, it is a staggering reflection on the potential of every child of God that we can be a pleasing aroma to the nostrils of God. Our smallness on planet Earth in a vast universe can easily make us think that our lives are without significance. Yet, moment by moment, we can seek to be like Christ and thereby bring pleasure to the very God of heaven. This tremendous privilege should guide all the decisions that we make.
If you have never considered the nostrils of God before, I trust this article will have expanded your knowledge of God a little. I hope too it will be a practical help as a reminder of another reason to be Christlike and thereby glorifying to our God.
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