I have everything I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him.
The Lord gave you a name. He called you, “A green olive tree, beautiful to look at.” But with a powerful storm, he will set that tree on fire, and its branches will be burned up.
So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said, “My son smells like the fields the Lord has blessed.
It will be covered with flowers and dance with joy. It will be as beautiful as the forest of Lebanon, the hill of Carmel, and the Sharon Valley. This will happen because all people will see the Glory of the Lord. They will see the beauty of our God.
When you see these things, you will be happy. You will be free and grow like grass. The Lord’s servants will see his power, but his enemies will see his anger.
Let’s learn about the Lord. Let’s try very hard to know him. We know he is coming, just as we know the dawn is coming. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the ground.”