Modifying Samsung ROM and flashing it on a device I downloaded a Samsung firmware for my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (SM-T230) device and would like to remove certain applications and files from the firmware and then load it into the mobile device using Odin. 

Is this possible? How do I extract the files from the firmware, modify them and then compress it again to use it with Odin?

Thanks for the help.
Try looking at this Removing files from &amp; repackaging CyanogenMod ROM zip files. It doesnt deal with Odin, but provides you with valuable working  information. You should be able to use an archive program on PC and recompress to .tar, .gz, and others. Dont forget to re-sign the archive. Keep a copy of your untouched ROM until you have the modified ROM tested and running.

The ROMs are signed with a signature. When repacking if they don't get signed they will fail in flashing. This link will help explain it.

So basically after downloading the firmware you have to rename it so  you can extract the files, change them as you need, recompress them again and re-sign them, so you can flash them using Odin. Its as simple as that.