There was an occurrence that I found fascinating and instructive in the holy scriptures. God was giving Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle and its furniture. He was detailed in his specifications of what he wanted and how he wanted the constructions to be done.
So, in Exodus 30:22-33, God gave a recipe for the making of the Holy anointing oil and its usage. He gave Moses a list of spices to be added to the olive oil. The spices were the choicest fragrances and should be added in their right proportions: five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much—two hundred and fifty—of sweet-scented cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty of fragrant cane, and five hundred shekels of cinnamon blossom according to the sanctuary shekel.
Anointing of the tabernacle
The resultant mixture was to be used to anoint the tabernacle, the ark of the testimony, the table and all its vessels, the candlestick and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, the laver and its foot. And no one was permitted to replicate this mixture for private use.
Anointing of Aaron and the priests
It doesn’t stop there. Aaron and his sons (the priests) were to be anointed with the same holy anointing oil that had been mixed with the best spices. Certainly, this practice symbolised a consecration of all the anointed items and persons unto God. But let’s see a lesson that hit me there.
The anointing oil separated the priests from the rest of the people. It made them operate in the priest’s office. So, anointing oil can be likened to elevation to a leadership position in the home, religious organisation or corporate entity. With such elevation comes visibility and authority. You are now seen, noticed, felt and talked about more than before.
PURPOSE OF THE SPICES
Spices, on the other hand, served two purposes: depicting the character of God and the character of his chosen priests. So, when a priest is anointed, the fragrance exudes God’s beauty, majesty, holiness and glory. It also symbolised the priest’s purity, integrity, dedication to service, trustworthiness, humility, love, care, etc. So, the spices played no little role in the consecration practice, as the dewy perfume from the priest’s robes filled the nostrils of the congregants and was pleasing to God, too.
Lessons for priests today
One of the banes of today’s society is the proliferation of priests who carry oil without spices, or rather, who are anointed with oil that lacks spices. They occupy leadership positions, enjoy visibility, get emulated by the young and old, shape trends and cultures, but ruin the lives of their followers with their stinking smell.
The anointing oil is the conferment of authority on you, but the spices represent your character. Spices are the perfumes of who you are – integrity, humility, trustworthiness, honesty, love, kindness, gentleness, care.
Furthermore, the anointing oil also represents your talents, skills and abilities. They are your unique features — things, whether inherited or acquired through hard work, that distinguish you from others and set you on a height of admiration.
However, no matter how talented or skilled you might be, if you cannot be trusted, your skills would mean nothing. I would rather work with a kind person who is less talented than a highly talented person who lacks kindness. You can be trained to be high performing, but kindness takes a whole different rewiring that is difficult to come by.
The oil may taste so good, but if it spells bad, no one can stand it. Before the taste is the smell. Before what I bring as a sacrifice to God is the heart of the sacrificer. Before my message is the character of the messenger.
The rules that seem to govern today’s society may have changed considerably, but I believe that who says a thing is still as important, if not more important, than what he says.
Also, the spirit world does not respect you because you said it; it respects you because your life(character) is known, and that gives power/weight to your words. If in doubt, ask the sons of Sceva.
You can copy people’s style of prayers, preaching and even tongues-speaking, but you can never copy the power behind these exercises. That one is gotten in hidden places where eyes do not see, in the place of right standing before God.
Anger, envy, jealousy, hate, immorality, desire to be like the world — living in blurred lines —will only mar your anointing oil.
Spices must be preserved, else they go bad. If a dead fly is allowed to fall and remain on the anointing oil, it will soon send out a stinking smell.
Please note that you can get many people through anointing and lose all of them through bad character.
