Scripture speaks of an oil that was God’s holy oil. What does God teach us about that very special oil through what He has revealed in the following listing of some key verses about it?
Some Key Verses about the Holy Oil
Exodus 30:22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
Exodus 30:31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32 Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. 33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
Exod. 37:29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.
Exod. 40:9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
Leviticus 21:12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
Num. 35:25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.
Ps. 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
Some Key Truths about the Holy Oil
Here are some key truths that these verses reveal about the holy oil:
God revealed this holy oil to His people and commanded them to make it. He thus originated it and authorized its making—humans played no part in inventing or originating this oil.
God specified exactly what ingredients would make up this oil and what their exact proportions in the oil were. Human wisdom and creativity did not play any part in determining the composition of this special oil.
God designated this oil as “holy” to Him. We thus learn that manmade things can be holy.
God directed that this oil would be the artistic product of a specified skillful workman.
God determined that this would be the only oil that the Israelites would unendingly use for the divine purposes that He specified.
God forbad any non-sacred use of His special oil and strictly determined the only sacred uses that humans could make of that oil.
God made known that any unauthorized making or use of His special oil would bring judgment on those who do so.
Application
Some believers hold that God approves of the creative cultural products of all nations because He made all the nations and the people who are in them. The Bible’s teaching about God’s holy anointing oil, however, shows that God has only ever had only one anointing oil that He has ever approved of for sacred use and that oil was not the creative cultural product of any people in any nation anywhere.
Scripture does not therefore support the notion that every culture and people in the world have had their own distinctive products that God has accepted for sacred use in every aspect of worshiping and serving Him. No nation or people have ever originated in any way any holy oil that God has ever accepted for any sacred use.
Moreover, any sacred uses of any other oils by any people anywhere in any of their worship has rendered that worship entirely and utterly unacceptable to God regardless of all other considerations about that worship.
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