Five Things

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: General | Oct 1975

The fragrance of a rose, the smell of crushed grapes, the odour of pine needles, all come from the Hand of our great Creator, and they excel by far the synthetic equivalents produced by man. Our God is a God of fragrances, and they have a place of highest importance in the service and worship of His house. Five ingredients were all the Creator required for blending together to provide the fragrant, holy oil, for use in the divine dwelling-place. And it was only in connexion with His holy nation that God decreed that this oil should be used.

There were seven important parts of the tabernacle in the wilderness which had to be anointed with the specially prepared oil which the Lord instructed Moses to have made. They were the tent of meeting, the ark of testimony, the table of shewbread, the lampstand, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, and the laver (Exod. 30: 26-28). All the vessels of the house, and Aaron and his sons, were also anointed with this fragrant oil, which is called holy (v.25), and precious (Psa. 133:2).

The five things chosen by God for the holy anointing oil were myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive oil, and they were compounded by one of Israel's skilled perfumers (Exod. 30:25). Anyone found producing an imitation, or using it upon one who did not belong to God's people, was banished from the holy nation (v.33).

It would seem that the holy anointing oil typifies the fragrant virtues of the Person of Christ as revealed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus promised His disciples that the Spirit of truth "shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you" (John 16:14). And to the two on the road to Emmaus He began "from Moses and from all the prophets", and "interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). Concerning the five ingredients, therefore, we would offer the following suggestive thoughts as to their typical teaching.

MYRRH. This was a bitter gum derived from the leaves of a thorn-bearing tree, which was found in abundance on the hillsides of Palestine. Myrrh was often used as a gift to kings and dignitaries. It was one of the gifts of the wise men to the Lord Jesus as a child (Matt. 2:11). They came seeking the king (v.2), and they brought gifts befitting a king. The gold indicated His divine glory; the white frankincense suggested the pure, fragrant life He lived; and the myrrh could be indicative of His suffering in life and in death. There was myrrh given at His birth and at His burial (John 19:39). These were noble tributes to the King, albeit He was despised and rejected. The thorn-bearing tree, the piercing of the leaves to produce the gum, and the bitterness of it, would speak to our redeemed souls of the mocker's crown, the wounded hands and feet, and "the bitter sorrows that He bore". Finally, the gum had to be gathered, revealing the need for us to gather in our quiet moments of reading and meditation, precious thoughts of the One who endured the cross, despising its shame (Heb. 12:2).

CINNAMON was obtained from the inner bark of an aromatic tree of the laurel family, and this would remind us of the fragrant life of Christ known to His Father alone. Every single thought of His was so pure and holy, and came from a mind undefiled by sin. How God delighted in His Son, and the times of sweet communion they enjoyed together! Men were privileged to see His miracles, and hear His gracious words, but at no time were they permitted to intrude on the privacy of those hours on the mountain when His locks were filled with the dew of the night. Luke tells us that He "went out into the mountain to pray; and He continued all night in prayer to God" (6:12). Jeremiah mentions repeatedly that the heart of man is evil, but in contrast Peter fitly describes the inner life of the Lord with these words: "who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (1 Pet. 2:22). The cinnamon tree often grew to be 30 feet high, and it commanded attention because of its height, and its value. So with our Lord Jesus who is "high and lifted up" in our esteem; He is deserving of all honour, praise, and value, and He is worthy of the highest place which He now occupies in heaven.

CALAMUS was brought to Palestine from distant lands, was regarded highly for its sweetness, and became known commonly as sweet cane. These considerations give rise to two precious thoughts concerning Christ. Firstly, He came from the bosom of Divinity to the bosom of humanity; "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14); "I am the bread of life This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die" (John 6:48,50). He virtually stepped down from the throne of heaven; crossed the bridge of eternity to enter the stream of humanity; to receive not a crown but a cross. He was, indeed, the sweet calamus from a distant land. Men "wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22). But His beloved provides the answer to their perplexity in these words, "His mouth (or speech) is most sweet: Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend" (Song of Songs 5:16). Calamus was one of the chief spices (Song of Songs 4:14), and is included with ivory, ebony, emeralds, and rubies, in the list of valuables carried by the merchants' caravans. Our hearts would respond: "My beloved is... The chiefest among ten thousand" (Song of Songs 5:10).

CASSIA is of uncertain origin, but came apparently from the outer bark of a tree, or was stripped from a violet-scented root. In the Hebrew, cassia derives from words meaning "to stoop, bow down, peel, stripping". In considering the similarity of each of these features, there forms a consistent pattern of devotional truth concerning Christ. The outer bark is suggestive of His fragrant life before men, in contrast to the inner bark of the cinnamon indicating His inner life before God. There is a universal tribute to the perfect life of Christ' on earth, in this fourfold tribute. His Father said, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). The demon cried, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34). Pilate said, "I ... found no fault in this man (Luke 23:14). The centurion declared, "Certainly this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47). "Man so perfect; Holy, noble, humble too". The "stoop" and "bowing down" immediately suggest the humility of the Son of God in coming to earth. To the Corinthians Paul said, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). To the Philippians he wrote: "... Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; ... He humbled Himself... becoming obedient even unto death, yea the death of the cross" (2:6,8). These words are self-illuminating, and require no comment. Christ bowed to the will of His Father in implicit obedience (Luke 22:42); and He was bowed down by the weight of the cross where He was to become "obedient unto death". He willingly laid down His life. Even the stripping of the bark or root, is yet another reminder of the mockery with the purple robe, the crown of thorns, the reed. They may have stripped His garments, but they could not take away His dignity or eternal love. This He manifested in His gracious prayer, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). "Hallelujah! What a Saviour".

OLIVE OIL, mentioned over 200 times in Scripture, came from one of earth's earliest trees (Gen. 8:11). The olives grew in abundance, and they were pressed to produce the valuable oil of high quality. It is a type of the Holy Spirit as seen from the following uses. In the parable the wise virgins used it in their lamps to provide light (Matt. 25), illustrating our need of the Spirit in individual testimony. "He... shall be in you" (John 14:17). In the lampstand it was used for light in God's house, speaking of the Spirit's work in a church of God (Rev. 1:20). For anointing David in the midst of his brethren (1 Sam. 16:13), and so sanctifying him for God's purpose, even as we have anointing of the Holy One which abides in us (1 John 2:20,27).

So the chief spices were blended together with the pure olive oil to produce one sweet, fragrant holy anointing oil for the Lord, His people, and His house. The perfumer took the individual ingredients and united them according to divine direction. Unity in the Spirit must always be God's way (Eph. 4:3), and this is something we are instructed to keep, and we can if we bow to His instruction as He reveals Christ to us. "He shall guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13); "He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you" (v.14). The oil was to be used only where the Lord ordained, and it was to be used liberally. "... God... giveth not the Spirit by measure" (John 3:34). Who can limit the virtues of Christ? There is no thought of sprinkling the oil, but rather a pouring out. David confirms this in describing that the unity of brethren is like the precious oil upon the head, the beard, and the garments of Aaron (Psa. 133:1). It "ran down upon the beard" (v.2). It was quiet in its operation, just as the dew of Hermon descended silently. The sweetness of harmony on the part of brethren answers to the blending of the virtues of Christ by the Spirit. "For there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore" (v.3). Could it be that David is showing us in this Song of Ascents that the Lord will command His blessing where brethren dwell together in unity? If so, it is a precious thought. Let us be encouraged to look up to heaven's throne where God has anointed His Son "with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows" (Heb. 1:9). He has fellows, we are in His Fellowship where that unity can be expressed.

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Oct 1975
General