SYMBOLISM AND ANOINTING The anointing of people and objects with olive oil has a long history and a sacred significance. We first meet the practice in the Bible when Jacob, after he had seen the vision of a ladder from earth to heaven, poured oil (Heb. shemen) upon the rock that had been his pillow (Genesis 28:18). Later in the same place God spoke to him and Jacob again poured oil on a stone pillar (Genesis 35:14). By this symbolic act he set aside that place, which he called Bethel, as holy. Anointing was presumably a well-established practice even at that early date. Later, we see Moses being commanded by God to prepare holy anointing oil with a fixed composition (see chapter 14) for the anointing of the tent of meeting, the Tabernacle, and all its contents. The furniture and utensils were thereby consecrated `that they may be most holy; whatever touches them will become holy (Exodus 30:29), and Aaron and his sons were also anointed `that they may serve me as priests (Exodus 30:30). In Leviticus (8:10-11) we find Moses putting this into practice, with the altar itself being anointed seven times. Furthermore, Moses had to warn the people of Israel of its holiness: `It shall be for you most holy. And the incense which you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be for you holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people (Exodus 30:36-38). Throughout the Old Testament, anointing signifies the holiness of the anointed objects or persons, their separation to God, and also divine authority. From the anointing of the priest it was a simple step to the anointing of the king or of the king-designate. `They anointed David king over the house of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4; see also Judges 9:8-9; 1 Kings 1:34); and prophets, such as Elisha (1 Kings 19:16). Jothams story of the trees (Judges 9:8-15) stresses the role of the olive tree in this respect. Personal anointing (Psalm 104:15; Micah 6:15) on the other hand was not symbolic, for in the dry Mediterranean climate the cool, smooth olive oil is pleasantly soothing (Isaiah 1:6) for the skin and as a hair-dressing (Psalm 23:5). All these anointings, apart from the personal one, were regarded as acts of God, and of sanctifying significance. For example, when the prophet Samuel poured oil on Sauls head he said: `Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over His people Israel? (1 Samuel 10:1). Anointing with oil is associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in both the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Samuel 16:13; Isaiah 61:1), and the New Testament (e.g., Acts 10:38; 1 John 2:20).
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:00:47 +0000