The Anointing - part 7
As we examine this topic of the anointing further, we see that God places requirements and restrictions upon His anointing. The anointing oil used in the Old Testament had some restrictions on its use. They were not to use any imitation oil. They were to guard it and protect it from misuse. As well, the anointing oil was not to leave its designated place.
I believe those same restrictions apply to the application of the anointing to our lives today. It is not to be used indiscriminately, but only at the Lord’s request. We are not to imitate another’s anointing or use it in any way God did not design it to be used.
For example, if God has given you an anointing to preach in a particular way, you are not to try and preach like someone else you think does it better than you do. “… and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.” Exodus 31:11 (NKJV)
The anointing of the Lord needs to be guarded and protected so it is not misused or used inappropriately. In Exodus 39:32-43 (NKJV) we see that Moses would check the anointing oil. The people would bring it to him to be examined, approved of, and then blessed.
“Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; the table, all its utensils, and the showbread; the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests. According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it, as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.”
Mothers of Nations, we need leaders in our lives that examine our anointing, check on us, bless us, and approve of our giftings and how we use them.
A final restriction we find in Scripture is that the anointing oil was not to leave the Holy Place of ministry as we see in Leviticus 10:1-7; 21:10, 12, NKJV.
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.” So Aaron held his peace. Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
“He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes …. nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.”
Mothers of Nations, what could this mean to us today? I think this says that we need to stay in the Holy Place to keep our oil fresh, and we are to use that oil so it does not get old, stale, or rancid. Staying in the Holy Place, we keep ourselves pure, our motives pure, and our anointing free of defilement.
We must keep our anointing fresh. Ecclesiastes 10:1 (Amp) states, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to putrefy and send forth a vile odor...” If we leave the Holy Place, the place of abiding in Him, we find ourselves in contact with the devil, Beelzebub, the lord of the flies. He sends out his flies to destroy the oil.
The New Testament tells us to have a “continuous flow” of the Spirit. We cannot keep the flow without staying in His presence and in His Word. If there is a hole in our vessel, the oil will leak out. If the oil is not used, it can become hard and dry. We must always be careful to do as much as we can to stay fresh.
Next week we will continue looking at the anointing of God. Until then Mothers of Nations, let’s stay “fresh!”
Dr. Sharon Predovich
