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You anoint my head with Oil!
The Anointing Oil
To define we need a better description than “what we feel in the anointing.”
ANOINT describes the procedure of rubbing or smearing a person or thing, usually
with oil, for the purpose of healing, setting apart, or embalming.
Anointing
ANOINTING THE BODY
Anointing the body with oil was an ancient and widespread custom common among
Egyptians, Hebrews, and inhabitants of the Far East, as well as among Greeks and
Romans.
CLEANSING
The allusions to anointing as part of ordinary washing are numerous, both in the OT and
NT
As expressive of joy (Psalm 23:5; Hebrews 1:9);
Its disuse indicative of grief (2 Samuel 14:2; Psalm 92:10; Daniel 10:3).
It was also used medicinally (Isaiah 1:6; Mark 6:13; James 5:14). See Oil.
CONSECRATION
Under the Mosaic Law persons and things set apart for sacred purposes were anointed
with the “holy anointing oil” (Exodus 30:23-25, 30-33). See Priesthood, Hebrew.
CORONATION
It was a custom among the Jews to anoint with oil those set apart as kings, which custom
was adopted by the Christian church.
FIGURATIVE
The anointing with oil was a symbol of endowment with the Spirit of God for the duties
of the office to which a person was consecrated.
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ANOINTING, GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Gk. chrisma, “ointment,” “anointing”). The gift of the Holy Spirit as an efficient aid in
getting knowledge of the truth (1 John 2:20).
Sheep Need Protection.
What required the most amount of work was checking for poisonous weeds and plants in
the meadow. A pastor and sheep rancher would spend hours on his hands and knees
inventory the area for any poisonous plants.
We are given an analogy of Gods people being sheep and God being the Great Shepherd
There were certain practices in the life of the sheep that were very necessary to its well
being, that the shepherd was well aware.
1. Current Diet;
2. Cutting Away
3. Drenching
4. Daging
5. Crutching
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6. Shearing
You anoint my head with oil.
The summer was the prime season for all kinds of bugs and insects, and this presented a
serious problem for the shepherd and his sheep.
The list of pests is almost endless: warble flies, bot flies, heel flies, etc
One insidious example is the nose fly, which would actually lay eggs in the mucous
membrane lining of a sheep’s nose.
When they hatched, the larvae would burrow into the sheep’s flesh, literally getting under
their skin, and cause intense inflammation and irritation. These parasites became so
annoying that sheep would beat their heads against rocks and trees to try and find relief.
To counteract this disruptive invasion, the shepherd had to act fast. At the first sign of
flies, the shepherd would apply a homemade remedy to the sheep’s heads made of linseed
oil, sulfur, and tar. It was the ancient equivalent of insect repellent.
Another behavior of sheep that required the application of oil was their tendency to be
affectionate. Sheep would often rub heads with each other as a way of saying, “How
YOU doing?” But if one sheep had infected skin, it would pass the infection on to the
other.
The Covering of the Anointing
Knowing this danger, the shepherd restrains his sheep from a new field (which may be
infested) until he can inspect it. He walks up and down, looking for the small holes.
Upon finding these holes, he takes a bottle of thick oil from his girdle. Then, raking down
the long grass with his staff, he pours a circle of oil at the top of each viper's hole. Before
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he leads the sheep into the new, green field, he also spreads the oil over each sheep's
head—in that sense he "anoints" them (rubbing their heads) with his oil.
When the vipers beneath the surface sense the presence of sheep and attempt to attack
from their holes, they are unable to do so. Their smooth bodies cannot pass over the
slippery oil—they become prisoners inside their own holes.
The oil on the sheep's head also acts as a repellent, so if a viper does manage to come
near, the smell drives the serpent away. Therefore, in a very literal sense, by oiling the
vipers' burrows, the shepherd has prepared the table—the meadow—and the sheep are
able to graze in abundance right in the enemy's presence.
I. Provision of God in the anointing
Healing
Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit
Presence of God: His presence has us covered
James 5, Any sick among you let him call the elders of the church and let them anoint
them with oil.
Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalms 16:11
II. Protection of God in the anointing (Ointment)
His presence our dwelling
Psalms 42:1-2
Psalms 91:1-7
Psalms 34:17
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III. The promise of God in the anointing
Isaiah 10:27