Today is the last entry for The Need for Oil. Of course, if you are interested in the earlier parts of the ceremony of the cleansing of the leper and it's symbolism of to the life of a modern day Christian, I encourage you to read the earlier posts. However, even on an individual day, like today, we can learn something to apply to our understanding of God. Today, we shall see the beauty of the gift that God gives his children with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
The third and last use of the handful of oil, was for anointing the leper's head. And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed. (Lev 14:18a) Pouring oil on someones head was a well known symbol in the Scriptures. Isaiah tells us that after his anointing the spirit had equipped him to service in many different ways. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (Is 61:1) We can see here that when God anoints someone, the Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon them. This list contains twelve jobs that Isaiah was able to do for the Lord. Isaiah could never have accomplished God's work by himself. Paul tells us to pray for the best gifts in order to fulfill the will of God. The Church would be so different today if we had more men of God who were anointed by the Spirit of God.
In the New Testament we read that Jesus is also anointed by the Spirit, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (Acts 10:37b) When John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit became visible in the form of a dove coming down upon Jesus. This was the beginning of His ministry because Jesus needed the Spirit to tell Him what the will of the father was. Think of the Spirit as the mind of God and the power as His muscle. In the case of Jesus we can observe how the divine energy of God is poured out in a variety of ways. Jesus spent three years ministering to the people of Israel and many stories are told of his authority. He was always given the mind of the Father in every situation. People who had observed this power asked him why he did not use it to avoid the cross. The answer is that he only asked for power to accomplish the will of God and certainly not to do what he wanted. We will be given the power needed to fulfill the purpose of God. One man tried to buy the power of God and was rebuked. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. (Acts 8:18-20) This man had used the power of sorcery but he wanted to buy more power to impress the people. He was told to "repent" and there are many people today who need to repent of the thoughts in their heart about the power of the Holy Spirit.
Another important anointing God gives today is spoken of in the New Testament. The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (1 John 2:27) There is no other way for a Christian to live a Holy life. This anointing is the promised help a servant will find no where else. To be anointed by the Spirit allows the world to see that we have been separated for a new life. Notice that when you receive the anointing of the Spirit, you are required to abide in Him. Walking in the Spirit is the will of God and is the purpose for teaching us the truth about His power. Many people today have forgotten that we learn the truth for the purpose of living a righteous life. The real truth of God is only understood in our humility and faith.
In summary, the priest used the oil in three different ways. The sprinkling represented our impurity and how the Spirit can help us in the seven parts of our redemption. Then to place oil over the blood showed a sealing by the Spirit of what Jesus has done for us. And finally the release of power was symbolized by pouring oil on the head. The three uses of the oil is a beautiful picture of how the Spirit is available to work in our lives.
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