WHAT IS ANOINTING? Anointing is from the Hebrew word massach, which means to anoint, literally to cover, rub or smear with oil. During biblical times, copious amounts of oil were used and all were aromatic.
Similarly, the word Messiah (from the same roots or Christ) means the anointed one.
WHO WAS ANOINTED? Kings, priests, prophets, objects in the temple. Anointing flowed from the head down.
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF ANOINTMENT? To sanctify or set apart for the Lord (Old Testament). To know your oneness with God. Since animal sacrifices were made in the Temple, all objects were anointed, both to dispel odors and to prevent infection.
SECULAR ANOINTING: Healing, embalming, beautification, hospitality. A modern form of healing through anointing is the Raindrop technique.
BIBLE PASSAGES: EXODUS 30:24; 30:34 Recipes revealed to Moses for the holy anointing oil and holy anointing incense were only to be used to sanctify the priests and objects of the temple. “Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.” (Ex. 30:33)
Again in the recipe for the holy anointing incense is the caveat “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.” (Ex. 30:37-38)
THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD and the tabernacle and all the objects in it (Lev. 8:1-12; 21:10) Psalm 133:2 “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon (sacred mountain, MBD) which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessings, life for evermore.
SAUL’S CORONATION: I Sam. 10:1 “Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head… JEHU ANOINTED KING: II Kings 9:1 Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand… JESUS TEACHES DISCIPLES TO ANOINT: MARK 6:7-13: “So they went our and preached that men should repent (Aramaic for turning back to God). And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.
JESUS ANOINTED BY MARY OF BETHANY: Matt.26:6-13; Mark 14:3; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, the woman is identified as Mary of Bethany. (Metaphysically, the devotional soul). In Luke, it is a “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus. Jesus uses this anointing event as a teaching on forgiveness.
Although Jesus told the disciples a number of times over the 3 years that he would be crucified and resurrected, the message did not sink in. The women, however, representing the intuition and feeling nature of the soul, anointed Jesus with the oils of spikenard and myrrh, both oils used for embalming. Spikenard was brought from the Himalayas in India in alabaster jars and used only for priests, kings, or high initiates. Myrrh was a fixative oil, increasing the potency and longevity with whatever it was blended. Spikenard is correlated with the faculty of power and myrrh with the faculty of life.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus is anointed on his head. In the Gospels of Luke and John, Jesus was anointed on his feet.
BURIAL: When Jesus was taken down from the cross, Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea wrapped Jesus in Myrrh and Aloes (sandalwood) John 19:38