Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Oil and Its Uses in the Bible

In our study of 'messiah' or 'anointed one' we discovered that 'to anoint' means 'to rub with oil'. Often in the bible we find that oil was used to designate people for special office (e.g. priest, king, prophet). It was a way of showing God's pick. Oil was also used on objects to set them aside for for a special function like ceremonial rituals. You may wonder, "Why oil?" So I turn to the place that all should turn to when trying to find out more about a term or concept: a bible dictionary. In this case, my pick is The Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible. The next paragraph is a summary of the article found there.

Oil, along with wine and grain, was an important agricultural item in the promised land(Deuteronomy 7:13). People used it with meals, for skin care, and for lamps. Because of its wide usage it was exported often. Egypt and Mesopotamia produced very little olive oil and as a result, it was treated as a luxury item (oil was apparently produced in varying qualities). Check out this old school Egyptian text dated from around 2040–1650 BC:

"In it were riches from the treasury; clothes of royal linen, myrrh, and the choice perfume of the king and of his favorite courtiers were in every room. Every servant was at his task. Years were removed from my body. I was shaved; my hair was combed. Thus was my squalor returned to the foreign land, my dress to the Sand-farers. I was clothed in fine linen; I was anointed with fine oil. I slept on a bed. I had returned the sand to those who dwell in it, the tree-oil to those who grease themselves with it" (Story of Sinuhe)

As I noted earlier, oil was used for common everyday tasks. However, it was also used for some very extravagant tasks. By 'extravagant' I mean ceremonial and/or luxurious events. This insight into the use oil is especially interesting when considering the extravagant language that God uses concerning humanity (e.g. image of God). Perhaps the usage of fine oil goes beyond a designation of office to an affirmation of God's intention for humanity to be special to/for him.

When Jesus was anointed by a woman at Bethany the disciples were irritated and said, "That oil could have been sold and the money given to the poor!" Jesus replied, "Leave her alone...She's done a beautiful thing to me." I bet King David thought of it as beautiful. He recognized that he was but a sheep with the Lord as his Shepherd. Still, this holy Lord was not beyond expressing his care and concern for his creation. He anointed David's head with oil, his cup overflowed. Talk about beautifying.