What is the purpose of anointing oil?

What is the purpose of anointing oil?

Psalm 23 is a popular psalm. Some would argue that it is one of the most popular chapters in the Bible. But how many people truly understand the depth of meaning found in verse 5 “You anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows”?

In today’s day and age we do not talk about anointing with oil. However, in Biblical times, anointing something or someone with oil was a sacred event. People would anoint objects or people with olive oil to sanctify them to be set apart and dedicated to God.

 

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to be set apart to be used by God. We are the bride of Christ, therefore, we must make sure that we are ready for when our groom, that is Christ, appears. Jesus elaborated on this by giving the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. In the parable, 10 virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive so that they can celebrate with him. Five of the virgins are wise and make sure that they have plenty of oil available to light their lamps as soon as the bridegroom arrives. The other five virgins are foolish and quickly run out of oil, and therefore miss the return of the bridegroom.

We do not want to be like the foolish virgins. We want to be wise, ready, and set apart for God. We do not know the hour or day that our Savior will return, but we do know that one day he will indeed return and bring victory over sin and death. We must be ready and watchful. In the meantime, we must dedicate our lives and our possessions to God’s glory, just like the ancient priests would dedicate people and objects to serve the Lord in the temple. One day our Lord will return! Maranatha!

May 12, 2020

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