The Anointing Of All That Has Been Provided For The Dwellingplace (Exodus 30:22-33).
The furnishing of the Dwellingplace now being complete it is to be anointed so as to set it apart wholly to Yahweh. We note here that the golden altar and the laver are now included, in a different order from that shown previously, as the order is now from the Most Holy Place, through the Holy Place, to the court. Previously the order had been in order to take into account purpose and function.
a The ingredients of the holy anointing oil as described must be taken (Exodus 30:22-24).
b They were with them to make the holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer (Exodus 30:25 a).
c It shall be a holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:25 b).
d They will anoint with it the Tent of Meeting, and the Ark of the Testimony, and the Table and all its vessels, and the Lampstand and its vessels, and the Altar of Incense, and the Altar of Whole Burnt Offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its companion vessel (Exodus 30:26-28).
e And they will sanctify them so that they be most holy (Exodus 30:29 a).
e Whatever touches them will be holy (Exodus 30:29 b).
d And they will anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them, so that they minister to Him in the priest's office (Exodus 30:30).
c And he must speak to the children of Israel and say, ‘This shall be the holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations (Exodus 30:31).
b It must not be poured on any man, nor was any to be made like it in accordance with its special composition for it is holy and shall be holy to them (Exodus 30:32)
a Whoever compounds any like it, or puts any on a stranger (a non-priest) shall be cut off from his people.
Note the comparisons. In ‘a' the ingredients of the holy anointing oil must be taken, and in the parallel they must not be compounded or put on any non-priest on pain of being cut off. In ‘b' the holy anointing oil must be made, and in the parallel it must not be made unofficially, or poured on any man, because it was holy. In ‘c' it was the holy anointing oil and in the parallel was declared to be the holy anointing oil. In ‘d' they were to anoint the Tabernacle furniture and in the parallel the priests. In ‘e' by this they would be set apart to Yahweh as most holy, and in the parallel whoever touched them will be holy (wholly set apart to Yahweh).
The Making of the Holy Anointing Oil (30:22-25).
‘Moreover Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take also to yourself the chief spices, of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred after the shekel of the Sanctuary, and of oil a hin. And you shall make it an anointing oil, a perfume compounded with the skilful methods of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.” '
Moses was to take spices in the proportions declared by Yahweh and arrange for the oil to be made by experts. There were five ingredients, the number of covenant. The 500 also indicated the covenant number, five intensified. The further weight brought the total up to 3 times 500 shekels weight, signifying complete covenant response to the covenant. ‘Flowing' myrrh was the myrrh that exuded naturally from the shrubby tree Commiphora myrrha, the best myrrh, not that obtained by cutting slits in the shrub. There may also be the aim of using myrrh extracted, as it were, by God and not by men. Myrrh was widely seen as desirable and came from Arabia and North Africa. It hardened to produce an oily, yellowy-brown resin. See also Psalms 45:8; Proverbs 7:17; Song of Solomon 3:6; Song of Solomon 4:14; Song of Solomon 5:5; Song of Solomon 5:13; Esther 2:12. It was associated with Jesus in His birth and death (Matthew 2:11; John 19:39).
“ Sweet cinnamon.” The best of the cinnamon. Probably obtained from an as yet unidentified plant in the area. It was highly prized (see Proverbs 7:17; Song of Solomon 4:14; Revelation 18:13). Herodotus said that in his day Greeks obtained it from Arabia.
“ Calamus -- Cassia.” Calamus was an aromatic reed and, along with Cassia, probably of a local variety, the latter's name later being applied to an improved variety which could be imported. All these would have been available in Egypt. The oil would enable all these varieties of spice to be mingled together. All this was to be blended together by the skilful art of the perfumer, with only the best being extracted, into a holy anointing oil which was only to be used for holy things. For Calamus see Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:17; Song of Solomon 4:14. The Dwellingplace and its contents, and Aaron and his sons, were to be anointed with refined beauty.
“And you shall anoint with it the Tent of Meeting, and the Ark of the Testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its base. And you shall sanctify them that they may be most holy. Whoever touches them shall be holy.”
The Tent of Meeting and all its furniture is to be anointed with the holy anointing oil. By it they will be separated by Yahweh to their holy purpose. They will be ‘most holy'. And anyone who touches them will become holy, that is totally separated to Yahweh (compare on Exodus 29:37). For the non-priest that would mean death in an extreme case, or ransom. It should be noted that anointing with oil in the Old Testament did not symbolise the Spirit, but dedication to Yahweh.
We note that the altar of incense and the laver are placed last in their particular grouping, not because they are inferior but because of their purpose. Their function is to enable man to honour God rather than representing God's activity towards man. They represented response to God's sovereign activity.
“And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.”
Having anointed the holy things, those who minister in the holy things, Aaron and his sons, are anointed. Again the point is that they are set apart for God and for a holy purpose. While Aaron alone was sanctified as ‘the Priest' in Exodus 29:7; he and his sons were all anointed in Exodus 29:21. The first anointing was as ‘The Priest', the second as priests.
“And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, “This shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the flesh of man, neither shall you make any like it, in accordance with its composition. It is holy, it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.”
The holy anointing oil must be reserved only for its purpose, the anointing of that which is holy to Yahweh and set apart for a sacred purpose. Even the recipe is holy. To make it unlawfully, or to use it unlawfully will signify expulsion from the covenant, or even death (Exodus 31:14). Rather than being sanctified by it they will be cut off as a result of it. The ‘stranger' in mind is anyone other than the priests for whom it was intended (compare on Exodus 29:33). The main thought behind this is the forbidding of any as priests except those whom God has appointed.