Monday, April 07, 2008

Set Apart

"You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

30 "Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.' "

I was reading in Exodus this morning, and I was reading about Moses, as he spent time with God on the mountain, and received all sorts of instructions. This really was a time of preparation for the Israelites. They had been slaves for hundreds of years, and then they were wandering in the desert for 40 years, and the time had come for them to put down their roots and become civilized. God gave Moses specific instructions as to how things were going to be with everything regarding their place of worship. God wanted it just so, right down to the anointing oil.

So let's talk about this oil today, it's actually very interesting to look at it and think about what it signifies. God gave Moses the specific recipe for this oil, which was to be used by the priests to anoint the Holy people of Israel. This oil contained myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, sweet cane, and olive oil. Just knowing that it contained both cassia and cinnamon, I know that this anointing oil was very fragrant and wonderful to smell. Imagine walking around smelling like a giant cookie! This was a unique scent- and anyone who was anointed with this oil would likely smell for days at a time. Everyone around that person would know that they had been anointed by the Holy oil, and that is one of the points.

Imagine something like this today. You become a leader of some fashion within your church, and you are anointed with this oil, to signify your relationship with God and your willingness to serve. This oil is fragrant- like the most luscious of perfumes, and as you go about your day, your business, whether working or running around doing errands, everywhere you go, that smell is with you. Everyone you walk by will smell that lovely scent and know instantly that the scent coming from you signifies your relationship with God. Now imagine the opportunities that could arise from this.

It makes me think. Today we don't participate in such rituals, and people wouldn't know what a particular scent would mean anyway, but we can still take an example from this passage and do what we can to show our devotion to God. Andy and I have a unique opportunity right now as over the winter, three of our neighbors have moved out. This means new neighbors and plenty of new opportunities to show God's love. And while before we may have been very casual about our relationship with Christ, we almost feel more of a sense of...showing off maybe? I'm not sure the words I'm looking for. But Andy met one of our new neighbors this weekend, and right away in conversation let them know where we stand. Who knows what could come of that. Instead of hiding ourselves away, we're choosing to stand out. We're choosing to let God's anointing oil emanate and share with those around us who we belong to. We're choosing to be set apart and to let it show. We think He's worth it.

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