In this message we shall consider the details related to the holy anointing oil in 30:22-33.
The materials of the holy anointing oil are of two categories and are five in number. The first category includes the four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. The second category consists of one item—olive oil.
Flowing myrrh, smelling sweet but tasting bitter, signifies the precious death of Christ. In the Bible myrrh is used mostly for burial. Hence, myrrh is related to death. According to John 19, when Nicodemus and others were preparing to bury the body of the Lord Jesus, they used myrrh.
Myrrh comes from an aromatic tree. This tree drops its juice either as a result of being cut or through some kind of natural opening or incision. In ancient times, this juice was used to reduce the suffering of death. When the Lord Jesus was being crucified, He was offered wine mixed with myrrh to reduce His pain. However, He refused to take it. No doubt, the myrrh in Exodus 30 is a symbol of the Lord’s death.
The aromatic liquid of myrrh not only reduces pain, but also can be used for healing the body when it gives off the wrong kind of secretion. Myrrh can correct this condition in the human body. In our human life there are many wrong secretions, but the Lord’s death on the cross corrects this problem.
Fragrant cinnamon signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death. Cinnamon not only has a distinctive flavor, but it can also be used to stimulate the heart. Cinnamon may be prescribed to stimulate a weak heart.
Myrrh signifies the precious death of Christ, and cinnamon signifies the effectiveness of His death. If we apply the Lord’s death to our situation, it will reduce our pain, correct the wrong secretions, and eventually stimulate us and make us happy and joyful. I can testify of this from my experience. There are times that negative things in my environment would cause me to be low. But when I apply the Lord’s death, I am corrected, adjusted, stimulated, and stirred up.
The calamus in Exodus 30 is a reed. The Hebrew root of the word myrrh means flowing, and the root for calamus means standing up. Calamus grows in a marsh or muddy place. But even though it grows in a marsh, it is able to shoot up into the air. According to the sequence of the spices, this calamus signifies the rising up of the Lord Jesus from the place of death. The Lord was put into a marsh, into a death situation, but in resurrection He rose up and stood up. Calamus, therefore, signifies the precious resurrection of Christ.
The fourth spice, cassia, signifies the power of Christ’s resurrection. Cassia and cinnamon belong to the same family. Cinnamon is from the inner part of the bark, and cassia, from the outer part of the bark. Both cinnamon and cassia are sweet and fragrant. Furthermore, the plants from which they are derived often live and grow in places where other plants cannot grow.
In ancient times cassia was used as a repellent to drive away insects and snakes. Cassia thus signifies the power, the effectiveness, of Christ’s resurrection. Christ’s resurrection can withstand any kind of environment, and His resurrection certainly is a repellent. It repels all evil “insects” and especially the old serpent, the Devil.
Myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia are all of one category of materials, the category of the spices. Now we come to the olive oil, the only item in the second category.