The function of the holy anointing oil is to sanctify the things of God and the men of God, separating them from anything common and making them most holy for God’s service, that they might be joined to the processed Triune God and become one with Him. Exodus 30:29-30 says: “Thus you shall sanctify them that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them that they may serve Me as priests.” Whoever or whatever was anointed was sanctified, set apart. The ointment became a mark separating them from anything common that they might be unto God and be joined to God.
First John 2:20-27 reveals that this ointment, which typifies the compound Spirit, has its function in the believers. This ointment is constantly anointing us. That is, the indwelling compound Spirit moves and operates in us continually to transmit the divine elements—Jesus, Christ, the Father, the Son, and the eternal life—into us that we may know the reality of the Divine Trinity and enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19). Thus, we are mingled with the Triune God as one and are sanctified for the building of God’s habitation and the service of the priesthood.
In Exodus 30, after the record concerning the holy anointing oil, there is the description of the holy incense (vv. 34-38). The anointing oil reveals how God comes to us in Christ and with Christ, whereas the holy incense signifies how we go to God in Christ and with Christ. This is a divine two-way traffic: through the holy anointing oil Christ coming to us from God and with God for us to enjoy, and with the incense Christ going to God with us for God’s satisfaction.
Both the holy anointing oil and the holy incense are portraits of the Triune God. In the holy anointing oil and the holy incense we see divinity, humanity, the mingling of divinity with humanity, and Christ’s death and resurrection.
The holy anointing oil is composed of three spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum—and pure frankincense. The first three form one group, while the last one is in a category by itself. Hence, here we have three plus one, which equals four. Three is the number of the Triune God, and four, the number of the creature, the human being. This means that the Triune God becomes a human being, bringing divinity into humanity.
The first of the fragrant spices is stacte. It is a resinous gum used as the purest myrrh, a myrrh that is edible. Hence, stacte signifies the sweet death of Christ. Christ died on the cross and poured forth His human life that He might bring the fallen sinners to God. Furthermore, stacte as a plant signifies Christ’s generating life. Through His death He produced the sons of God.
Onycha is the shell of a little animal, a shell that is good for medicine and is also used as a spice. This signifies that Christ with His redemptive life died for sinners. Through His death on the cross Christ released His redemptive life for sinners.
Galbanum is also a resinous gum. Its odor is exceedingly strong, unpleasant, and offensive. It has three strange functions. First, it strengthens the fragrance of the other spices; second, it causes the fragrance of the incense to remain and endure; and third, it functions as a repellent to repel and expel noxious insects and poisonous reptiles and snakes. This indicates that the death of Christ not only strengthens and preserves the other elements but also has the power to expel the evil Satan and the demons.
All three spices that constituted the holy incense signify the death of Christ. Through His death Christ redeemed the fallen sinners, produced the sons of God, and expelled the old serpent, the devil.
Frankincense is a white resinous gum signifying the sweet resurrection of Christ. Hence, following our experience of Christ’s death, we also need the experience of His resurrection.
Exodus 30:34 says that “there shall be an equal part of each.” This means that there was to be an equal proportion of each of the four basic elements. This signifies that all the attributes of Christ’s death and resurrection are even. Hence, we need an equal portion of the Lord’s death and resurrection.
Besides these four elements, there is salt. Exodus 30:35 says: “And you shall make of it incense, a perfume according to the perfumer’s art, seasoned with salt, pure, and holy.” Salt here signifies the cross of Christ, that is, His killing death. In salt there is corruption-killing power, and it also functions as a preservative (Lev. 2:13). This signifies that Christ’s death has the killing power and the preserving power. With the holy ointment the tempering element is oil, but with the holy incense the tempering element is salt, which causes the incense to become pure. This means that God’s coming to us is a matter of our being oiled, but our going to God is a matter of our being salted. This is because with God there is nothing unclean. He comes to us from a pure source. However, our source is full of uncleanness. Therefore, our going to God requires salt, that is, the cross of Christ, that we may become holy and pure.