Originally posted on October 12,2013
After His Son Jesus Christ, essential oils are some of the most sacred gifts of God. And God makes this obvious to us in His Word but also in the ancient rituals of His Chosen People.
Myrrh and frankincense are the most treasured oils, but over 33 are mentioned in the Bible. Myrrh and frankincense are oleoresins which means they are the gum/sap that bleeds from a tree; they are the blood of the tree, extending from its root, to the tip of its branches.
Life lives in the blood of animals and plants, and is obviously treasured by God.
Myrrh is a thorny tree that has numerous curative properties; you could basically say it is a cure-all, as it not only lowers blood sugar, but kills cancer. It smells like cedar, and breathing it in reminds one of their grandparents’ home–it is an old, nostalgic scent which undoubtedly awakens some primal memories in our DNA.
It looks like it might have been the crown of thorns placed upon Christ’s head on the cross of his crucifixion, doesn’t it. Hopefully it caused a sedative effect for him, as it is also a mild analgesic. Myrrh is the first ingredient listed in making the holy anointing oil for the tabernacle. Only Priests were considered holy enough to use this blessed oil, and it could only be applied to Priests and sacred objects coming into contact with God in His sanctuary and tabernacle. It is a sin to use the holy anointing oil on anything or anyone else, though Myrrh itself was used by most people in ancient times.
Frankincense is a beautiful resin (blood of the tree) and is the favored scent of pharaohs and kings, including Cleopatra, and has many of the same properties and healing powers of Myrrh. While not called to be used in the holy anointing oil, it is one of the ingredients in God’s incense, to be burned in the most holy place in front of the mercy seat of the ark of the Covenant. Frankincense is also placed on each of the twelve loaves of showbread in the sanctuary before the LORD, and is to be given with all grain offerings except sin offerings, when it is expressly forbidden. It smells deeply satisfying to most people, as if your soul needs it, and cannot get enough of it.
In the body of all plants, God gives us specialized, living medicine. It is medicine that causes healing without harming. It is also perfume that keeps us at an optimal state of health, proving that holistic medicine which combines all our senses and energies is God’s way. Perhaps it was the extended use of essential oils that made people in biblical times live so long. Why would we want to soak ourselves in dead synthetic chemicals when everything we need exists right before us, calling to our cellular memory, and God within us.
~Song of Mary~ 