Chapter -2
THE OIL – A METAPHOR OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT
The oil is used as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit,
throughout the scriptures.
Let us consider the example of the
ritual cleansing of the leper, as described in Leviticus 14:14-18;
14 And the priest shall take some of
the blood of the trespass offering,
and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be
cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his
right foot:
15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the
palm of his own left hand:
16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is
in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the
oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:
17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the
tip of the right ear of him that is to
be cleansed, and upon the thumb
of his right hand, and upon the great
toe of his right foot, upon the
blood of the trespass offering:18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the
priest's hand he shall pour upon the
head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before
the Lord.
I would like to explain the hidden mysteries in this
chapter, with the light of the Holy Spirit. The leper is a poor and humble
sinner, seeking the face of God for his spiritual cleansing. The High Priest,
being Christ himself, who offered himself as a trespass offering for our sins, (Hebrews
10:14-22), applies the blood over the sinner. AND….. Upon the very place where the
blood is applied, the oil of the Holy Spirit is applied, for the further
sanctification of the sinner.
·
The oil in the parable of the ten virgins, as Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 25,
also refers to the Holy Spirit.
·
The oil in the parable of Good Samaritan in (Luke 10:34), denotes the pouring of
the Holy Spirit and the wine being the blood of Christ
.
The other metaphors used to describe the Holy Spirit
in the Bible include, the water, the fire, the wind, dove and many such.
The
anointing and the Holy Spirit:
The Hebrew word for anointing is mashach (maw-shakh'), meaning to smear or paint. This word is derived from a
primitive root, “to rub with oil”. The word “anoint” is found to have strong association with the Holy Spirit
throughout the scriptures. Here below are some instances from the word of God
that describe the correlation of the anointing oil with the Holy Spirit of God.
1. When
Samuel anoints Saul as King, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. (1 Samuel
10)
1
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him,
and said, Is it not because the Lord hath
anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
2 When thou art departed from me to
day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of
Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest
to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and
sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
3 Then shalt thou go on forward from
thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee
three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another
carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:
4 And they will salute thee, and give
thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.
5 After that thou shalt come to the
hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to
pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of
prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a
pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:
6 And
the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy
with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
2. Similarly,
when David was anointed by Samuel to be the King, the Spirit of the Lord came
upon him. (1 Samuel 16:13)
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the
midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of
the Lord came upon David
from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
